ORLANDO, Florida – The No. 19-ranked LSU Tiger basketball team had their final on-court prep late Wednesday afternoon for Thursday’s opening round of the 2018 AdvoCare Invitational against the College of Charleston.
The game is set for 7 p.m. EST (6 p.m. BR time) at the HP Field House at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World. The game will be telecast on ESPNU with Mike Morgan and Tim Welsh on the television call while Patrick Wright and former LSU head coach John Brady will have the call on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (the game will be available on 100.7 FM The Tiger in Baton Rouge because of conflict with the later kickoff of the New Orleans Saints).
LSU is 4-0 with Charleston at 3-1 and the Tigers will expose away from home its highest national ranking late in the 2009 season. But Coach Wade knows his young team, ranked in the 300s of 353 D1 teams by Kenpom.com based on experience, will need to be at its best in the first time playing in an unfamiliar environment.
“I think if we go to Orlando and play like we have been playing, it is not going to be a good trip,” LSU Coach Will Wade said earlier this week. “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.”
LSU is making its second appearance in the event in Orlando, winning two games and finishing third in what was then the Old Spice Classic in 2013. LSU is actually 2-0 in the only two times it has played on Thanksgiving Day, having won in Orlando in 2013 and at the Battle 4 Atlantis in a second-day game in 2016.
Coach Wade wants to improve and learn from what happened a year ago when LSU rallied from nine down in the final minutes to beat Michigan, only to lose the next two days to Notre Dame and Marquette.
LSU will be looking to improve his three-point shooting, primarily its selection of shots that have led to runout transition buckets by the other team. LSU is shooting under 30 percent from the arc, but 60 percent when its gets the ball inside for a two-point shot.
The Tigers on Thursday practiced for 55 minutes at the Field House where the games will be played and another 55 minutes at the Visa Athletic Center. Most of the time at the Field House was getting shots up at the game site allowing players to get used to the setting and to work on plays trying to correct some of the three-point areas and transition that Coach Wade discussed with the media on Monday.
The primary focus of the second session was to work on the Charleston scouting report and to the type of things they will see on Thursday.
Playing in events like this give coaches and staff, along with players an opportunity to see what works and doesn’t work when playing back-to-back games like might be played in a conference tournament or a Friday-Sunday setup like an NCAA Tournament.
“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,” LSU’s second-year coach said.
LSU will play either UAB or Florida State in the second round on Friday with the championship semifinal set for 4:30 p.m. EST (3:30 p.m. CST) and the consolation game at 6:30 p.m. EST (5:30 p.m. CST).
Thursday night the teams left their headquarters at the Gaylord Palms to head to Disney World and the Contemporary Resort for a welcome reception and Thanksgiving dinner that featured entertainment from the Disney family. After that the teams returned to the host hotel and for LSU staff and players, another film session to prepare for the Thanksgiving night contest.
Follow updates on LSU basketball during the game Thursday on Twitter @LSUBasketball and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball.