LEXINGTON, Ky. – The LSU Tigers arrived here Friday still with a lot to play for including the possibility to tie for the Southeastern Conference championship when it faces the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena.
The Tigers are 11-6, its second consecutive SEC season with 11 league wins (18-12 overall), one game behind Texas A&M and Kentucky at 12-6. Vandy is tied with 11 at 11-6. Vandy plays at A&M at 11 a.m. before the LSU game tips at 1 p.m. CT. If Vandy and LSU both win, it is a four-way tie for the title and LSU would get the number one seed based on its record against the other tied teams.
South Carolina, which play at Arkansas in the late afternoon slot, could be involved in the final seeding for the top five spots in the league. A Vanderbilt loss to A&M would assure LSU of a top four seed and the double-bye to the quarterfinals. There are scenarios where LSU could be anything from a first to fifth seed in next week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville.
But back to the game at hand. LSU and Kentucky meet at Rupp Arena at 1 p.m. CT on CBS with Verne Lundquist and Jim Spanarkel on the call. Jim Hawthorne, who has broadcast 19 wins over the Wildcats, will call his final regular season basketball game of his career and will be joined by Ricky Blanton courtside and longtime host Kevin Ford back in network control in Baton Rouge.
Kentucky is 22-8 overall and ranked No. 22 in the AP poll and 19 in the coaches poll.
| SEC Standings/Seeds (thru 3/3) | |||
| Pos. | Team | SEC | Overall |
| 1. | Texas A&M | 12-5 | 23-7 |
| 2. | Kentucky | 12-5 | 22-8 |
| 3. | LSU | 11-6 | 18-12 |
| 4. | Vanderbilt | 11-6 | 19-11 |
| 5. | South Carolina | 10-7 | 23-7 |
| 6. | Ole Miss | 9-8 | 19-11 |
| 7. | Georgia | 9-8 | 16-14 |
| 8. | Arkansas | 9-8 | 16-14 |
| 9. | Alabama | 8-9 | 17-12 |
| 10. | Florida | 8-9 | 17-13 |
| 11 | Mississippi St. | 6-11 | 13-16 |
| 12. | Tennessee | 6-11 | 13-17 |
| 13. | Auburn | 5-12 | 11-18 |
| 14. | Missouri * | 3-14 | 10-20 |
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* ineligible for postseason play |
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All times Central Sat., March 5 Ole Miss at Tennessee, 11 a.m. (SEC Network) SEC Tournament Schedule | Home Nashville, Tenn. Wed., March 9 |
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The Tigers won the early meeting of the two teams, 85-67, on Jan. 5 in Baton Rouge. Tim Quarterman had the game for LSU, flirting with a triple double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Craig Victor II had 15 points and 12 rebounds while Ben Simmons hit all five field goal attempts and had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Tyler Ulis led Kentucky with 23 points and six assists, while Jamel Murray had 21 points. LSU shot 51 percent from the field and had a 46-32 rebounds advantage.
Kentucky comes in after a win at Florida on Tuesday and the Wildcats are the only unbeaten team at home remaining in the SEC at 8-0.
Last year, LSU in the finale went to ranked Arkansas and Keith Hornsby hit a three at the buzzer to win the game. In that game, the Tigers played without star Jordan Mickey. Now LSU goes to Kentucky without Hornsby, who remains out with the complications from his earlier injury that required internal surgery in November.
Follow updates on the game at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and @LSUBasketball on Twitter.
Coach Johnny Jones met with the media and here are some of his comments:
Opening Statement…
“After coming off of what we considered a successful game on Tuesday, we had an opportunity to be off yesterday and look forward to getting back to work in preparation for what we consider a very tough game to end our regular season at one of the tougher places to play in college basketball at Rupp Arena. We look forward to a great challenge against a very tough, talented basketball team. As always, we look forward to the great challenges that we think it will present for our basketball team. We are hopeful that we can continue to show growth and look forward to getting back out on the road.”
On LSU’s first game against Kentucky in the Maravich Center…
“We did a good job of rebounding the basketball. That was one thing. We defended well early. Unfortunately, we were playing without Ben (Simmons) most of the first half in that game because of foul trouble. Aaron Epps came in and gave us some quality minutes in that game as well. We had a good second half. Then, we were able to finish the game strong. That was important for us. It was a balanced game. They made some big plays and cut the lead to four late, and we were able to stretch it back out late.”
