Fresh off of an emphatic beating of Kansas State on the road last week, LSU welcomes Charleston Southern to the Maravich Center Tuesday night.
It’s been a rough start for the Buccaneers.
Charleston Southern has lost all four of its games against Division I competition by an average of 18 points per game. None of the four losses were by less than 10. Clemson hammered the Buccaneers by 27 in the opener. Texas-Rio Grande Valley and Virginia Military Academy each bested Charleston Southern in White Sulpher Springs, W.V., over the weekend.
The team’s only win came back on November 11 against NAIA foe Morris College.
Last season was a transition year for Charleston Southern as longtime head coach Barclay Radebaugh abruptly resigned just seven games in. Assistant coach Saah Nimley took over in the interim and coached the team through what become a 10-20 season. In March, the interim tag was removed, so Nimley is in his first as full time head coach of the program.
The Buccaneers shot it poorly in White Sulpher Springs, just 25 percent from three and 53 percent from the free throw line. That, coupled with 38 turnovers in two games, makes life tough on the offensive end.
Defensively, things haven’t been much better. Clemson scored 91 back on November 4. Texas-Rio Grande Valley put up 86, and VMI followed with 80.
Currently, Charleston Southern ranks No. 313 in defensive efficiency and No. 299 in offensive efficiency.
Tuesday night’s game is about LSU taking care of LSU, not the matchup with the opponent.
Protect the Ball
LSU is turning the ball over too frequently. Through three games, LSU has 43 giveaways. The 16 on the road at Kansas State is more than you want, and 15 against Alabama State is just careless. When you project to be as pesky as LSU looks to be defensively, you don’t want to give teams the ability to get out on run off a turnover in the open floor.
A charge here or there isn’t the worst thing. Sometimes a wing might get sped up and travel. Those aren’t the killers. It’s having balls tipped in passing lanes and allowing steals on the perimeter that LSU really needs to avoid.
Daylen Berry from Charleston Southern has 14 steals on the season. The Tigers need to keep the turnover number close to 10.
Cam Needs Company
Right now, Cam Carter is lighting it up from three-point range. He’s 11-for-19 for 58 percent. The problem is, no one else is shooting it great from deep. Jordan Sears is 5-of-15 which isn’t awful. The other guards need to find their stroke tonight before some big games this weekend.
Curtis Givens has missed his last three since a nice opening night from downtown. Mike Williams is a really good shooter, and he’s just 2-for-10. Robert Miller continues to shoot even though he’s 0-for-7. Vyctorius Miller made a big shot late at Kansas State, but he’s just 3-of-10.
LSU lit it up from deep in the exhibition win over Loyola. Tuesday night would be another good night to develop some confidence.
Sub-60
Solid defensive outings against ULM and Alabama State aren’t going to steal headlines. Holding Kansas State to 65 points on 38 percent shooting and 24 percent from behind the arc does. LSU looks locked in on defense, and that needs to continue.
The Tigers lead the nation in three-point defense by a mile. The gap between No .1 LSU (16.4%) and No. 2 Longwood (21.1%) is as wide as the gap between Longwood and No. 30 Western Carolina (25.8%).
Not only does good defense help you win, it helps in the NET rankings where efficiency matters. LSU needs to keep Charleston Southern in the 50s tonight.
