After another unanimous No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll and three straight victories over ranked opponents, Auburn men’s basketball hits the road to take on a deceptive LSU team in Baton Rouge, La. that has faced tough luck to begin SEC play.
Wrapping up the non-conference slate with 11 wins, LSU is still looking for a marquee win to boost its tournament résumé, so far going 0-for-6 against Quad 1 teams this season.
Since starting conference play, the Tigers have traveled and suffered losses to Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Alabama, all now ranked in the latest AP Poll.
The story of the season so far for LSU has been its presence on the glass and the offensive production from a pair of transfers.
14th in the country with 5.4 blocks per game, LSU’s frontcourt duo, freshman forward Corey Chest and junior forward Daimion Collins, both rank in the top 15 in the SEC in BPG. Chest accounted for three of LSU’s five blocks against No. 4 Alabama on Saturday and is responsible for 10 of the team’s 29 blocks during conference play.
Entering the contest at Alabama, Chest averaged 4.2 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game in conference play. He more than doubled those numbers against the Tide, finishing with 12 points and 18 rebounds, with half of those boards coming on the offensive glass.
At Alabama, the Tigers out-rebounded the Tide 43 to 41, with 17 of those being offensive rebounds. LSU is 5th in the conference in RPG (39.3), with Chest ranking 9th in the SEC with 7.5 RPG.
With Auburn star forward and reigning SEC Player of the Week Johni Broome coming off of his first game back from an ankle sprain suffered at South Carolina on January 14, Chest and Collins will be tasked with keeping Broome stifled at the rim.
In his first season in the SEC, Kansas State transfer Cam Carter is pacing the Tigers with 17.6 PPG and 47 3-pointers made, both good for 7th in the SEC. The senior guard averages 19.0 PPG in conference play and has scored double digits in every game this season but one.
Joining Carter in averaging double-digit scoring their first season in Baton Rouge, UT-Martin transfer Jordan Sears has been instrumental for the Tigers, averaging 14.2 PPG after junior Jalen Reed tore his ACL eight games into the season.
Sears and Carter are the biggest perimeter threats for an LSU team that is shooting 3-pointers at a 31% clip on the season, which sits at the bottom of the SEC. After collecting only three made 3-pointers at Alabama, LSU is going to have to shoot well to keep up with an Auburn team that makes 9.5 threes per game, which is good for 3rd in the SEC.
Tip off in the Maravich Center is set for 7 ET on Wednesday, January 29, and will be broadcasted on SEC Network.
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Emily Porch is a senior majoring in Sports Production from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @emilycporch
