PALMER PREGAME: LSU faces stern test in No. 2 Gators

By Hunt Palmer

The Tigers have won two in a row, but Saturday’s test is tough.

That goes without saying as the No. 2 team in the country comes to town, but Florida is damn good on paper and on the floor. The Gators are top 10 in the country in offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency. They have the only win of the season at Auburn and also own a 30-point beat down of Tennessee.

Altogether, Todd Golden’s team is 23-3 and 10-3 in conference play. That’s two games behind Auburn, so a conference title is unlikely. That said, Florida is national championship good.

Why has LSU played better? A couple of reasons.

First, the Tigers have cut down the turnovers in a big way. After three straight nine-turnover games, LSU turned it over 10 times on Tuesday, but the last was an intentional shot clock violation running out the clock. Basically, LSU has turned the ball over just nine times in four straight games. That number works.

LSU has also shot the ball better. LSU has made 24-of-58 threes in the last two games. That’s a balmy 41 percent.

It’s going to take a ton on Saturday for LSU to stay in and win the ball game. Taking care of the ball and shooting it well will obviously be two.

SMALL BALL

LSU is going to start small again. The four-guard lineup has paid some dividends, and Corey Chest and Daimion Collins are not 100 percent.

If you play small, you better take care of the ball and shoot it well. You also need to assist, and LSU did that 19 times on Tuesday.

Curtis Givens and Vyctorius Miller are seeing extended time in this lineup. Miller has to score. Givens has to facilitate.

Florida wants to play really fast. That might feel natural to four guards on the floor. LSU has to realize the more possessions that are played in this game, the worse that becomes for the Tigers.

GUARDS TO THE GLASS

Playing small is fine until it isn’t. The Tigers can’t put four guards out there if Florida is going to own the backboards.

Florida is eighth in the country in offensive rebound percentage. That’s good without a host of 6-foot-4 players on the other side.

Alex Condon (6’11”, 230) and Reuben Chinyelu (6’10”, 260) are as good a front court as there is in college basketball. Chinyelu, specifically, is someone LSU doesn’t really have an answer for. He’s just a hulking presence under the rim.

We’ll see how long Matt McMahon can play four guards against bigs that good.

Chest and Collins are banged up, but they may have to gut this one out at times to make sure the Gators don’t finish with 35 second chance points.

FOR THREE

Florida loves to shoot the three, and LSU has used it to win the last two games.

Among SEC teams, only Alabama attempts more threes than Florida. The Gators are No. 29 in the country in attempted threes. They shoot 28 per game. Four of the five starters shoot 34 percents or better from deep, and Chinyelu, the fifth, hasn’t attempted one yet.

Walter Clayton Jr., the point guard, is a star. He shoots 37 percent. Will Richard can do damage, as well. Over their five-game win streak, the Gators are shooting 42 percent from deep.

For LSU, Cam Carter has to do his part, but the other guys have to join in. Dji Bailey has actually made four of his last six threes over two games. He’s not going to take seven of them, but if he can make a couple, that’ll be a big help.