ORLANDO, Florida – The No. 19-ranked LSU basketball team left Baton Rouge early Tuesday evening to participate in the 2018 AdvoCare Invitational here at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World.
LSU will play in Thursday’s third quarterfinal matchup against Charleston at 7 p.m. EST (6 p.m. Baton Rouge time) in a game televised by ESPN. LSU is a perfect 4-0 for the first time since the 2012-13 season, while Charleston is 3-1 on the season.
The game, from the HP Field House, will be televised on ESPNU, and broadcast at www.LSUsports.net/live and on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (Note: due to the Saints’ broadcast on 98.1 FM, LSU basketball on Thanksgiving will be on 100.7 FM The Tiger, WTGE, in Baton Rouge).
LSU has scored wins over Southeastern Louisiana (94-63), UNCG (97-91), Memphis (85-76) and Louisiana Tech (74-67) but Coach Will Wade has been glad for a little extra preparation time to be able to correct his own team’s tendencies and defensive issues in transition before worrying about a difficult first round opponent in Charleston.
The Tigers practiced for a couple of hours on Tuesday in Baton Rouge before boarding a charter flight to Orlando where they will work out late afternoon Wednesday as each team gets 55 minutes in the tournament venue and another 55 minutes in the Visa Athletic Center nearby.
The teams then attend a welcome Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday at the Disney Contemporary Resort before locking in to game action on Thursday.
Freshman Naz Reid, who has been battling a minor ankle injury in games last week, leads the team with a scoring average of 15.3 points per game and 5.3 rebounds a game. Also averaging in double figures is LSU’s three-point guards with freshman Ja’vonte Smart and sophomore Tremont Waters at 13.0 points each. Smart is averaging 2.0 assists per contest while Waters is at 6.2 assists. Junior Skylar Mays is at 12.8 points and 1.5 assists.
Freshman Emmitt Williams leads the team in rebounds at 8.0 a game (4.0 offensive) and is just under double digits scoring at 9.8 a contest. Senior transfer Kavell Bigby-Williams has been good as of late and is averaging 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds with 2.2 blocks a game. In the last two wins against Memphis and Louisiana Tech, KBW has scored 19 points with 10 boards on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor.
LSU, which was ranked No. 23 in the preseason poll and moved up to 22 in the AP poll after its first two victories, moved up three more spots after its last two victories. After being unranked in the preseason coaches’ poll, the Tigers broke back into that poll at No. 21. The 19 ranking in the AP poll is the highest since LSU was ranked No. 12 in the 16th poll of the 2008-09 season and marks its 201st time to be ranked in the history of the poll.
The Tigers are 50.6 percent overall from the field (some 60 percent from inside the arc), but LSU has struggled with the three-ball, making just 29.8 percent (25-of-84). LSU’s first four opponents are shooting 44.4 percent overall but making 47-of-114 or 41.2 percent from the arc. LSU has been outstanding in three-of-the-four contests at the free throw line making 77.3 percent (75-of-97).
LSU has out rebounded three opponents this year and is averaging 38.0 rebounds per game and twice has had less than 10 turnovers against Southeastern (9) and Louisiana Tech (7).
Charleston has wins over Presbyterian College (85-73) at home, a road win at Western Carolina (77-74) and a home win over Rhode Island (66-55). The Cougars in their last game lost at Oklahoma State, which is also in the AdvoCare event, 70-58, on Sunday. Jarrell Brantley was the only player in double figures with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting with two treys. Leading average scorer for Charleston, Grant Riller, was held to seven, making just 2-of-14 field goals.
Charleston shot 38.3 percent for the game (23-of-60) with 5-of-26 from the arc.
Riller leads the College of Charleston with a 19.0 points per game average with 15 assists and 15 rebounds. Brantley comes in at 18.5 points per game and 9.0 rebounds a contest. Brevin Galloway is also in double figures at 10.8 a game. As a team Charleston shoots at a 44 percent clip and 23.9 from the arc (21-of-88).
The complete schedule on opening day Thursday at the HP Field House finds defending national champion Villanova (2-2) versus Canisius (1-2) at 1:30 p.m. EST (ESPN2) followed by Oklahoma State (2-1) vs. Memphis (2-1) at 3:30 p.m. EST (ESPN2). The night session at 7 p.m. EST (6 p.m. CT in Baton Rouge) begins with the LSU-Charleston game and follows with UAB (3-0) against Florida State (3-0) at 9:30 p.m. EST on ESPNU.
LSU will play either UAB or Florida State on Friday with an LSU win putting the Tigers in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. CT in Baton Rouge) on either ESPN2 or ESPNU with an LSU loss to Charleston putting the Tigers in the consolation round at either 6:30 or 7 p.m. ET (5:30 or 6 p.m. BR time) on ESPNU or ESPN3. There are no tournament games on Saturday but action will resume on Sunday for the final day of the tournament.
Follow updates on all the action of the tournament on Twitter @LSUBasketball or Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball. The tournament Twitter site for updates is @AdvoCareInv.
Coach Wade met with the media on Monday prior to the team’s practice that day and discussed his team and the upcoming AdvoCare Invitational. Here are some of his comments:
Opening statement (November 19) …
“Big opportunity for us this week. Charleston is a very good ball club. Won the CAA, pushed Auburn in the NCAA Tournament last year. Two phenomenal players are Grant Riller and Jarrell Brantley. Most of their stuff runs through them, they have some other pieces, some good looking freshmen. It will be a big challenge for us, especially as we move away from home. We have played all of the games at home so far, so it will be a bigger challenge as we move into a neutral environment. We have a lot of work to do this week to get ready and improve in some areas we need to address and have not had time to address going into the game.”
On establishing a road routine…
“We are going to keep them off their feet a little bit more on the road and keep them fresher. We changed some of the timing on some things, so maybe a little less basketball on the floor and a little bit more mental stuff, trying to lock them in.”
On the value of early-season away tournaments…
“I think it is good preparation for the SEC Tournament and good preparation for hopefully the NCAA Tournament to play so many games and to play back-to-back days, Thursday and Friday. I think it is good preparation for where we hope to go against really good competition, against teams that can play in those type of events.”
On how to defend and shoot the three better…
“… They both kind of go hand-in-hand in my opinion … we are going to address that (Monday) in film. We are going to reign in some of our shooting right now because we are a good shooting team, we should not be shooting 29 percent from the three. A lot of our shots, we miss them so bad, they pop off the rim and it is like an outlet pass to the other team. So, we have to get that shored up, we are taking too many off the bounce, we are taking too many second thought threes. We are missing some open ones. We missed five or six open ones and we have to take better shots and have the right guys taking those shots. If we take better shots, we will be able to defend. When we get in the half court, teams aren’t torching us, a lot of it is in transition. Guarding number 10 (Anthony Duruji) from Louisiana Tech, what a great player he is. He runs to the corner in transition which throws your transition defense off and you have to send one of your bigs to the corner with him. We can do that in a set situation, but when we are taking bad shots, but when the ball is past the three-point line, it is hard.”
On players shooting quick threes…
“We try to go for kill shots. We try to hit grand slams all the time instead of just putting the ball in play. Put the ball in play and let the other people mess up. We don’t do that enough. We are swinging for the fences all the time and especially, another area where we have been poor in my opinion is the beginning of second halves. We have had leads, we have been poor because we have come out and jacked a bunch of threes and given up a bunch of open threes, so that is going to be addressed as well.”
On being out-rebounded by Louisiana Tech…
“If we don’t touch bodies, hit first better than we did on Friday night (11/16), we are going to get annihilated on the glass Thursday by Charleston. They have big, physical bigs and they have some athletic wings that fly in there. We have to get that corrected, we have a list of things that we have to get better at.”
On having two rim protectors on the team…
“I think Kavell has been huge for us. Not only can he protect the rim, you can switch late in the game with him at the five and he can guard the point guard and keep them out and force them to shoot a contested shot. He switched twice on their flare out and was able to run (10 from Louisiana Tech last Friday) out of the three-point line and force some tough shots. It’s not just the shots he blocks, it the shots he effects and how hard he plays. He is the elite shot blocker and that really helps our defense. We were top ten in the country in block percentage, which is good. It saved us in some instances.”
On scouting other teams in a tournament format…
“The hardest game to win is always the first game and whatever tournament setting you are in, the hardest game to win is always the first. We are going to put everything we have into the first one and then I have the assistants split on the other two. One has UAB, one has Florida State and then the one who does not get that one will get the third most likely. It is an all hands on deck approach. Everybody works at it once we figure out how the bracket goes, it is going to take everything we have to beat Charleston this week. We are putting all our time these next three days into beating Charleston.”
On if the players understand sustained success…
“No, we have to get better at that. I think if we go to Orlando and play like we have been playing, it is not going to be a good trip. If we do not play better than we have been playing, being at home has covered up some things, but if we do not play at a higher level than what we have been, it is going to be lights out here pretty quick. We have to get better, I have to continue to try to get through to the guys about how important everything is, how important every detail is. We have to really improve this week.”
