Tiger Basketball meets UCF on Sunday at The Greenbrier – LSU

WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – The LSU Tigers, looking to bounce back from a setback on Friday, will face UCF on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm CT at Colonial Hall at Greenbrier in the third place in the Greenbrier Tipoff.

Both teams are 4-1 and are coming off losses on Friday. The Tigers fell to Penn State, 74-63, while UCF dropped an 86-70 decision to nationally ranked Wisconsin in the other semifinal game.

The LSU-UCF game will be broadcast on LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates (Guaranty Media Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) with former LSU Basketball head coach John Brady and JD Byars sitting in for Chris Blair. Jack Benjamin and Matt McCall will have the televised call on CBS Sports Network.

Jalen Reed, who hit 6-of-10 field goals, and Vyctorius Miller each had 14 points, while Cam Carter had 11 for the Tigers. LSU shot 37.3 percent from the field for the game and was consistent, making 11-of-30 in the first half and 11-of-29 in the second half. The Tigers made five treys and 14-of-20 from the line.

LSU battled throughout the game and rallied from five down with three minutes left in the first half to take a 28-27 lead. However, Pittsburgh ran off the first 13 points of the second half to go up by 12, but LSU was twice able to cut the game to four points by playing a four-guard setup that allowed the offense to spread out and flow better, but as Coach McMahon pointed out, the postgame led to some defensive issues.

“… So we went with a four-guard lineup to try to space the floor and find some different ways to score. I thought that helped us get some baskets. Vyctorius Miller was great for us in the second half. He opened up some space for Jalen down in the post, but then you saw there were some trade-offs on our defense, too,” LSU coach McMahon said.

Jordan Ivy-Curry led UCF in their loss to the Badgers with 13 points, while Keyshawn Hall and Dior Johnson each had 11 points. UCF shot 39.3 percent (21-62) with two treys and 26-of-37 at the free throw line. UCF out rebounded Wisconsin, 41-39, with 32 points in the paint.

Ivy-Curry leads UCF with a 16.8 average, with Hall at 16.2 through five games.

UCF is coached by Johnny Dawkins, in his ninth season as head coach. Dawkins previously coached for eight years at Stanford. He was the national player of the year as a senior in 1986 while at Duke.

“UCF is a really talented team that had the big win over Texas A&M earlier in the season,” said Coach McMahon. “I think when you look at their ability to play in transition, they’re one of the best teams in the country there. So our transition defense is going to be critical (Sunday). I think they’re an offensive rebound- team in the elite class, which causes some problems for us. It will be a big focus in our preparation.

“On the offensive side of the ball, they do a good job of forcing turnovers. So our continued focus on ball security is going to be important, and we’ve struggled to shoot the ball from the rim. Their opponents take 30 threes a game, so they really does a good job of protecting their paint. We have to step up and shoot the ball with great conference from the perimeter.”

On Saturday, the Tigers practiced for about 45 minutes late in the morning in preparation for Sunday afternoon’s contest. The team is scheduled to return to Baton Rouge after Sunday’s game and will face Northwestern State on Nov. 29 (the Friday after Thanksgiving) at 19 in the Maravich Center. Fans can show their Oklahoma-LSU football ticket to receive a free ticket to the basketball game.

Monday will also be the beginning of a Black Friday ticket deal for LSU Basketball. The 2-Pack Deal allows fans to choose from either the Florida State, Florida Gulf Coast or New Orleans game in December and have the Vanderbilt game (Jan. 4) added. Sale ends at midnight on Monday 2nd December.

Additional information will be available at LSUTix.net.