PALMER PREGAME: Tigers set for top-ranked test

By Hunt Palmer

The No. 1 team in the country invades Baton Rouge Wednesday night.

Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers have been the most consistent team in America through three months. The Tigers play excellent defense, efficient offense and have shown the ability to beat the best teams in the sport this season.

Auburn boasts non-conference wins over (current rankings) No. 3 Iowa State, No. 6 Houston, No 10 Purdue and No. 19 Memphis. None of those games were played at Auburn.

The only slip up on an 18-1 resume is a loss at Cameron Indoor to No 2 Duke.

Pearl hasn’t assembled a bevy of McDonald’s All-Americans or five-star recruits. Only freshman Tahaad Pettiford achieved those honors.

Johni Broome came from Morehead State. Chad Baker-Mazara was at Northwest Florida State College. Denver Jones went to FIU first, and Miles Kelly was Honorable Mention All-ACC last year at Georgia Tech.

Pearl has taken a group of pieces that fit and molded as good a team as there is in the country.

That’s LSU challenge Wednesday night.

The Tigers did play well in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. LSU was tied with the Tide at halftime and trailed by just five with under five minutes to play before Alabama salted the game away. Jordan Sears played one of his better games, and Corey Chest wore out the backboards. Trey’Dez Green provided a spark, and LSU hung tough.

This time the purple and gold-clad Tigers get a home crowd behind them. They’re 12.5 point underdogs.

BROOME IS BACK

Broome missed two weeks with an ankle sprain. He returned on Saturday against Tennessee and played 32 minutes, so he should be a full go once again in Baton Rouge. Broome and Mark Sears from Alabama are probably the frontrunners for SEC Player of the Year, and Broome is getting significant National Player of the Year buzz.

He’s averaging 17.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game for Auburn in his final collegiate season. Both numbers lead the Plainsmen by a considerable amount. Baker-Mazara is five points shy, and Chaney Johnson trails by more than five rebounds.

Broome will take a couple of threes per game, but his damage is done on the block where LSU doesn’t have much of an answer for him. Daimion Collins is 40 lbs. lighter, and Chest is giving up three inches and 20 lbs.

Brome had eight offensive rebounds against a tough Tennessee team and seven against Ohio. That has to be a massive point of emphasis for the home team.

CLOSE CALLS

While Auburn has been awesome this year, they have played some tight conference games against mid-tier SEC teams to this point.

South Carolina is 0-8 in the league and played Auburn to a three-point game in Columbia. Georgia is 3-5 and lost by two. Texas is 3-4 and scored 55 points in the second half to lose by only five.

South Carolina only turned the ball over nine times and won the glass 37-33. Broome also left that game with the ankle injury and scored just six points in 24 minutes of action. But some of that is replicable for LSU. Auburn, while great on defense (No. 22 defensive efficiency), doesn’t turn people over much. They rank No. 206 in forcing turnovers.

LSU has issues with that, but maybe this matchup is a little better than Vanderbilt or Missouri who create a ton of them.

Georgia’s close call should instill more hope for LSU because the Bulldogs lost by just two and went 9-for-20 on free throws.

SLOW AND GO

LSU has slowed things down a little bit in recent games. Playing Alabama to a game in 70s (yes, I know, Alabama got to 80) showed some control of the tempo. The more possessions LSU plays against Auburn, the more that favors Auburn. They’re just a better team.

Auburn ranks No. 3 in offensive efficiency, No. 4 in assist to turnover ratio, No. 9 in points per game and No. 9 in shooting percentage. And they don’t rely heavily on 2s, 3s or the free throw line. It’s as balanced and well-oiled an offensive machine as there is in college basketball. LSU doesn’t need to put that to the test. LSU’s only shot is keeping the game around 70 points.

South Carolina lost 66-63. Georgia lost 70-68. South Carolina lost 66-63. Mississippi State and Missouri let Auburn get into the mid-80s and got blown out.

So go slow.

But when it’s time, go to the rim. The sample is too large to ignore now. LSU doesn’t shoot the ball well. But they had great success pounding away at and Arkansas front court that was top-five in the country in blocks at the time. The Tigers drew fouls and won that game at the line.

Cam Carter and Sears are 50-for-51 at the free throw line in SEC games. Get there more often.