LSU and Mississippi State are both in the bottom quadrant of the Southeastern Conference standings.
But the Tigers (13-7, 1-6) entertain a glimmer of hope that recently has eluded the Bulldogs (10-10, 2-5) as the teams prepare to meet Wednesday night in Baton Rouge, La.
LSU point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who leads the team in scoring (15.3 points per game) and assists (6.7), returned two games ago from a five-game absence due to a lower leg injury. He made his first start in an SEC game last time out.
Although the Tigers lost by 18 at Florida last Tuesday as Thomas came off the bench, Thomas helped spark his team to a much better performance in an 85-81 loss at then-No. 20 Arkansas on Saturday.
Thomas had 18 points and five assists for LSU, which led for more than 26 minutes during the game before the Razorbacks mounted a rally.
The spark from Thomas led to all five starters scoring in double figures. LSU was superior in rebounds (36-28), points in the paint (42-36) and second-chance points (20-8).
“We did enough little things well to give ourselves a chance,” Tigers head coach Matt McMahon said. “I thought the points in the paint were fantastic and the second-chance points, too. I loved our effort on the glass. We had our turnovers down to nine.”
While LSU hopes to build on Thomas’ return, Mississippi State is focused on snapping a five-game losing skid. Their slide continued with an 88-56 setback to Vanderbilt last Saturday.
“We’re going to need a lot of (leadership) right now from players, from myself and from our staff,” Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans said. “I don’t care who you’re playing, where you’re playing, when you’re playing, home, road, neutral. In this league you’re going to play a prepared team with really good players and a plan. We’re going to have to figure out a way to stay together and coach better and compete more.”
Josh Hubbard, who boasts a team-best 21.0 points per game, has averaged 10.7 points and made just 25.0% of his shots from the floor over the last three games.
–Field Level Media
