After their first road win of the season and a week off to prepare, the 17th ranked Gators (14-4, 2-1) host the LSU Tigers (12-6, 2-2) in the O’Connell Center Saturday at 6 p.m. on FSN.
The Gators were finally able to get the road monkey off their backs with their win last Saturday over South Carolina. They have had an entire week off since that win, the only time in the SEC schedule which this will occur. It seems to be the perfect time for a week off, as the Gators are dealing with an ankle injury to Patric Young.
According to Billy Donovan, an MRI was taken earlier this week and found no major damage to Young’s ankle, but the injury still remains a concern even though it shouldn’t keep him from playing against LSU and in future games. Donovan has held Young out of practice this week to prevent any more pressure on the ankle than necessary.
If Young cannot start, the Gators will need Will Yeguete to fill the role as he did against South Carolina where he was six of six shooting from the field for a career-high 14 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.
The Gators opponent for the game are the LSU tigers who have improved in Trent Johnson’s fourth season as head coach after two straight 11-20 seasons. They had a résumé building win over a top 10 Marquette team earlier in the season and have played in many close games including their previous game, a 65-58 OT win against Auburn.
Two newcomers have led to the change in LSU’s winning attitude, Iowa State transfer Justin Hamilton (7-0, 260) and freshman Anthony Hickey (5-11, 182). Hamilton leads the team with 13.3 ppg and 7.5 rpg, while Hickey runs the offense as a true pass-first point guard.
Storm Warren (6-7, 230) provides LSU’s senior leadership and despite the fact that nagging injuries have reduced his playing time to 20.5 minutes per game, he still averages 8.4 ppg.
The Gators will have to combat this combination of exuberant youth and seasoned experience by getting the lead and the crowd behind them early on. This will present a situation that LSU’s newly formed team chemistry has not been through enough to handle.
Anthony Richards
@GridironGator
http://secfanatic.wordpress.com/
