Kennesaw State at LSU WHEN: 8 p.m. Monday WHERE: PMAC Radio: WWL 870-AM/105.3-FM, WDGL-FM 98.1 (Baton Rouge) TV: ESPNU Records: Kennesaw State 0-1; LSU 1-0 Last meeting/series: Teams have not played before. Last time out: LSU barreled to a 34-point lead vs. McNeese State early in the second half on the way to an 81-70 victory Friday. Kennesaw State lost its opener at Alabama, 77-64. Up next The Tigers entertain South Alabama at 8 p.m. Thursday. Kennesaw State (Stats from season opener) Probable starters G Kendrick Ray (6-1 Jr.) 17 points, 5 rebounds, 7-8 FT G Yonel Brown (5-9 Sr.) 34 points, 10 rebounds, 11-21 FG, 4-9 3-pt. FG, 8-8 FT G Nick Masterson (6-5 So.) 0 points, 1 rebounds F Nigel Pruitt (6-7 Sr.) 1 point, 2 rebounds F Jordan Jones (6-8 So.) 0 points, 2 rebounds in 5 minutes Key reserves F/G Tracy Hector (6-4 Fr.) 0 points, 0 rebounds F Bernard Morena (6-8 Sr.) 6 points, 4 rebounds F Aubrey Williams (6-6 Jr.) 6 points, 12 rebounds Coach: Al Skinner, 1st season (0-1; 385-292, 23rd season overall) No. 21/19-ranked LSU (Stats from season opener) Probable starters G Tim Quarterman (6-6 Jr.) 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists G Brandon Sampson (6-5 Fr.) 19 points, 4-6 3-pt. FG, 2 steals G Antonio Blakeney (6-4 Fr.) 22 points, 2-5 3-pt. FG, 10 rebounds C Elbert Robinson (7-1, 290) 8 points, 4 rebounds F Benny Simmons (6-10 Fr.) 11 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists Key reserves G Jalyn Patterson (6-1 So.) 9 points, 2-5 3-pt. FG, 3 assists, 3 steals G Josh Gray (6-1 Sr.) Did not play (suspended) F Brian Bridgewater (6-5 Jr.) 2 points, 5 rebounds Coach: Johnny Jones (62-37, 4th season; 267-199, 16th season overall) Of note LSU's 9-for-20 performance from 3-point territory Friday was the 22nd time in Jones' 99 games that the Tigers have knocked down at least that many treys. Antonio Blakeney hit double digits in field-goal (16) and free-throw attempts (10) in his debut. Last season that happened only seven times -- Jarell Martin five times and Jordan Mickey twice. Blakeney and Brandon Sampson's 41 combined were the most by a freshman tandem in their debut since Ralston Turner and Andre Stringereach produced 21 against Northwestern State on Nov. 12, 2010. Simmons and Blakeney each recorded double-doubles. Last season Martin and Mickey each did so in four games a year ago, Tim Quarterman joined one of those two twice and Josh Gray once. Gray is set to make his season debut after sitting out the opener for a suspension related to playing in an unsanctioned game late last summer. The Tigers are 22-3 under Jones when scoring 80 points or more after their season-opening win. In 2014-15, LSU topped 80 in consecutive games just once: McNeese State and UMass last Nov. 29 and Dec. 2. The Owls were 11-22 last season, prompting a cooaching change that brought Al Skinner to theAtlanta suburbs. A veteran of 23 years at Rhode Island and Boston College, Skinner guided nine teams to the NCAA Tournament -- two with the Rams and seven with the Eagles. Five players on Kennesaw's 12-man roster are from the expansive Atlanta metro area, as is LSU's Jayln Patterson. ------------------------- Crunching the numbers (2014-15 stats) Scoring offense | LSU 73.4 ppg, Kennesaw State 63.3 ppg Scoring defense | LSU 67.7 ppg, Kennesaw State 73.8 ppg Field-goal shooting | LSU 45.5%, Kennesaw State 40..4 % Field-goal defense | LSU 40.2%, Kennesaw State 44.9 % 3-point shooting | LSU 33.9%, Kennesaw State 32.4% 3-point defense | LSU 30.9%, Kennesaw 33.1% Free-throw shooting | LSU 68.4%, Kennesaw State 73.2% Rebounds per game | LSU 39.2 (12.2 offense), McNeese State 34.2 Rebounding margin | LSU +2.3, Kennesaw State -3.3 Blocked shots | LSU 6.2 per game, Kennesaw State 3.4 Assists | LSU 15.6 per game, Kennesaw State 13.1 Assist percentage | LSU 57.8%, Kennesaw State 46.2% Steals | LSU 7.3 per game, Kennesaw State 6.9 Turnovers | LSU 14.4 per game, Kennesaw State 14.2 Opponent turnovers | LSU 13.6 per game, Kennesaw State 11.0
Looks pretty effortless so far. Like what I see, curious how the trip to Brooklyn goes. Gray looks like he fits within the offense, Simmons is making others look better.
Gray showed a bit more sloppy in the 2nd half. The team coasted again, but not nearly as badly as the first game. Hoping they can pull together a whole game when they face legit competition, but winning in the manner they are is encouraging.
pts/reb/asst/stl/blks Simmons 22/9/6/4/2, 11/17 FG Gray 16/6/6/3/0, 2/2 FT, 2/3 3S, 6/11 FG Blakeney 14/3/4, 4/7 FT, 2/4 3S, 4/8 FG Epps 10/7, 2/2 FT, 4/8 FG Quarterman 9/1, 1/2 FT, 2/3 3S, 3/4 FG Robinson 6/5, 4/4 FT, 1/4 FG Simmons led scorers, almost had a second double-double, had some nice dishes, some nice steals, a couple blocks, and very few mistakes. He doesn't look like a great jump shooter, but he plays smart in general. Gray was a threat from 3, fit pretty well with the rest of the team, was sloppy from time to time but played through that and played hard. Made some good passes and was 100% from the charity stripe. Dude is quick and made some nice drives to the basket. Blakeney was solid and hit a couple big 3s. Epps was pretty effective and opportunistic, cleaning up around the goal with points and rebounds. Quarterman was his usual tenacious self, with some big 3s and consistent with FTs. Robinson was a solid contributor, and in addition to being the best option at center (big and strong) he hasn't missed a FT yet this year. Hornsby is still out. Team was running a lot of the game, ran a pretty effective press for a lot of the game (glad Jones is working on it early, gave up some easy scores but also got some TOs). We got out-scored 47-48 in the second half, but I think you could say the team coasted. Team looks better coached than the football team, but it's early. Crowd was pretty loud and ESPN continues fawning over Simmons; seems pretty justified but they haven't been punched in the mouth yet. Kennesaw St lost 64-77 to Bama in their first game.
IF Grey can play under control he is very good. Has tons of quickness and ability. He was just very in consistent last year. Almost looked like he was trying too hard to make things happen. I hear the Victor Kid is pretty solid as well. I think LSU will have depth this year, where in the last few years we were playing with 5-6 the entire game. We may have 9 we can rotate in and out and that may help as the season wears on
