Basketball: LSU (15-10,5-6) @ South Carolina (10-15,2-9) | Sat 12:30PM | TV:SECN

Basketball: LSU (15-10,5-6) @ South Carolina (10-15,2-9) | Sat 12:30PM | TV:SECN ; Net:ESPN3

SoS’s Power Rankings 2/16/12
1. Kentucky
2. Florida
3. Vanderbilt
4. Miss St
5. LSU
6. Tennessee
7. Alabama
8. Ole Miss
9. Arkansas
10. Auburn
11. Georgia
12. South Carolina

General Overview

LSU pulled out a great victory on Tuesday beating Mississippi State in OT. South Carolina also had a big win versus Georgia on Wednesday by 1 point. While their players are athletic, South Carolina will have a disadvantage when it comes to overall skill. South Carolina is better than their 2 wins show. They have had one of the hardest SEC schedules so far this season playing both Kentucky and Florida twice. They have beaten both Alabama and UGA at home. They are led by their PG Bruce Ellington and their 6’6” shooting guard/forward Malik Cooke. Stopping these two with Turner on Cooke and Hickey/Bass on Ellington are critical in getting the away win.

LSU should have a big advantage in this game, but South Carolina has been able to keep most of their games very close. LSU cannot make mistakes like being outhustled, lose the rebound battle, or turn the ball over a ton. LSU has been very good lately at keeping the ball and they need it to continue. There is no reason LSU shouldn’t win this game and finally get an SEC road win.

Schedule and SEC stakes

South Carolina is in dead last in the SEC. LSU has brought themselves within 1.5 games of 3rd in the SEC and only 1 game behind 4th. LSU has one of the easiest schedules left in the SEC and should be able to have a good chance of ending this season on a very strong note. LSU is in need of some road wins and this is the first of 3 the Tigers have left to try and take advantage of. With a win it would bring the Tigers to .500 in league play and should start to get some people discussing possible post season play.

PG Matchup

#1 Anthony Hickey 5’10” 172 Freshman
Vs.

#23 Bruce Ellington 5’9”197 Sophomore

*Bruce is the cog that makes the South Carolina offense turn. It will be the responsibility of Hickey and backup PG Chris Bass to contain him. If South Carolina stands a chance at this game it will likely take turnovers from Hickey paired with a great offensive performance from Ellington.

2 Guard Matchup

#10 Andre Stringer 5’9” 170 Sophomore
Vs.

#32 Damien Leonard 6’4” 192 Freshman

*This could be a tricky matchup for the Tigers. While the Freshman Leonard hasn’t been especially efficient on offense, he will have 7-8 inches on Stringer. Andre is use to guarding much taller players and should be fine. Look for Stringer to continue to pass up the long jumper and get into the lane, a trait he has taken a liking to. He has had 12 assists in the last 3 games and has gotten to the free throw line 9 times during that stretch.

3 Guard Matchup

#22 Ralston Turner 6’6” 193 Sophomore
Vs.

#15 Malik Cooke 6’6” 215 Senior

*South Carolina likes to run their offense through Malik Cooke. He is their leading scorer and will be their primary target on offense. Turner for LSU has played better recently scoring 12+ in 3 of the last 4 games. The Tigers will need Turner to play tough D on the SC senior for the Tigers to pull off the road victory.

Forward Matchup

#2 Johnny O’Bryant 6’9” 262 Freshman
Vs.

#33 R.J. Slawson 6’8” 202 Sophomore

*This should be a fun matchup. R.J. is South Carolina’s most efficient offensive weapon, but is not used very often. He will be giving up over 60 pounds on LSU’s O’Bryant. Look for LSU to take advantage of that and post up Johnny who has made some solid improvement in his offensive post production since his injury.

Center Matchup

#41 Justin Hamilton 7’0” 260 Junior
Vs.

#24 Damontre Harris 6’9” 226 Sophomore

*As is the case in most games, LSU has its largest advantage at the Center position. With his 7’ frame, he rarely needs much space to get his jump shot off and can muscle his way to the hole against smaller defenders. The 226 pound sophomore Harris should have trouble guarding Hamilton. Harris is little to no deep threat, so watch for Hamilton to play way off of him if he gets the ball at the top of the key and work on getting more rebounds after having a season low 3 rebounds against Mississippi State.


Stats:



Prediction:
LSU 66 South Carolina 59


SNS Story