LSU Basketball Says Bring On No. 2 Florida After Tigers Win 2 Straight, Right?

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

OK, now LSU will see just how much it has improved.

The Tigers (14-12, 3-10 Southeastern Conference), fresh off a two-game winning streak, host the No. 2 team in the nation in Florida (23-3, 10-3 SEC) on Saturday (5 p.m., SEC Network) at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU has momentum for the first time since December as it pulled a miracle comeback to win 82-79 at third-to-last place Oklahoma, which led 79-74 with 20 seconds left last Saturday. Then the Tigers blew out last place and SEC winless South Carolina, 81-67, on Tuesday at home.

The competition goes from 0 to 75 from those two to the Gators, who have won five straight, including four by double digits and two by 20 or more. Florida handed No. 1 Auburn one of its only two losses on Feb. 8 at Auburn, 90-81, and the Gators beat then-No. 1 Tennessee, 73-43, on Jan. 7.

The Gators are third in the nation in rebounding with 42 a game and is fifth in scoring margin at 17.4. Florida is No. 10 in the country in scoring with 83.8 points a game.

But, hey, LSU is 2-0 after seven straight losses.

“There were a lot of learning experiences leading into the past two games,” senior guard Cam Carter said. “And I think we’re figuring it out now.”

CAM CARTER HAS RARE PAIR OF 4- AND 3-POINT PLAYS

Carter scored 46 points on 17-of-31 shooting (54 percent) in those two wins, including 8-of-17 shooting (47 percent) from 3-point range. He outscored Oklahoma 7-0 over the final 20 seconds.

“We know we can win in this league,” he said.

“When we put 40 minutes together, I don’t think anybody can beat us,” sophomore guard Mike Williams III said. Williams scored 13 points in 14 minutes off the bench against South Carolina on 4-of-5 shooting with 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

“Only putting one half together has been our biggest problem this year,” Williams said. “These last two games, we’ve put two halves together, and we’ve been rewarded. I think we can do that again Saturday along with execution, and we should be fine.”

LSU 6-foot-9 junior forward Daimion Collins and redshirt freshman 6-8 forward Corey Chest will contend with Florida 6-11 sophomore center Alex Condon, who is Florida’s leading rebounder with 7.8 a game and averages 10.6 points along with 1.4 blocks. Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. is averaging 17.2 points a game.

“Proud of our players for staying the course and getting better” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “The credit goes to our players. They’ve practiced hard and competed every game. Our turnovers are way down the last five games. That has to continue for us. Our shot quality has improved. We’re improving as a team.”