GAMETHREAD: vs North Florida, 7pm, SECN+

The end of November was not kind to LSU Athletics. Men's basketball dropped both games in Brooklyn by a combined 12 points. Rumors then began to swirl about the fate of the head football coach before shifting to the athletic director. Then to cap it all off men's basketball went on the road to Charleston and lost by 12 points.

Now the calendar has turned to December meaning Hanukkah is near. This feast dating back to the time of the Maccabees is an eight-day festival of light where gifts are exchanged each night. LSU Basketball is looking to find such points of light and presents as it hopes to turn around what is a highly touted season.

One point of light is that Keith Hornsby should return after the dead period from his surgery for a sports hernia.

"We've been pushing the rehab a good bit, but we've been conscious, too," Hornsby told Randy Rosetta of The Times-Picayune. "I've been really listening to my body. Any little ache, we've kind of held off on activities, but everything is on schedule. I haven't been in live practice yet, but I really feel like I should be back in a week or two if everything works out."

Another point of light is Craig Victor, the Arizona transfer who is scheduled to make his season debut on the road against the Houston Cougars on what would be the final night of Hanukkah. Victor, a 6-8, 205-pound Power Forward will, if anything else, take some of the pressure away freshman Ben Simmons.

As for gifts go, LSU just wants one thing before all else. That is a win. The team's first chance to get such a gift is Wednesday night at home as it hosts North Florida. However do not gift wrap this game yet as the Ospreys scavenged Illinois in the opening game this season and did the same to Purdue a season ago.

"Dallas Moore and Beau Beech, were the main reasons the Ospreys were able to pick up the upset in this one," wrote Sam Vecenie of cbssports.com. " Moore scored 26 points to go with 10 assists, and Beech dropped 25 including seven 3-pointers."

The season is still in the infancy stages, but a string of wins on the court much like a string of lights on the house will brighten up the outlook on the landscape of LSU Athletics.