PALMER PREGAME: Tigers host Northwestern State

By Hunt Palmer

Friday night is a classic look-ahead spot for LSU.

A 7-1 Florida State team awaits Tuesday night, and LSU has to deal with Northwestern State on Friday. The Demons are 2-4 on the season having lost road games at Texas Tech and Oklahoma by a combined 47 points.

This Demon program finished last season 9-23 and may not be much better this season. The PMAC likely won’t bring much juice to this one tonight. It’ll be up to the Tigers to jump this landmine before the ACC showdown in four days.

Daimion Collins will not play due to the shoulder dislocation he suffered last weekend. The rest of LSU’s roster appears healthy and ready to go.

Tipoff will be at 7:00. LSU enters the contest as a 20.5 point favorite. Here’s what I’m watching for.

LSU Has The Chest

With Robert Miller struggling a little bit to produce, Collins figured to be the next man up in that four-spot. He went down, and Matt McMahon turned to Corey Chest in the starting lineup on Sunday. Chest has been doing all the dirty work for this LSU team. He hauled in 13 rebounds at Kansas State and 14 more over the weekend at The Greenbriar.

He’s also showcased his athleticism on some highlight reel dunks early in the season.

One thing LSU will need in extended minutes from Chest is some rim protection. Collins offered that with his 6-foot-9 frame and long arms. Chest isn’t quite as long as Collins, but he can jump. Northwestern State doesn’t have much size. No one over 6-foot-9 plays more than 10 minutes per game, so Chest should be able to help LSU control the glass.

Starting Slow

LSU hasn’t played well in the first half. Alabama State and Charlston Southern both led LSU at the half. The Tigers trailed UCF by 20 before halftime. LSU has outscored opponents by 54 after halftime and just 10 before. That has to change. LSU does not have the offensive fire power to keep playing from behind.

When you have a team outmanned like LSU will on Friday night, intensity is really all it takes to control the game. If LSU can defend and rebound early on, the offense will be able to do enough to separate on the scoreboard. As I mentioned previously, this is a lookahead spot for LSU. It’s also another opportunity for Northwestern State to play in a big area against a name brand opponent. They’ll be fired up to play.

ThanksGivens

Curtis Givens has been up and down early in his freshman season. His nine assists are actually third on the team, but he’s got the highest turnover rate as well. Jordan Sears will absolutely be the primary ball handler on this roster, but Givens needs to come along so that he can be trusted to run the point for 8-to-10 minutes per night when Sears needs a blow or gets into foul trouble.

The flashes Givens shows are enough to project that he’ll be a really good SEC player. He’s in the process of developing into that.

Games like Friday’s are a great chance for Givens to get some run. Mistakes shouldn’t cost LSU this game. And good performances breed confidence. Givens should get at least 15 minutes of action in this one. I’ll be watching to see if he can be a little bit more consistent handling the ball and knocking down shots. He’s shooting just 31 percent from the floor early in his freshman campaign.