On improvements needed for the team to reach the next level…
“Our offensive movement would be one, the ball sticks too much, we take too many deep threes that are bad threes; we take too many threes off the bounce, so that would help our transition defense if we could get that corrected. Our physicality, I think we need to be more physical on both ends. We miss all sorts of shots around the rim, we got shots blocked around the rim. We don’t step to the ball or create angles to finish around the rim, so we have to get better at finishing around the rim and punishing people on the defensive glass. Three point defense has to get better, we have to get better coming out at the second halves. We have to get better when the lead gets to eight to ten that we are able to extend that to 15 or 16 as opposed to two. There is plenty of room for improvement.”
On if Darius Days and Emmitt Williams will face more pressure by playing close to home in Florida…
“…We have to keep it from being a distraction. I am more worried about it being a distraction with family and friends and everybody there. It will be good for them to be there for all their family and friends to see them, but they have to focus in and lock in on what we have to do. We have a huge task ahead of us. This is a business trip, we are not going to go to Disney World and all that stuff. We have work to do and we have a job ahead of us. We have to try and win these games. That is the most important part of this trip and we will deal with the other part. We have to lock in and be focused on what we are doing, so I am very concerned about that.”
On how Skylar Mays, Tremont Waters and Ja’vonte Smart (in 3-point guard system) have meshed…
“I think they’re playing well. I’ve been really pleased with Ja’vonte. He plays so much older than he is. He’s got a great poise about him, a great calm about him. That shot that he hit (against Louisiana Tech), just being able to play in critical moments, you never know how a freshman is going to be. Ja’vonte has been very, very good for us. I feel good about those guys. We’ve got to continue to move forward and get better and get even more comfortable. I’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got to get our rotation better with the guards. I like our rotation with the bigs, but with the guards we have some bad rotations. I’ve got to get our rotations better. We might experiment with an NBA-type rotation. I’ve got to rest Tremont a little more. I’ve got to force myself to rest him or he’s going to wear down, even as good of shape that he’s in. We might try more of an NBA type rotation where we have planned times, no matter what, that we do that because it will force me to rest him. I get real jittery when he’s not out there. Especially when the other team’s pressing and he’s not out there, sometimes you feel like you’re sea sick. I’ve got to do a better job of resting him and making sure when he’s out that we have Ja’vonte and Skylar in together. Too often I have one of those guys in with Daryl and Marlon which is putting a lot of pressure on the one ball handler. We’ve looked into that and I have three different options that I’m weighing, but we’ll come up with something before Thursday. I like how Skylar, Tremont and Ja’vonte play together. Now I have to figure out who to play with them when they’re out.”
On how many games it takes to truly figure out what you have as a team…
“I think we’ll have a pretty good idea after this tournament. I think you’ve got to play away from home. We’re just holding serve here at home. You should win at home. Our crowds have been great. You should win at home. These are good teams we’re beating. We’ve got some really tough home games coming up with teams that are still picked to win their league with Grambling, Incarnate Word is off to a 4-2 start. We all know what Furman is doing. (ULM) has played well. We have some tough home games here coming up, but once you go away and handle a little adversity away from home, then you’ll know what you have.”
On being prepared to play every team in the tournament and preparing for different teams…
“We’ve got to plan for that. We have a way that we go about doing that. Usually everything we do is a two-day prep, but we have a way to condense that. I’m really excited about (Monday) because we can work on ourselves. We don’t have to work on Charleston (Monday). We can work on Charleston (Tuesday), Wednesday and play Thursday. We’ll condense that two-day prep to a one-day prep (for Friday’s game). We’ll have stuff ready for UAB and Florida State. Immediately after the game, whoever we play, we’ll be ready to go back to the hotel and watch film with our guys and we’ll start the next day.”
On how the new guys will handle tournament play…
“I’m worried. It’s going to be a new transition for them from hey we just played a game. Either you played great or you played poorly, but we have to turn around and do it again in less than 24 hours. We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We don’t have time to pat ourselves on the back, whatever the case may be. We have to turn around and do it again. We’ve got to see if we’ve grown because last year in Maui we won that Michigan game, but we weren’t near as sharp against Notre Dame and didn’t give ourselves as good a chance against Marquette. That was a game we could have won. We have to be able to turn the page a lot quicker and not have that slippage. That’s going to be a big part for our team growing up.”