Link Gumbo: 3-8-18

LSU will begin to play tonight in the SEC Tournament as they play Mississippi State for the second game in a row. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m., CT, in the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. LSU will play as the 10 seed, meaning they earned a first-round bye.

Of course, the biggest news regarding this game is the fact taht Tremont Waters broke his nose in a practice but will be ready to play tonight with a protective mask.

Friend of the site and Tiger Rag editor Cody Worsham found some interesting symmetry here...

LSU beat MSU 78-57 last Saturday with strong performances from Tremont Waters and Aaron Epps. LSU was the worst rebounding team in the SEC this year. If they want to be playing on Friday, they will need to keep pace with MSU on the boards and slow down the Bulldogs’ leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon. The winner of this game will move on to face second-seeded Tennesee, who have already beaten the Tigers once this season.

On the diamond, it was not a fun ending for the Tigers on Wednesday night. LSU lost on a walk-off single by ULL’s third basemen, Johnathan Windham. With the loss, LSU splits their two midweek games this week after beating Southern 8-2 on Tuesday. There was a positive takeaway from the ULL game, and that was AJ Labas. Labas threw three shutout innings including striking out the side in the second with the bases loaded. Zach Watson returned on Tuesday with an impressive three-hit performance. With Labas starting last night, it means LSU will need someone to start on Sunday. I think the easy pick should be Ma’kalil Hilliard. Hilliard has looked good this year and has yet to give up a run. With Hess and Gilbert starting to settle in, and the options of Hilliard or Labas for Sundays, it would seem that LSU’s rotation is on par with what they expect.

Ross Dellenger continued his insightful countdown to spring practice yesterday with 4: TE Foster Moreau’s Touchdowns. Delly highlights that Moreau is one of the more underappreciated Tigers by fans. Moreau brings tremendous value as a leader, blocker, and reliable receiver. Moreau will be part of one of the better TE groups LSU has had in a while when you factor in what Jamal Pettigrew and Thaddeus Moss (Son of Randy) will bring to the table.

Staying with the pass catching theme, today’s countdown from Delly featured the WRs LSU will bring back next year. The group is loaded with talent and should be one of the strengths of this LSU Football team.

Coach O went on 104.5 Thursday morning to discuss his team heading into spring practice. Highlights include him discussing the QB postion, where he feels LSU is in good hands. He also noted that Nick Brosette would start off as the number one RB heading into spring as well as giving some details on the OL personnel.

If you missed the one from Tuesday about the LSU linebacking core, click here.

One last football nugget today, LSU landed a recruit in the 2020 class. WR Kris Draine out of Alabama has committed to LSU.

SEC Softball begins conference play tomorrow. LSU will be hosting 12th ranked Auburn. LSU currently sits at 8 in the polls. If you would like to get caught up on last weekend’s action, click here to read ATVS’ Eric Saltzman’s recap.

LSU’s gym lineup will not look the same this week when they travel to NC State. With the SEC title wrapped up and a collection of solid scores, LSU will limit participation from their top gymnast. Also in that link, you will find that LSU gymnasts were honored yet again by the SEC. The Tigers will return to the PMAC next weekend when they take on Arizona.