On playing at Rupp Arena…
“It’s going to be noisy. It’s a huge arena with a lot of history and a lot of tradition to it. We’ve been in some loud arenas this year. Arkansas and South Carolina have had tremendous crowds there. Alabama had a tremendous crowd. Playing in the SEC, we have been fortunate enough to play in front of some raucous crowds. This will be another one on Saturday. Like we always do, we have to make sure that we play between those lines and make sure those guys are focused and pay attention to detail in another great opportunity for us.”
On the focus of the team at Kentucky…
“Being 8-1 (in conference play) at home helps. We’ve had some really good games here. At Alabama in front of a great crowd, we played well. At South Carolina, we played well most of the game. Toward the end, they were better, executed and made plays against us. Against Tennessee, we played well for a little bit in that game. I guess we were in doubt playing without Keith (Hornsby) in the second half. It certainly didn’t help us. In the Arkansas game, they had a good crowd. They’re a good basketball team. We were in that one for 34, 35 minutes in that game and didn’t get to finish them off. When you’re playing a team like Kentucky, you’re going to have to play 40 minutes and play extremely well in that type of atmosphere, environment to have success. They’re undefeated with a (long) win streak going there. Obviously, they are comfortable at home. It’s been tough. They’ve been in some tough games. They finish well, but they certainly play well at home. Our guys have to understand that going into the game how well they play at home. Don’t take what transpired here. It’s going to have to be different, and we are going to have to be better than we were when we beat them here.”
On the opportunities the team has at Kentucky…
“It’s our last game. It’s another tremendous opportunity for us in growing. We talk about chapters and how we want them to be written. Who are you playing? Could you ask for a better stage for us? Knowing where we were in the beginning of the year and knowing that we are going into our last regular season game only a game out of first place and we have an opportunity to win or tie for a championship. That’s huge. That’s what it’s all about. To be in that position right now is exciting for our guys. They’re chomping at the bit in the position that they are in. The only focus for them is to make sure that we go into the situation playing well, remaining focused and understanding that it’s obviously a great opportunity. We have to take advantage of it.”
On the similarities to last season against Arkansas…
“It’s a similar situation because we were without one of our key players. It was a great opportunity for us, and it was a great way to end the season. Last year, we lost the game prior going on the road. It was a little bit different. I’m hopeful that our guys are in an even better mindset this time around because we are on a two-game win streak going into this game. Mentally, we are in a much better place than when we went to Arkansas a year ago without Jordan Mickey to be able to pull off a big game there.”
On having Jalyn Patterson in the lineup and the comfort of the starting five…
“They’re playing better. The Florida game was a very difficult and tough game against a talented team. They pushed us. I thought we played well throughout that game. Florida made a run. For the most part, we did all of the necessary things good teams do to win against a scrappy, tough Missouri basketball team. We got off to a great start and played extremely well. We maybe lost a little bit of our focus there in the second half, playing a team that was scrappy and playing hard and that was capable to knock down some shots. Our guys settled in as the game progressed and were able to finish it off there at the end, making shots, executing and knocking down foul shots. Regardless of how long the season lasts, Keith Hornsby‘s absence for us right now will always be a presence for us because you talk about the rotation, minutes played, what he was able to do on the offensive end of the floor, what he was able to bring to the team in terms of his leadership abilities on the floor, how hard he played. All of those things are key. Those are things you can’t substitute. There’s nobody really to really step in and replace what he’s capable of doing. The scoring part, we have to try and get it figured out as a team. His hustle and all of the other variables that he would bring along for our team, that’s hard to replace.”
On his recollections of playing in Rupp Arena…
“Rupp Arena has always been a special place for basketball and for a team with the success that Kentucky’s had over the years. Having a chance to go in and play and compete at the highest level against one of the top teams in the country—generally, they are always ranked in the top-10—it’s always a festive atmosphere in there. It’s always exciting. If you have the right type of guys on your team, you look forward to those challenges in those venues. We are hopeful that this team will be like teams in the past and look forward to the challenges to play there.”
On drawing from the first game against Kentucky this season…
“It’s great that our guys are capable. They were ranked No. 9 in the country at that time, an extremely talented team. We just have to make sure that we are able to pull from that. We had success against them … It will be a different game. It’s on the road. It’s at their place. They are a better basketball team than what we played on that date. They’ve played extremely well down the stretch. We are hopeful that we are a better basketball team than we were when we played on that night, as well. Both teams have had growth. We will be playing without Hornsby, who obviously played in that game. It will be exciting for us.”