LSU vs. Stephen F. Austin preview: Tigers seek fourth straight win

By
Blake Lovell
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LSU will look to continue its winning ways when it hosts Stephen F. Austin on Saturday afternoon at Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The Tigers have won three straight and most recently scored a thrilling 80-77 win over Houston, with Aaron Epps leading the way with a career night of 26 points and 16 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Kyle Keller’s squad is off to a fast start of their own. The Lumberjacks are 9-1 on the season, with their only loss coming in a five-point defeat at Mississippi State right before Thanksgiving.

After heading to Baton Rouge, Stephen F. Austin will visit another SEC venue when it rolls into Columbia on Tuesday to take on Missouri.

Game Details

Date: December 16

Time: 1 PM EST

TV: SEC Network

Players to Watch

Aaron Epps (LSU)

It makes sense to start with the guy that fueled the Tigers to victory against Houston on Wednesday.

Epps was sensational in getting off to a hot start and never letting up, and that performance was obviously a huge reason why LSU picked up the win.

The 6-10 senior is averaging 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this season and will need to continue providing consistency in the lane.

The Lumberjacks don’t have a ton of size, so there’s a good chance that Epps will be able to build off of his memorable showing.

Tremont Waters (LSU)

The freshman guard continues to do it all for the Tigers, and that even includes blocking shots.

Waters’ has one block thus far in his LSU career, but it came at the right time in swatting away Houston’s potential game-tying 3-pointer.

Of course, he’s done much more than that this season. He’s still averaging 18.1 points per game and added 6.5 assists and 3.4 rebounds. He also ranks 36th nationally in grabbing 2.3 steals per contest.

Waters will once again be the driving force of this team in the matchup against the Lumberjacks.

Kevon Harris/TJ Holyfield/Shannon Bogues (Stephen F. Austin)

I’m grouping these guys together because they represent the “big three” for this Stephen F. Austin team.

They all contribute in a variety of ways, and scoring-wise, Harris leads the way at 17.5 points per game while Holyfield is at 16.1 and Bogues at 15.6.

Harris and Holyfield have both been crucial to this team’s frontcourt success on both ends of the floor, and that’ll be the case again in this game.

For the Lumberjacks to pull off the victory, they’ll need all three at their best.

How LSU Can Win

While defense is always important for an LSU team that’s still making tweaks in that area, taking care of the ball is what will decide this game.

Stephen F. Austin is the best in the nation at forcing turnovers (23.6 per game), so Waters and company must value the ball to pick up a fourth-consecutive victory.

The good news is that the Tigers have had little trouble doing that so far this season, with Will Wade’s team ranking 71st nationally with only 12.3 turnovers per game.

If LSU limits its mistakes, it should be able to pick up the win.

How Stephen F. Austin Can Win

Forcing turnovers and scoring baskets in transition will certainly be important for the Lumberjacks, but so will stopping LSU’s high-powered scoring attack.

The Tigers are fifth in the country in shooting 52.6 percent from the floor, and every regular rotation player for Wade is shooting at least 44 percent.

Scoring doesn’t figure to be a problem for LSU this season considering how well Waters can score and distribute, so Stephen F. Austin has to be committed on defense in this one.

Converting defense into offense is definitely a big key to victory for the visitors, and that’s promising given how effective they’ve been in turning teams over this season.

Who wins this game?

  • LSU (50%, 2 Votes)
  • Stephen F. Austin (50%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 4

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