BATON ROUGE – After two important road wins last week, the LSU men’s basketball team looks to continue to build on that at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as its hosts the South Carolina Gamecocks Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
Tickets for the game are on sale at LSUtix.net online, at the LSU Athletics Ticket Office during the day on Wednesday and beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the upper concourse ticket windows of the Maravich Center. LSU students are admitted free with a valid LSU ID.
Fans are reminded in coming to the Maravich Center on Wednesday night that city sewer work on campus has closed all westbound traffic at South Stadium Drive and Fieldhouse Drive (in front of the Military Science Building and Public Safety Building) so alternate routes to the parking lots surrounding the athletic facilities may be in order.
There will be 2,000 Wallets for IPhones given away as a promotion for the game and for students, the student lounge will be in operation prior to the contest.
The game will be the first game of a Wednesday night SEC Network doubleheader with Mike Morgan and Dane Bradshaw on the television call with Jim Hawthorne, Ricky Blanton and host Kevin Ford on the call in the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net and the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network.
The game will be on these stations in the following areas: Baton Rouge (WDGL 98.1 FM); Alexandria (KSYL 970 AM); Bogalusa (WBOX 92.9 FM); Ferriday (KFNV 107.1 FM); Houma (KJIN 1490 AM); Jena (KJNA 102.7 FM); Lafayette/Opelousas (KLWB, 103.7 FM); Lake Charles (KXZZ 1580 AM); Leesville (KJAE 93.5 FM); Monroe (KMLB 540 AM); Morgan City (KFRA 1390 AM); Natchitoches (KWLV 1907.1 FM); New Orleans (WWL 870 AM; 105.3 FM); Ruston (KRUS 1490 AM); Shreveport (KWKH 1130 AM); Tallulah (KTJZ 97.5 FM); Tylertown, Mississippi (WFCG 107.3 FM); Ville Platte (KVPI 1050 AM).
The week started with five teams – LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas A&M – are tied for second place at 4-2. The four teams tied with LSU played Tuesday night – Georgia at home against Vanderbilt, Texas A&M at Auburn and Tennessee playing at Arkansas. So depending how all the games go Tuesday and Wednesday when LSU plays, anywhere from a minimum of one to a maximum of four teams would be in second at 5-2 entering Saturday’s play.
LSU is 15-4 overall, while South Carolina enters with a 10-8 overall record and 1-5 in the SEC. The Gamecocks lost in Columbia Saturday against Kentucky, 58-43.
The Tigers won last week at Florida (79-61) and 79-75 in overtime at Vanderbilt, giving LSU three straight road wins in the league and five overall in the season. LSU has played four overtime games, matching its total in four other seasons.
LSU is expected to start the same way it has for the last four games as it looks to restart a winning streak in the Maravich Center. Josh Gray (9.0 ppg, 4.8 apg) and Keith Hornsby (12.4 ppg, team best 36 treys) should get the nod at guards with Jordan Mickey (16.1 ppg, 10.7 rpg) and Jarell Martin (17.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg) at forwards and Darcy Malone at center (1.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg).
The Gamecocks out rebounded Kentucky, 40-28, including an 18-3 margin on the offensive boards, but Carolina was only able to shoot 22.6 percent from the field in the game.
They are led by Duane Notice at 11.4 points per game with starters Sindarius Thornwell (11.2 ppg) and Tyrone Johnson (10.1 ppg) also in double figures.
“It is great to be back home with a chance against a very tough basketball team in South Carolina,” said LSU Coach Johnny Jones, 2-1 against the Gamecocks in his three years at LSU. “They’ve had a tough nonconference schedule which they have fared well in beating Oklahoma State, Clemson and Iowa State by great scores there. Then, the games they have played in conference if they have not had success, they’ve been close in some very challenging games, including Kentucky. We know they will be physical. We know they will be tough. They will play with a sense of urgency, and they certainly have a core group of veterans on that team with some experience under their belt. We certainly have to be up to the challenge. We are hopeful from our past week that we have continued to grow as a team. We are hopeful that it will be beneficial for us when we are able take the floor here on Wednesday night.”
LSU will travel to Starkville on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game with Mississippi State before returning home on Thursday, Feb. 5 for the first of three home games in six days as LSU faces Auburn, Alabama (Feb. 7) and Kentucky (Feb. 10).
Follow updates on LSU basketball and the Wednesday game at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and on Twitter @LSUBasketball. LSU Basketball information is on Instagram @LSUBasketball and on the LSU Basketball app on iPad.