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Other than the Thanksgiving Week trio of games at the Maui Invitational, the LSU Tigers (8-3) will play their first true away game this evening against the Memphis Tigers (9-3), led by former Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith. The Tigers last played a Tubby-coached team in the 2014-15 season, a 69-64 overtime victory over Texas Tech.
According to KenPom, Memphis is ranked 164th overall, averaging out as a very average team with a 166th ranked offensive adjusted efficiency, 159th on defense. Memphis boasts two top 100 victories over Northern Kentucky and Mercer, and are a perfect 9-0 in the FedEx Forum.
LSU is given a slight, two point edge to win, but I’m hesitant to expect a perfect outing in their first true road game. One particular statistic that jumps out at me as potentially dangerous is Memphis’ offensive rebounding ability; they’re currently ranked 24th in that category, while LSU is ranked 233rd in defensive rebounding. The other side of that coin is LSU’s offensive rebound ranking of 17th compared to Memphis’ defensive rebounding ranking of 324th. While that seems to match up on paper in our favor, be sure to keep an eye on the rebound battle through the game.
Projected Memphis Tigers Starting 5
#3 G - Jeremiah Martin: 18.6ppg, 3.9apg, 35.4 minutes
#5 G - Kareem Brewton Jr.: 8.4ppg, 1.8apg, 21.3 minutes
#0 F - Kyvon Davenport: 13.1ppg, 6.3rpg, 33.1 minutes
#1 G - Jamal Johnson: 6.9ppg, 1.1apg, 24.2 minutes
#10 F - Mike Parks Jr.: 3.4ppg, 2.9rpg, 13.8 minutes
Tonight’s game tips off in the FedEx Forum at 8pm, and will be televised on CBS-Sports Network. I sincerely wish you good luck in finding that channel, but I do know I’m in luck with Playstation Vue. You can also listen to the game on 98.1 FM, or follow along in the comments below or on Twitter @marq113. And if you’re that desperate to watch, come on over and watch it at my place, BYOB.