It will be new territory for LSU and Drake when they meet Friday night in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.
LSU (5-0) will be leaving home for the first time this season.
Half of the victories for Drake (4-2) have come against opposition from outside of Division I, and Friday will mark the first time the Bulldogs meet an opponent from a power conference this season.
LSU beat Omaha 99-73 last Friday in its most recent game, continuing a stretch of exceeding 90 points in every game this season. Max Mackinnon reversed some of the Tigers’ recent long-range shooting woes by hitting six 3-pointers.
“We only made five 3s and were 25% (on 3-pointers),” LSU coach Matt McMahon said of a recent three-game stretch. “I know we’re a much better shooting team than that. I think it was just shooting with confidence, unselfish play and good execution.”
All of LSU’s scoring might be distracting from what’s happening at the other end of the court.
“We’re definitely going to work on our defense and rebounding,” Tigers guard Dedan Thomas Jr. said.
It will be a stark change in competition levels for Drake, which defeated Division III Buena Vista 98-52 last Friday.
First-year Drake coach Eric Henderson is optimistic for the season.
“The amount of competitive spirit, the connectivity that we showed,” Henderson said. “These are things we sure are excited about.”
Sophomore Okku Federiko was the team’s top scorer in the most-recent game with 16 points and also supplied six assists. He’s a transfer from South Carolina but didn’t see any game action last season, so he didn’t face LSU in a Southeastern Conference game.
Based on Friday’s results, LSU and Drake will be matched against either DePaul or Georgia Tech on Saturday. For Drake, from the Missouri Valley Conference, the games this weekend will be the only power-conference opponents of the season.
“Those are great opportunities to play a power 4, power-5 school on a neutral site; that’s an awesome opportunity,” Henderson said. “I certainly hope we’re not a finished product when we play LSU.”
–Field Level Media
