Basketball Tigers Travel to Kansas State for Thursday Night Contest – LSU

BATON ROUGE – The LSU men’s basketball team, 2-0 on the young season, hits the court for the first time in 2024-25 and travels Thursday to Manhattan, Kansas to face the Kansas State Wildcats.

The game is set for a CT tip at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates with Voice of the Tigers Chris Blair and former LSU head coach John Brady. The flagship broadcast on Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge begins just before tipoff following the conclusion of The Brian Kelly Show, which begins at 19 CT. Listen to the entire show live at LSUsports.net/live.

The game will be streamed as part of the Big 12’s ESPN+ package with Mark Neely and Jimmy Dykes on the call.

LSU is coming off a 74-61 win over Alabama State on Sunday. The Tigers trailed by six at the half and by 10 with 12 minutes remaining before getting the offensive game going. Cam Carter had 21 points to lead LSU, while Jordan Sears added 18 points and five assists. Dji Bailey had 15 points.

“I was really happy, really happy with the finish, the last 12 minutes on Sunday,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said when meeting with the media on Tuesday. “A lot of learning throughout the game, but I really liked the way we finished the game, both offensively and defensively. Now we have this great opportunity to go on the road Thursday against Kansas State.”

The Wildcats are also 2-0 with wins 89-65 over New Orleans and 77-64 over Cleveland State. In its last game against Cleveland State on Saturday, the Wildcats shot 57.8 percent from the field (26-of-45) and made 10-of-19 three-pointers.

“I think Coach (Jerome) Tang has done a great job through the portal and the construction of the burner,” Coach McMahon said. “They play really unselfishly on the offensive end of the floor, averaging 20 assists a game. Truly a beautiful way to play the game. They shoot it exceptionally well from three, where we have been really strong in defending the three through two games. It will definitely be put to the test there. It’s a really talented team and a great opportunity. We are looking forward to the trip to Manhattan.”

LSU is expected to start the same lineup against the Wildcats with Carter, Bailey and Sears at guards and Jalen Reed and Robert Miller III at forwards. Carter, the former Kansas State player, has scored 21 points in each of the first two games. Bailey is averaging 14 points and three assists, while Sears is averaging 12.5 points and 2.5 assists. Reed had a huge game in LSU’s opener with ULM, scoring a career-high 24 points.

Junior Brendan Hausen is one of three Wildcats averaging in double figures with a team-leading 19.5 points per game on 60 percent shooting, including 55.6 percent from 3-point range. Senior David N’Guessan is averaging a near double-double (16.5 ppg., 9.0 rpg.), while fellow senior Max Jones is averaging 15 ppg. match.

This will mark the third year in a row the teams have played each other. LSU and K-State first met in the finals of the Cayman Islands Classic, where Kansas State won, 61-59, when a late LSU bucket was denied, and last year the Wildcats won at the Maravich Center, 75-60.

LSU will next be at home on Tuesday, November 19 at 19 against Charleston Southern.