After a bummer of a start to SEC play, the Tigers better get comfortable living out of a suitcase. Four of the next five are on the road for LSU, and that starts at Missouri on Tuesday night.
Dennis Gates has had an interesting first two and a half years at Missouri. In his first year, he brought over a crop from his tournament team at Cleveland State. That group went 25-10, 11-7 and made the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Gates was named SEC Coach of the Year by USA Today.
Last year Missouri went 0-18 in the league.
This team has played much better than that one. They enter this contest with LSU 11-3 overall and 0-1 in league play after falling at Auburn on Saturday. Missouri beat No. 1 Kansas in Columbia in December and dropped a tight one to a good Illinois team, 80-77, in St. Louis.
In a league littered with Top 25 teams and future pros, Missouri doesn’t pose that type of threat. It’s another game where, like versus Vanderbilt, LSU can compete man for man.
Home teams dominated the league last year and won 8-of-9 on Saturday, LSU being the lone loser. So, it’ll take a huge effort from LSU to win the game, but the Tigers should not be over matched.
Missouri is No. 44 in the NET which is safely in the Top 75 required for a Quadrant 1 opportunity. Those are like gold.
Free Throw Frenzy
Missouri gets to the line better than anyone in the country. They lead the nation in field free throw makes at 21 per game. That’s a massive number. This team shot 37 free throws against Illinois, 31 against Kansas and 38 more against Cal.
They’re relentless at attacking off the dribble and getting to the rim. And that’s born out in more than just the free throw attempts.
Missouri ranks No. 286 in assists per possession and No. 250 in percentage of points scored from three-point range. They aren’t driving to pass and aren’t settling for threes. They’re going to the rim to draw contact.
LSU built this roster on better perimeter defense. And only 32 teams foul less frequently per possession than LSU. The goal for LSU is to keep Missouri around 20 free throws. Far, far easier said than done.
Precious Possessions
Matt McMahon wants to play fast. And LSU does. The Tigers rank 32nd in possessions per game. Only Alabama plays faster in the SEC. However, that pace led to some foolish turnovers on Saturday against a very opportunistic Vanderbilt team. Missouri forces 16 turnovers per game which ranks 14th in America.
Jordan Sears and Cam Carter are basically being asked to do everything. One more thing they have to do is take care of the ball. Those two need to combine for four or less turnovers.
Second Shots
This will be an evergreen until it’s not. LSU has to rebound. Mark Mitchell is Missouri’s leading scorer and rebounder. He’s 6-foot-9 and kind of plays a wing role for the Tigers. LSU must get a body on him. The other rebounding threat is a familiar face. Josh Gray was on Will Wade’s final LSU team. He’s a seven-footer who played three years at South Carolina before moving on to Missouri. LSU doesn’t have anyone to deal with 7-foot, 260 lbs. Gray only averages 2.9 points and 15.4 minutes per game, but he could be a factor in this one.
LSU handled the true road environment in Manhattan exceptionally well early in the season. This will be similar. It’s frigid in the Midwest this week, but Missouri will likely still have a good turnout. If LSU can win this one, you’re back on track. A loss makes an 0-3 start likely (loss at Ole Miss) with a desperation home game to come against Arkansas.
The players didn’t seem phased much in the postgame on Saturday. They’ll need one of their best performances of the season in this one.
Tipoff is at 8:00 on SEC Network.
