LSU gave a hint that it might be more competitive in the Southeastern Conference this season when it opened league play with a 68-53 victory at Texas A&M on Jan. 6.
The Tigers (11-6, 3-1 SEC) have continued to show improvement and already have won one more conference game than they did a year ago.
On Wednesday, they earned an 89-80 home victory against No. 22 Ole Miss in advance of a rematch against the Aggies (10-7, 1-3) on Saturday afternoon at Baton Rouge, La.
“The league is ridiculous with how good the teams are,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “I think that every win is important.”
The victory gave the Tigers a split of back-to-back games against ranked opponents after they lost at then-No. 16 Auburn 93-78 last Saturday.
“In this league,” forward Tyrell Ward said, “you cannot let losses pile up.”
Texas A&M has been one of the best rebounding teams in the country all season, but in the first meeting LSU won the rebounding battle 46-40 and held the Aggies to 13 offensive rebounds, nearly six below their average.
Texas A&M entered the weekend as the best offensive rebounding team in the nation at 18.8 per game.
The Aggies, who upset then-No. 6 Kentucky last Saturday, came up short Tuesday despite a dramatic comeback at Arkansas. The Aggies fell behind by 20 points early in the game but fought back and took the lead when Wade Taylor IV made a 3-pointer with seven seconds left. The Razorbacks prevailed 78-77 on a last-second field goal.
Texas A&M played without injured forward Harry Coleman, whose status for Saturday is uncertain. In Coleman’s absence, the team leaned even more heavily on Taylor, the preseason SEC Player of the Year, and he responded with a career-high 41 points.
“Obviously we’re very dependent upon his success and he continues to deliver,” coach Buzz Williams said on the Aggies’ postgame radio show. “That’s a heavy burden to carry possession by possession, particularly when we’re asking so much of him and of us defensively at the same time.”
–Field Level Media