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Men's Basketball Set for Matchup with MarquetteMen's Basketball Set for Matchup with Marquette

Men's Basketball Set for Matchup with Marquette

Men’s Basketball Set for Matchup with Marquette

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked LSU men’s basketball team hopes to extend its season-opening win streak, this time on a neutral court, when the Tigers take on Marquette at the Barclays Center here Monday night in first semifinal of the Legends Classic.

The Tigers and Golden Eagles are set to tip at 6 p.m. CT in a game to be televised by ESPN2 with Mark Jones and Kara Lawson on the call for the network. Patrick Wright, in for Jim Hawthorne, and Ricky Blanton will have the call on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network with Kevin Ford serving as the studio host.

Affiliates expected to carry the game include Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge and KSYL-AM in Alexandria, WBOX-FM in Bogalusa, KFNV-FM in Ferriday, KJIN-AM in Houma, KJNA-FM in Jena, KLWB-FM in Lafayette/Opelousas, KXZZ-AM in Lake Charles, KJAE-FM, Leesville, KMLB-AM, Monroe, KFRA-AM, Morgan City, WWL-AM in New Orleans, KRUS-AM in Ruston, KWKH-AM in Shreveport, KTJZ-FM Tallulah, WFCG-FM in Tylertown, Mississippi and KVPI-AM in Ville Platte.

LSU will also play on Tuesday night at either 4:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. CT depending on whether LSU is in the consolation or championship game and will face either NC State or Arizona State.

The Tigers practiced late in the afternoon at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, going over for a second day the scouting report on Marquette. Elbert Robinson III, who injured his ankle in the win over South Alabama on Thursday, is now listed as probable by Coach Jones after going through the practice at the school gymnasium.

The Tigers are 3-0 on the year and depending on the polls coming out Monday, will go into the game ranked 19th in the coaches poll and 23rd in the media poll. Marquette is 1-2 after losing to Belmont, defeating IUPUI and then losing to Iowa, all at home.

The Tigers are in the New York City area for the first time since the pre-season NIT semifinals and finals in 2009 and have a record of 4-6 in the City dating back to the first time LSU came to New York in 1946 when LSU faced Saint Francis of Pennsylvania.

Ironically, the first time Marquette and LSU first met was in the 1970 NIT semifinals at the Garden when Al McGuire’s team defeated Pete Maravich and the Tigers. The teams last met in 2011 and 2012 in a home-and-home series when the teams each won on their home courts. Marquette has a 2-1 lead in the series.

The Tigers have wins over McNeese (81-70), Kennesaw State (91-69) and South Alabama (78-66) at the Maravich Center. In Thursday’s games, Antonio Blakeney continued his good shooting with a 22-point effort, while Ben Simmons had a rare double up of 23 points and 16 rebounds. Simmons became the first SEC freshman to have a 20-15 game since Julius Randle of Kentucky in 2013-14.

If Robinson cannot go on Monday, LSU has several options among them speedy, lanky forward Aaron Epps (sophomore, Ball, Louisiana), 7-0 center Darcy Malone (junior, Australia) or wide-body junior Brian Bridgewater.

One of those would join the lineup that started the first three games – Brandon Sampson, Antonio Blakeney and Tim Quarterman at guards and Ben Simmons at his forward position. Blakeney leads the team in scoring at 19.3 points per game. Simmons is averaging 18.7 points per game and 12.7 rebounds per game.

Marquette freshman Henry Ellenson leads the Golden Eagles in scoring at 14.0 points per game, while Duane Wilson averaged 13.3 points and Luke Fischer 12.3 points a contest for second-year head coach and former Duke player and assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski.

Friday, Coach Johnny Jones of LSU met with the media prior to the team’s departure and here were some of his comments:

COACH JOHNNY JONES OPENING STATEMENT:

“After (Thursday’s) game and having the chance to review it, I’m certainly pleased with a lot of things. One, we had another great crowd on hand. (They) did a great job of giving us energy and providing us with the lift we needed when we needed to make a run or stop runs made by our opponent. Saw a lot of positive things with our team. I thought they did a tremendous job of executing on both halves down the stretch taking a lead and there in the second half when South Alabama tried to make their runs. I thought our guys did a tremendous job of settling in and executing on the offensive end making plays, spreading the floor and defensively getting the necessary stops we needed … Looking forward to a great challenge up in New York. Getting started with Marquette, a team that has the size, the strength and the quickness to deal with the guys that we have. It is probably one of the toughest matchups we have this early in the season. A team from another power conference and we certainly look forward to the challenge and get started in this tournament on Monday.”

Marquette strengths and differences from LSU
“They’ve got a center that is maybe considered a lottery pick, freshman, that can put the ball on the deck, has great size and strength, great in the post area that will create some problems for us as well. That’s a tough matchup. They actually have two post guys that will present some challenges as to how we will defend them. At the same time, we feel that with our guard play, with the post guys we have and depending on if Elbert Robinson is back and whether he will be able to provide us with anything on Monday or not remains to be seen. We’re not sure what kind of lineup we will have and we may have to do some things to offset their post guys who are extremely tough.”

Elbert Robinson III Status after injured ankle.
“Right now we don’t think he will be available to practice on Saturday. We will probably continue to heal and see if we can get him ready for Sunday. If he can practice on Sunday afternoon when we arrive in New York we will know if he is available for Monday. We want to make sure that he gets the proper rest … It’s tough for us. He was certainly coming on and impacting the game. We know we will get him back but we would love to have him with the caliber of competition we will face.”

Who will step in for Elbert if he can’t play …?
“It’s going to have to be by committee depending on how we are going to play. We have Aaron Epps who will be that guy who can play quicker, faster, up the floor, stretch the defense and play more on the perimeter at 6-9 or Darcy Malone at seven foot. Make sure he can get in and man the paint for us. Certainly Bridgewater who has been there for us. So, we are going to have to look at by committee for the guys that are available for us.”

Defensive versatility
“As a team we will have to play a little differently because we won’t be as big in the post area (without Elbert) and if people are taking advantage of us in the post we will have to give them some different looks that will balance that out. I think when we downsize like that, we are able to be quicker on the floor, we may be able to extend our defense, create some pressure for them and make them have to spread the floor and play a little bit faster than they would like.”

Simmons and Blakeney’s Night Against South Alabama
“I thought the two freshman did an excellent job of stepping up and making plays when South Alabama was trying to make their run late in the game. I thought Blakeney got going and knocked down a couple of huge jumpers especially on the heels of some big shots they made. But at the same time I thought our team did a great job of settling in and sharing the basketball and making sure they got the ball to the hot hand. They didn’t just go down and settle. I thought Ben did a good job of getting to the rim. He didn’t settle outside. He was fouled and got to the free throw line. So I thought they made the proper plays down the stretch that we needed.”

Going to NY, national exposure
“Well I think LSU is a tremendous brand and it’s a great opportunity to go to New York and play in that type of venue this early part of the season … I think they have done a tremendous job with this tournament over the years. We are excited to be playing in it and having some quality competition. We will get tested. We will find out some things we are doing well and areas we need to continue to improve. It’s going to be at a high level … “