Hoops Preview - Auburn (11-9, 3-6) @ LSU (14-7, 5-4) 3pm SECTV/ESPN3/98.1

LSU's tournament hopes are once again officially dangling by the slimmest of threads following another disappointing loss at Georgia on thursday night. A quick turnaround to this afternoon provides the team an opportunity to get the bad taste out their mouths and re-focus with absolutely no margin for error the rest of the way, if the NCAA tournament is where the Tigers want to be playing next month.

Auburn is led in scoring by Chris denson and KT Harrell, who both average near 20 points per game. They average over 73 ppg as a team and are 4th in the league in FG%, one spot above LSU. They are tied for 9th in the league in rebounds with Vandy, and rank 7th in blocked shots. Their leading rebounder, Ashaun Dixon-tatum is listed at 7'0, and grabs just over 6 boards per game.

Tigers will need to win the rebounding battle and score efficiently in the paint in this game in order to win. Auburn is 11th in the league in 3 point shooting so i would expect we will play some zone, probably at the beginning of the game. LSU generally plays much better in the PMAC and I expect them to make things right this afternoon. I am looking for a much cleaner game from an officiating standpoint and better execution in transition both ways. If LSU is bothered by the same things that affected them on Thursday, it could go the other way.

Prediction- LSU 76
AU 62


I'm looking for Johnny O'Bryant III, Anthony Hickey and Shavon Coleman to leave their mark on this game. JOB and Shuga both were limited thursday due to foul trouble and the team still had a chance to make a push late in the game. We are all disappointed but every game is a huge one from here on out with almost no more margin for error.


BTW, this is the gold game so if you're planning on going, wear gold.