By Hunt Palmer
For one final time, LSU will lace up the squeaky shoes in this 2024-25 basketball regular season.
Saturdays are for the Seniors pic.twitter.com/PCaU4qn3Li
— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) March 8, 2025
Texas A&M visits Baton Rouge in the season finale Saturday at 3:00. These two teams met back on January 18 when the Aggies topped the Tigers 68-57 at Reed Arena in College Station.
The Aggies enter the contest ranked No. 21 in the country and are fresh off of a win over No. 1 Auburn on Wednesday, the first win over No. 1 in program history. Following the victory, A&M retired senior guard Wade Taylor IV‘s number as the home crowd spilled onto the floor.
It was an emotional home finale for the Aggies who will enter a likely sleepy PMAC on Saturday.
LSU has lost four straight, the latest of which was a 31-point defeat at the hands of Kentucky. LSU’s seeding in the SEC Tournament is set. The Tigers will be the No. 15 seed in Nashville next week.
CELEBRATING CAM
In a downer of a season for LSU, Cam Carter has been a significant bright spot. Instead of analyzing how important he will be in the game on Saturday, it’s more important on Senior Day to note just how impressive Carter has been start to finish for the Tigers.
In his fourth and final collegiate season, Carter has elevated his game in every way. When he transferred in from Kansas State, Carter’s goal was to become more efficient and more complete as a player. Keep in mind this was an every-game starter for an Elite Eight team as a sophomore.
Carter did it. From last season to this, he’s elevated his field goal percentage by five percentage points (39% to 44%), his three-point shooting by nine percent (31% to 40%) and limited his turnovers from 101 last year to 70 this year in just four fewer games.
All of this improvement has come as opposing defense focus their entire game plan around him.
This season will likely be forgotten in history, because LSU is going to finish second to last in the SEC, but Carter’s contributions to his home state school in his final season should be celebrated on Saturday in the PMAC.
AGGIE ASSAULT
Texas A&M’s offensive identity is clear. It’s been that way for two seasons with this group. They aren’t a great shooting team. They are the best offensive rebounding team in America. Same as last year. Statistically, LSU was better on the defensive glass on Tuesday at Kentucky, but some of that had to do with the fact that the Wildcats made nearly every shot. Not a lot of chances for offensive rebounds when you shoot 60 percent in the first half and score 50 points.
Andersson Garcia, Pharrel Payne, and Henry Coleman are relentless on the offensive glass. They aren’t seven-footers. They aren’t sure-fire Lottery picks. They just hound the offensive glass on every possession. That’s how a team ranked No. 309 in the country in field goal percentage can compete and win 10 or 11 games in the country’s best conference. The most impressive part is that no one on the Aggie roster is top 20 in the SEC in rebounding. It’s a total team effort.
If the Aggies shoot it well, they’ll win on Saturday. If they don’t, but LSU can get a rebound, the Aggies will win. LSU’s only chance is to play defense and finish possessions. Far easier said than done. Texas A&M got 14 offensive rebounds against LSU in the first meeting, but nine of those came in the second half.
TOOL MAN, TAYLOR
As mentioned above, Taylor had his number retired on Wednesday after the win over Auburn. With his ninth point on Saturday, he’ll become A&M’s all-time leading scorer, passing Bernard King.
He does a lot of his work from outside. He’s seventh in the league in three-point attempts and has attempted at least four in 58 straight games. However, at six feet tall, he’s not afraid to get to the rim. Taylor has scored in double figures in every game but one this season, a loss at Ole Miss where he was held to four.
LSU held him to just 3-for-13 shooting in College Station, but he got to the line late in the game to get his 12 points.
Similar to LSU with Carter, A&M wants to play through Taylor. They just have a better second option which is grabbing it off the glass and finishing.
Staying in this game for LSU starts on the glass, but it heavily involves slowing Taylor down, as well.
The Tigers and Aggies will tip at 3:00 on Saturday. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
