LSU flies west this week.
The marquee matchup of the non-conference slate awaits on Saturday when the Tigers take on Gonzaga in Spokane. But first, Louisiana Tech invades the Maravich Center.
That’s Monday’s task.
Will Wade was asked about locking in on Louisiana Tech with Gonzaga looming. So was Donovan Dent.
“I think Coach will make it pretty easy for us to lock in,” Dent said after Friday’s win. “He wasn’t too happy with us today (last Friday), so I think we’ll be pretty locked in on Monday for sure.”
THREE FALLIN’
LSU has to shoot the ball better. Some teams aren’t built to shoot the ball well. That’s not the case with this LSU team. Talent and track record suggest the Tigers will be a good three-point shooting team.
Abdi Bashir shot 44.4% from three at Kansas State last year. Skyy Clark shot 43% at UCLA, and Dent had a 40% three-point shooting year at New Mexico.
Clark has missed all 11 of his threes, and Dent is just 2-for-8 early. That figures to change.
DESSERT FIRST
It’s clear that Michael Ruzic is playing better than Brice Dessert early. Dessert is still the starter, but Ruzic has played 16 more minutes through two games.
Wade believes Dessert is built for SEC play in the half court as opposed to the disjointed nature of these lopsided non-conference games.
That could be true.
What is also true is that LSU will need both big men when the schedule toughens. Dessert’s six turnovers are too many, and he needs to be a little bit tougher around the rim. Monday night would be a good time to turn that corner.
BULLDOG BLURB
Louisiana Tech is coming off a historic defensive effort against Arkansas-Monticello. The Bulldogs held the Boll Weevils to just 17 points on Thursday. That’s the lowest total allowed by a Division I team since at least 2000.
Tech produced 18 steals, the second-highest total in program history, and held Arkansas-Monticello to 16 percent shooting.
The 6-foot-7 wing Braylon Wenger is averaging 20 points per game for the Bulldogs. He’ll likely see a lot of Saliou Niang and Mo Dioubate on Monday night. Those two wings will be LSU’s defensive enforcers this year.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be heard on Eagle 98.1 in Baton Rouge.
