COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The LSU Tigers look for another road win for its resume’ when it begins a two-game week on the road starting here Tuesday night when the Tigers play nationally-ranked Texas A&M at Reed Arena.
LSU is 11-6 and 4-1 in in solo second in the SEC, one half game ahead of South Carolina, while A&M is ranked eighth in the USA Today poll and is 15-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the league.
The game will tip off at 8 p.m. on Super Tuesday on ESPN with Brad Nessler, Sean Farnham and Shannon Spake on the broadcast. Jim Hawthorne will make his final trip to College Station as the Voice of the Tigers with Ricky Blanton and studio host Kevin Ford on the call for the LSU Sports Radio Network (Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge).
LSU comes into the contest off two wins last week – 90-81 versus Ole Miss and the 76-74 win over Arkansas on Saturday. LSU had to rally from down at the half in both contests at the Maravich Assembly Center.
Saturday, the Tigers one over the Razorbacks on a put back by Craig Victor II after a missed three-point attempt. Victor grabbed the rebound and put the back in for LSU’s final points with 4.2 seconds to play. Victor had his second double double of the 10 games he has played at LSU since transferring to LSU with 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Razorbacks.
LSU freshman Antonio Blakeney was back in double figures coming off the bench to get 10 points and senior Josh Gray, starting his second straight game, played 30 minutes and had 15 points and three assists.
Freshman Ben Simmons was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season and his week was topped statistically by his 13th double double against Arkansas with 16 points and 18 rebounds as he recorded his fifth game of at least 15 points and 15 rebounds.
The Aggies have won eight straight contests and three of their five league wins have come on the road – at Mississippi State, Tennessee and Georgia. Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum, the Aggies built a 38-23 advantage and easily won, 79-45. No player played more than 28 minutes in the contest and Jalen Jones, Alex Caruso and Danuel House each scored 12 points with Jones getting 12 rebounds.
Jones leads A&M with a 17.2 scoring average (7.0 rebounds), while House averages 15.9 points and 4.8 rebounds and Tyler Davis comes in at 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds a contest. Alex Caruso averaging 7.9 points a game but has 87 assists and just 34 turnovers with 38 steals.
The Tigers will also be on the road on Saturday at Alabama (1 p.m. ESPNU, LSU Sports Radio Network). The next two home games are Jan. 26 against Georgia and the Jan. 30 SEC/Big 12 Challenge game against top-ranked Oklahoma. Tickets for the Oklahoma game are limited and tickets for both games are available at the LSU Athletics Ticket Office and LSUtix.net.
Follow updates on LSU Basketball and Tuesday’s game at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and on Twitter @LSUBasketball.
Coach Johnny Jones met with the media prior to the team’s departure for the contest and here are some of his comments:
Opening Statement…
“After coming off of a really good win for us Saturday against a very tough Arkansas basketball team, we are excited about the coming week. We are starting off with a great challenge with Texas A&M who is playing not only as well as anyone in our conference but is one of the top teams in the country. They are sitting with an eight-game win streak, 5-0 in conference play and probably have as balanced of a basketball team and experience as anyone. It will be a great challenge for us and one we are certainly looking forward to on Tuesday, rightfully so. They finished the season last year very strong and have gotten off to a great start. That shows what a great deal of experience has done, and Coach Kennedy’s done a great job with his program.”
On defending Texas A&M…
“They have a great, balanced scoring attack. They’re really tough to defend because in all areas they can score from their post guy inside who’s certainly really strong and Jalen Jones is able to go in there, Danuel House is capable of stretching you defensively, Alex Caruso is a great passer and can break you down off the bounce; Anthony Collins as well is a really quick, fast point guard who sets the table for those guys. They play as a really balanced team. (Admon) Gilder comes off and makes great shots out there for them. When you’re talking about a team who can attack you from a lot of different ways and what they do on the offensive end with the patience that they show and display, in terms of getting the shots that they want and shooting about 47-48 percent from the field, they’re a tough team.”
On A&M’s experience and length…
“Not only do they have four seniors and guys who are quality players, a couple of guys transferring in there, it’s the way that they are playing and they were playing last year as well. They have great length, size and strength. Big Tyler Davis who is just a freshman does a great job in there in the paint. He’s certainly a load in there. When you talk about guys 6-foot-7, 6-foot-8, in Jalen Jones and Danuel House, then you look at Alex Caruso who has great size for a guard, great length, not only on the offensive end of the floor, but they’re in tune in what they are doing on the defensive end of the floor as well. They’ve been a tough team to score against, especially in the paint area. They are really good in helping each other and getting in the gaps against you defensively.”
On improving game play on the road…
“I think we’ve improved from game to game. Anytime you go out on the road, it’s always a challenge for you. We are certainly going to have to put forth a much better effort for 40 minutes or however long it takes. Our last time out, which was at Florida and Florida’s a good basketball team, they’ve shown that, with as close as the game was with a minute or so to go, we are going to have to be more fine-tuned than we were even in that game. We are hopeful that we’ve made some positive strides and growth from the last time we were out there.”
On last year’s games against Texas A&M…
“They wound up making plays down the stretch. At home, we took some ill-advised shots. That was something we were able to learn from and play better afterward. In the game here, we had a nice lead, but we gave them an opportunity to get back in the game. There, I thought they did the things that were necessary to make big plays down the stretch. We missed some opportunities that we had to score, but they made good on theirs. Good teams do, and they played that way at home. It was two closely contested games against a very good team. We are hopeful and think it will be that type of battle again tomorrow.”
On Josh Gray and Jalyn Patterson in the starting lineup…
“Both guys, Josh Gray is one who has waited and played extremely hard and waited for an opportunity to be in that role and be in that capacity. He’s done a really good job offensively in running this team. You talk about a guy who is known for scoring, and he’s done a great job of sharing the basketball and getting the ball to other people on his team. On the defensive end, he’s done a great job of pressuring the basketball and making the opponent uncomfortable out there on the floor with the energy that he’s provided. Jalyn Patterson, after his injury, has picked up where he left off last year as a starter for us at the end of the year. He hits open shots. Defensively, he puts himself in a really good position to make people play up over the top of him. He’s able to break down opponents’ defense as well. He’s capable of driving, getting to the basket. He has a balanced game. Both of those guys have really brought a lot of positives to us. I can say this: their games haven’t changed from their roles. They’ve impacted the game in the same way. Josh was doing a great job coming off of the bench. Jalyn was as well. They’re impacting the game in the same way in the starting capacity that they are in right now.”
On Josh Gray‘s decision-making…
“Josh’s decision-making has been good for him. He’s really settled in and has become a better point guard, playing a better role for us. He’s been notorious of feeling like he’s going too fast, being out of control, putting himself in difficult positions. I think he’s tempered his game down a little bit to make the necessary adjustments. It’s been beneficial for the team. Not that he will forever go without making turnovers, but we are hopeful that the strides he’s taking and the mentality that he is playing with that he will continue to grow.”