Cinco de Starters-o: LSU Tigers
It's time, again, for another boring ol' "must win." Despite what the USC game did to fans' sanity and player relations, it really didn't do us much harm in computer polls. Ergo, we could use a win against a top 20 opponent, albeit at home. Additionally, LSU will be looking to lock-up the hapless SEC with a win today.
And I'm saying this right now, and you can tag me as the resident Negative Nancy if you wish, but Porter can't guard any of these guys one-on-one. Just throwing that out there.
Bayou Bengals:
#1 Tasmin Mitchell, 6'7'', F, Junior
2008-09 Stats: 16.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg
Mitchell is a combination scorer and terrific rebounder, both of which are a big problem. He doesn't take a lot of threes, but when he shoots 'em, he hits 'em. He's shooting almost 55% from the floor, and he can score from anywhere. In a win over Mississippi State, he had 41. The more I type, the more I fear. Mitchell missed the majority of last year with a stress fracture somewhere on his body.
#21 Chris Johnson, 6'11'', C, Senior
2008-09 Stats: 8.4 ppg, 2.9 bpg
This is exactly what Patterson does not need. After Wednesday's shot-blocking disaster, he now faces the conference's second best shot-blocker in Johnson. Further, LSU is second overall in blocked shots in the conference. Johnson will likely be a bit easier to push around in the post than Muldrow and Holmes, though. He's a bit frail. Still, he's had six or more blocks thrice this season.
#5 Marcus Thornton, 6'4'', G, Senior
2008-09 Stats: 20.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg
We can only hope that Thornton will be as unprepared for this game as he was for this picture. He probably won't be. 1/3 of a tall, quick backcourt, Thornton is an explosive scorer. He has been going off lately, too. He had 32 against Florida on Tuesday, his sixth 30+ game this season. I've seen LSU play about 3 halves this year, and one thing I did notice that his stats back up is that Thornton, Spencer and Temple (the LSU backcourt) have a tendency to take really bad shots. Exploit!
#11 Bo Spencer, 6'1'', G, Sophomore
2008-09 Stats: 11.6 ppg, 2.6 apg
Spencer is a bit of a spastic scorer, going for 21 one game, and 0 the next. He missed a couple of games earlier this month due to injury, but the Tigers were still able win without him. He's had 14 and 9 in his two games since returning, dishing out 6 assists against Florida.
#14 Garrett Temple, 6'6'', G, Senior
2008-09 Stats: 7.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Temple is the distributor of the ball for this offense, but he's been looking to score of late. He had his season high of 21 against Florida, so let's hope he got all the scorin' out of his system. He's a very tall guard, so he, with Thornton, will provide some match-up trouble for the Cats.
Key Reserves:
Terry Martin, G, Senior: Another tall guard, Martin scored 11 of the bench in back-to-back games against the Mississippis.
Quintin Thornton, F, Senior: Brother of TJ Thornton, who is 4 years old.
Game time is 4 p.m. on CBS...I believe the game is streamed online by CBS Sportsline...Kentucky is favored by 4
Mitchell is a combination scorer and terrific rebounder, both of which are a big problem. He doesn't take a lot of threes, but when he shoots 'em, he hits 'em. He's shooting almost 55% from the floor, and he can score from anywhere. In a win over Mississippi State, he had 41. The more I type, the more I fear. Mitchell missed the majority of last year with a stress fracture somewhere on his body.
#21 Chris Johnson, 6'11'', C, Senior
2008-09 Stats: 8.4 ppg, 2.9 bpg
This is exactly what Patterson does not need. After Wednesday's shot-blocking disaster, he now faces the conference's second best shot-blocker in Johnson. Further, LSU is second overall in blocked shots in the conference. Johnson will likely be a bit easier to push around in the post than Muldrow and Holmes, though. He's a bit frail. Still, he's had six or more blocks thrice this season.
#5 Marcus Thornton, 6'4'', G, Senior
2008-09 Stats: 20.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg
We can only hope that Thornton will be as unprepared for this game as he was for this picture. He probably won't be. 1/3 of a tall, quick backcourt, Thornton is an explosive scorer. He has been going off lately, too. He had 32 against Florida on Tuesday, his sixth 30+ game this season. I've seen LSU play about 3 halves this year, and one thing I did notice that his stats back up is that Thornton, Spencer and Temple (the LSU backcourt) have a tendency to take really bad shots. Exploit!
#11 Bo Spencer, 6'1'', G, Sophomore
2008-09 Stats: 11.6 ppg, 2.6 apg
Spencer is a bit of a spastic scorer, going for 21 one game, and 0 the next. He missed a couple of games earlier this month due to injury, but the Tigers were still able win without him. He's had 14 and 9 in his two games since returning, dishing out 6 assists against Florida.
#14 Garrett Temple, 6'6'', G, Senior
2008-09 Stats: 7.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Temple is the distributor of the ball for this offense, but he's been looking to score of late. He had his season high of 21 against Florida, so let's hope he got all the scorin' out of his system. He's a very tall guard, so he, with Thornton, will provide some match-up trouble for the Cats.
Key Reserves:
Terry Martin, G, Senior: Another tall guard, Martin scored 11 of the bench in back-to-back games against the Mississippis.
Quintin Thornton, F, Senior: Brother of TJ Thornton, who is 4 years old.
Game time is 4 p.m. on CBS...I believe the game is streamed online by CBS Sportsline...Kentucky is favored by 4
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