Preview: LSU looks to move up the conference standings against Mississippi State

LSU Basketball heads into another SEC matchup this Saturday, coming off a win against Texas A&M which snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Tigers will host Mississippi State who enters the game coming off back-to-back loss against Tennessee and Arkansas. The Bulldogs are only a half game above LSU in SEC play despite being three spots ahead of LSU in the standings. A win would be big for LSU Basketball in the SEC standings and would go a long way in positioning for the SEC Tournament. Mississippi State is not generally considered one of the “elite” teams in the SEC, but have an array of players that can cause problems, led by SEC third-leading scorer Iverson Molinar.

Mississippi State has firepower

Iverson Molinar averages 18.1 PPG and 4 APG and is one of the best and arguably most underrated guards the country. When these two teams met last season, Molinar gave LSU problems, scoring 16 points and adding four assists despite losing 94-80. Head Coach Will Wade made note of how LSU has struggled to guard prolific scoring guards this season and that guarding Molinar will be a challenge they must rise to.

“We’ve done a very poor job guarding [JD] Notae, we didn’t do a good job guarding [Scotty] Pippen who’s second in the league [in scoring],” Wade said. “We certainly need to give a lot of attention to Molinar and do a much better job on him.”

Tolu Smith and Garrison Brooks are two more players that have been key for Mississippi State this year and players that LSU must contain to win this game. Tolu Smith has been injured for much of this season, but has recently returned back to full speed and is averaging 12.4 PPG and 6.2 RPG. Smith was dominant against LSU in the game last season, scoring 24 points on 10-11 shooting and grabbing 11 rebounds to complete a double-double. Garrison Brooks is a Senior transfer forward from North Carolina who has made a sizeable impact in Starkville, averaging 11.5 PPG and 6.7 RPG on the season. With the struggles LSU has had on the defensive glass, keeping these two in check will be extremely important in slowing down Mississippi State offensively.

LSU Basketball coming in with momentum

For LSU Basketball, momentum is on the side of the Tigers as they are coming off a much needed win against Texas A&M and now seem to finally be back healthy. Xavier Pinson, who had been nursing a knee injury since Jan. 8 was finally able to start and play significant minutes for LSU in the win. His presence helped LSU a lot on the offensive end, as they he was able to be the point guard and facilitator that the offense was missing during his absence. Wade talked about Xavier Pinson’s impact and how he will help the Tigers going forward in SEC play.

“It’s not what he does for us, it’s the bad situations he keep us out of,” Wade said speaking on Pinson’s impact. “There’s stuff that you can’t quantify that he does.”

This game will be an important game for LSU to begin to establish itself in the top half of the conference moving towards the postseason. LSU currently sits a ninth place in the conference, but is still looking to close out the season in the top four to get the double-bye in the SEC Tournament. One thing that has been clear this season though is that there are no easy games in the SEC and LSU has learned that lesson the hard way so far this year. Mississippi State will be yet another challenge, but one where Wade believes it will be more important than ever for the Tigers to find a way to win and protect their home floor.

“We’ve got to quit giving them away at home, we’ve lost two at home,” Wade said. “You can’t keep giving them away at home and expect to come out with a decent record.”