LSU heads to Nashville Saturday to face Vanderbilt

BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball begins the first of two consecutive road games Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The game will tip just after 2:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (Guaranty Media flagship in Baton Rouge, Eagle 98.1 FM) with the “Voice” of the Tigers, Chris Blair, and former LSU head coach John Brady on the call. Mike Morgan and Mark Wise will have the call of the television broadcast on the SEC Network.

LSU is 15-13 on the season and 7-8 in the SEC. The Tigers will be looking to clinch a winning regular season record with a win on Saturday and looking to win for the third time in the league on the road this season.

Vanderbilt is 8-20 overall and 3-12 in the SEC, but coming off its most impressive game of the season, an 85-82 road win over Arkansas in Fayetteville on Tuesday. It was the first time this season hat Vanderbilt scored more than 80 points in a game this season.

Vanderbilt scored 50 second half points in the win over the Razorbacks with 44 paint points and a 15-3 edge in second chance points. Ezra Manjon had 22 points in the contest with Tyrin Lawrence adding 21, Ven-Allen Lubin with 19 points and 12 rebounds and Paul Lewis scored 11.

Manjon leads the Commodores, averaging 14.2 points a game while Lawrence is at 13.4 a contest and Lubin 11.5 points.

The Tigers are coming off their third one-point win of the season on Tuesday, downing Georgia 67-66 at the Maravich Center. LSU dominated the first half and then was able to get the final points on two Will Baker free throws in a back-and-forth last 10 minutes.

Jordan Wright, who will be returning to Nashville Saturday where he played four years for the Commodores, led LSU with 17 points, including 10-of-11 at the free throw line. Baker had 12 points. The Tigers were 9-of-18 from the three-point arc in the contest.

“It’s going to mean a lot,” Wright said after Tuesday’s win about going back to Nashville. “It’s going to mean a lot to me, a lot of great memories there. Coach (Jerry) Stackhouse gave me a chance when not many other high-major schools did honestly. He was my coach there; I enjoyed my four years thoroughly there. It’s going to be a surreal moment for me stepping back in the gym, especially being on the other side, seeing all my teammates, friends, and classmates. It’s going to be an emotional experience for me but I’m looking forward to it.”

LSU defeated Vanderbilt, 77-69, on Jan. 9 in Baton Rouge. LSU had 44 points in the paint and struggled from the field, making 27-of-64 attempts, including just 3-of-16 from distance. LSU had the big statistical advantage in points off turnovers, 18-7. Jalen Cook had his big game of his season with 28 points, while Wright had 15 and Mike Williams III 10 points and eight boards.

LSU enters Saturday in solo eighth place, one game behind Mississippi State in seventh and one game ahead of Ole Miss and Texas A&M in ninth. The Tigers are trying to clinch the single bye for the SEC Tournament which would keep the Tigers out of the Wednesday opening night games.

LSU in the final week of the regular season will travel to Arkansas on Wednesday (March 6) and host Missouri in the final game of the SEC schedule on Saturday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at LSUTix.net.

*LSU press release