GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU continued to build its NCAA Tournament resume with another resume-building Power 5 conference win on Tuesday night, 85-75, over Florida State in the Southeastern Conference/Atlantic Coast Conference challenge at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
And the Tigers (7-1) did it without one of their best players in junior forward Jalen Reed, who left the game with a knee injury just 1:37 into the first half after hitting a layup, but falling awkwardly on his knee. He was unable to put any weight on it as he was helped off the court.
“Jalen Reed sprained his knee,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “He’ll be evaluated tomorrow (Wednesday). We’ll have a further update after that testing is complete.”
It did not look good for Reed, a third-year LSU player from Jackson, Mississippi, who leads the team in rebounds with 7.4 a game and is averaging 12.4 points and has blocked eight shots. But then things looked bad for junior forward Daimion Collins just two weeks ago when he went down with a dislocated shoulder.
And Collins, who missed virtually all of last season with a similar injury that required surgery, made a surprise return to the lineup on Tuesday after just one full practice on Monday. He scored four points with three rebounds and blocked four shots in 18 minutes off the bench.
“One day of practice, and he comes out and blocks four shots,” McMahon said. “Sunday was his first day back. His first contact practice was Monday, and he said he felt good – no pain. And he was ready to help the team. He had a great off-season (rehabbing the previous injury), and we are thrilled to have him back.”
LSU freshmen forwards Corey Chest and Robert Miller III and Collins helped fill the gap from Reed’s injury. Chest led the Tigers with 10 rebounds and scored four points, while Miller added four rebunds and five points with a blocked shot.
“We hated to see Jalen go down,” senior point guard Jordan Sears said. “But there was still no letdown with Corey and Damion and even Robert Miller coming in.”
With the inside taken care of, LSU’s versatile plethora of guards took over. Senior Cam Carter scored a game-high 26 with 8-of-15 shooting from 3-point range and eight rebounds. Sears added 21 with 6-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc and six rebounds. And true freshman Vyctorius Miller added 15 points with 13 of those in the second half.
LSU trailed the Seminoles (7-2) by 35-32 at the half, but its guards could not be guarded in the second half as it opened up a 49-40 lead on a V. Miller 3-pointer at the 14:02 mark. Guard Dji Bailey hit a layup for a 10-point lead at 66-56 with 6:38 to play, and LSU would lead by as many as 12 down the stretch and was up by double digit most of the rest of the way.
“I think it’s huge,” McMahon said of the win, which put the Tigers at 3-1 against Power 5 programs on the season.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton was particularly impressed with LSU’s guards.
“Last time I was here, I think they dropped a Tiger out of the ceiling,” said Hamilton, a Kentucky assistant coach and lead recruiter from 1974-86 who visited with former LSU coach Dale Brown before the game.
Hamilton sees LSU doing reaching the NCAA Tournament as Brown’s teams did 10 straight seasons from 1984-93.
“They just backed and made the threes with confidence,” Hamilton said. “I’m not sure I could’ve let my player even shoot from as deep as they were. They keep playing like that, and they’ll be a hard task for a lot of teams. If they stay away from injuries, they’re going to be a real factor in the SEC race.”
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