This Tuesday’s SEC matchup will be a huge game to watch for college basketball enthusiasts. The LSU Tigers host the #10 Kentucky Wildcats at 9:00 PM EST on ESPN.
The Tigers are hoping to keep their momentum as a threat in the SEC. Should LSU win, they will be tied in first place with Kentucky.
LSU has had struggles as of late. After a strong 10-game winning streak, they lost three of their last four games. Head coach Will Wade elaborated on their defensive struggles and spoke about their challenges for the upcoming game, “…We’ve got to hopefully improve and get better – especially [at] rebounding the ball. We haven’t been imposing our will on the glass. We did a really, really poor job in the glass at Alabama. They got 10 offensive rebounds in the second half. It was kind of the same story at Auburn in the second half.”
He also added, “We’ll need to be better because Richards, Brooks, and Montgomery [those] guys are certainly a formidable front line. Hopefully, we will be better rebounding the ball. Kentucky is a tremendous team, and great defensively.”
Despite Kentucky’s struggles beyond the arc in their recent game against Ole Miss, shooting only 2-22, they were able to defeat the Rebels 67-62. It was a combined effort of applying a strong defensive presence, capitalizing on free throws in the last quarter, and scoring in the glass.
The Tigers boast a 7-game win streak at home. In order to be able to have a chance at winning tonight, they will have to strengthen their 3-point defense, improve their spacing, guard the rim, and force Kentucky to shoot from beyond the arc.
Despite having homecourt advantage and drawing large crowds at the Maravich Center, Coach Wade does not think the crowd will shake Kentucky. “I think the crowd will be great, [however] I don’t think it will affect Kentucky at all. They’re so used to it, they’re the main attraction… they won’t be rattled by our crowd.”
The Tigers are favored to win +2 (-110).
