By Hunt Palmer
Each March provides another Cinderella.
Before it became a national power, Gonzaga’s infancy on the national stage was fun. Steph Curry riveted America with Davidson. George Mason made it to the Final Four.
Florida Gulf Coast’s “Dunk City” run in 2013 was as much fun as any of them, if not quite as long.
Andy Enfield’s team rocked rims to the Sweet 16. The coached parlayed that into the USC job, and he’s now at SMU who LSU visits next weekend. The Eagles sustained some success without him, reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2016 and 2017.
The version headed to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sunday afternoon doesn’t resemble that one at all. These Eagles are 3-6 and have only played a single Power 5 program, a 16-point loss at TCU.
For the Tigers, life without Jalen Reed begins.
The players will take final exams this coming week before traveling to SMU, so they’ll go a week between games for the first time.
Slow starts have been a recurring issue, but strong finishes like Tuesday’s against Florida State have solved that problem thus far.
This matchup looks fantastic for LSU on paper. Let’s dive in.
Push the Pace
LSU plays an up-tempo style of basketball under Matt McMahon. Last year the Tigers were 70th of 362 teams in possessions per game. Early on, these Tigers rank 24th. Only 10 teams in America play more slowly than Florida Gulf Coast. They’re 354th of 364 in pace.
LSU needs to get the ball and go on offense to try to create some tempo. It’s more difficult to speed a game up than slow one down, and you don’t want to be reckless. However, so much of basketball is about rhythm, and LSU is more comfortable out in the open floor.
Jordan Sears is excellent in his feel for the game, and Cam Carter seemingly never slows down. Having those two and Dji Bailey handling the ball is comforting for McMahon. That’s a lot of career minutes in a backcourt.
Catch Me Outside
Dallion Johnson could have played for my LSU intramural basketball team in the spring of 2008. Not because he leads a Division I basketball team in scoring, (He does, averaging 13.1 points per game for the Eagles) but because of his style of play. Johnson only does one thing—shoot threes. And that’s all we did.
Through nine games, Johnson has totaled five assists and zero offensive rebounds. He shoots eight threes per game. He’s been to the free throw line nine times.
This guy just hangs at the three-point line and launches away.
LSU is ninth in the country in three-point defense. I’ve written and talked about that statistic a lot in the past. Some of that is good defense, and some of it is good fortune. That said, LSU does prioritize three-point defense as a program. McMahon understands how much teams lean on the three-point line in this era of basketball. LSU needs to identify Johnson early and often to take away what is really the only aspect of his game.
It’s startling how few fouls the Eagles draw. Only two teams in America score a fewer percentage of points from the free throw line. That, to me, shows a lack of aggressiveness.
Paint Points
Without Reed, LSU’s low post offense lacks an identity. Daimion Collins and Corey Chest aren’t polished offensive players, and neither can put the ball on the floor to create offense. Still, you have to have some ability to operate offense out of the paint. Everything shouldn’t come from the dribble drive, especially when teams can sag from Collins and Chest on the perimeter.
This is the first chance for LSU to create a gameplan without Reed. I’m curious to see if things look a little different.
Collins and Chest are very active players that should be able to really thrive in pick and roll situations as a lob option or weakside offensive rebounders.
Florida Gulf Coast is an average defensive team. They’re No. 173 in defensive efficiency. That’s middle of the pack. They’re No. 101 in shooting defense and No. 290 in block percentage.
Keeshawn Kellman is their best big and only key contributor over 6-foot-8. He hasn’t played in two weeks. I do not see an update on his availability for Sunday. Either way, this should be a comfortable spot to try some things offensively with a new-look frontcourt.
This is a great matchup for LSU. The Tigers guard the three-point line which where the Eagles want to work. LSU should own the backboards and hold Florida Gulf Coast in the 60s. Ideally, LSU can separate early in the second half and allow some extended minutes for Robert Miller and Curtis Givens. Once SEC play cranks up in a month, those guys may not see as many minutes. Their development is important. Here’s a spot for some of that.
Tipoff Sunday is at 2:00. The game can be streamed on ESPN+. With the Saints on Eagle 98.1 in Baton Rouge, the basketball game can be heard on 100.7 FM.
