In recent seasons, the Tigers (14-1 and 2-1) have had a difficult time playing the Florida Gators (9-5. 0-2). The purple and gold have lost 10 out of 13 games in Gainesville since the John Brady era, including three of the four in the Will Wade era.
Despite a 0-2 conference start for Mike White’s Tigers team, this time around it won’t be easy. The Gators are coming off two losses to Alabama at home, and Auburn on road. This was a tightly contested game that lasted until the very end.
This Florida team has one key advantage: it turns over opponents at an incredibly efficient rate on almost 24% of their opposition’s offensive possessions.
“Our biggest keys will be one, we can’t turn the ball around. We will have to rebound the ball because they are the top 25 in offensive rebounding. We’ll then have to guard them against fouling.
Colin Castleton is the senior big man for the Gators. He has been a problem in LSU’s favor in recent matchups. Castleton, a long-skilled big, is second in SEC with an average of 15.6 points per contest and 9.2 rebound.
Castleton is one the best big men in the conference. His length, rebounding and ability get to the free throw line gave the Tigers fits a few years ago. Castleton is being fouled on 60% or more of his offensive possessions this year, mainly due to his ability to attack offensive glass.
Wade indicated that Florida will likely target LSU in one area: the switching that’s been ingrained into the DNA of the Tigers’ defense. Castleton will be getting in mismatches at the rim.
He is the league’s second best rebounder, so he is a true monster. Wade stated that he does a great job of securing himself around the basket to get offensive rebounds. They’ll try to take advantage his skill vs our switching. Wade said, “We have to be aware of this and limit him to one shot.”
Efton Reid, a freshman, will have the chance to bounce back against Castleton. Wade acknowledged that Reid has been plagued by foul trouble during conference play. However, the Tigers will need Reid on the court to match up against Castleton.
This team will be tested in a new environment, which is only the second time this team has been on the road. In this situation, Eric Gaines and Justice Williams, both guards, will be playing larger roles, primarily as the ball handlers.
LSU is still searching for its first complete season game. Wade sees this group achieve its goals in certain areas, but not all through the game. This is just a small part of the focus Wednesday evening in hostile conditions.
Wade said, “We haven’t yet played a complete game.” “It’s going to take a full game for us on the road to win and we haven’t been able that yet. This is the most important because we haven’t done it in a game in a very long time. We have to put our efforts into that and work harder in those areas.