LSU basketball is headed on the road to take on Vanderbilt after the Tigers squeaked out a 67-66 win over Georgia on Tuesday.
LSU (15-13, 7-8 SEC) has now won three of its last four games after the win over the Bulldogs. A win against Vanderbilt would bring LSU’s SEC record to 8-8 and give the Tigers the chance to finish above .500 in conference play just a season after going 2-16.
LSU has a favorable scheduled to close out the season. The Tigers play the bottom three teams in the SEC in their finals three games of the season. Vanderbilt is in 13th place, Arkansas is in 12th place and Missouri is dead last in 14th place. Georgia, LSU’s most recent win now sits in 11th place.
The easier stretch of games comes after LSU played four ranked opponents in a five-game stretch.
Vanderbilt (8-20, 3-12 SEC) is coming off an 85-82 win over Arkansas that broke a three-game losing streak. Two late free throws from senior guard Ezra Manjon secured the win for the Commodores.
Manjon is Vanderbilt’s leading scorer this season averaging 14.2 points per game. He scored 19 points when LSU and Vanderbilt first played back in January. LSU came away with a 77-69 win in that game.
Jalen Cook was LSU’s top scorer in the first matchup. He scored a season-high 28 points and went 10-for-19 from the field, but Cook has missed the last four games for LSU with a hamstring injury.
Jordan Wright, LSU’s top scorer this season after Cook, scored 15 points in the first matchup and is coming off a 17-point performance against Georgia. Wright averages 14.9 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 5.1 per game.
Vanderbilt has the worst offense in the SEC this season and is averaging just 66.8 points per game. LSU had the sixth-best offense in the conference and is scoring 76.5 points per game.
The Commodores also have the second-worst field goal percentage in the conference. They are shooting just 39.5% from the field this season. LSU is fourth in the conference and is shooting 45.9% from the field.
Vanderbilt has scored over 77 points in a game just once this season in conference play. LSU has given up less than 75 points in three of its last four games. The Commodores are the only team in the SEC with less than 2000 points scored this season.
Vanderbilt and LSU both rank in the latter half of the conference in rebounds per game. LSU is ninth and averages 35.8 rebounds per game while Vanderbilt is 12th with 34.5 rebounds per game.
Vanderbilts top rebounder is Ven-Allen Lubin. Lubin averages 6.1 rebounds per game and is also the third top scorer for the Commodores with 11.5 points per game. Tyrin Lawrence is second on the team with 13.4 points per game.
Both defenses give up a similar number of points. LSU’s defense is slightly better and gives up 74.5 points per game. Vanderbilt’s defense gives up 74.7 points per game.
LSU’s game against Vanderbilt will start at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in Nashville.
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