UMBC @ Louisiana State preview

LSU bounced back from its surprising loss on the road to Virginia Commonwealth with a 75-65 victory over Nicholls State on Saturday. The Tigers remain at home, where they have won five in a row dating back to last season, for a Tuesday evening battle with unbeaten nonconference foe Maryland-Baltimore County.

Twenty-six turnovers were LSU's downfall in the loss to VCU, but the team was just as careless with the ball in wins over Bowling Green (16) and Nicholls State (25) despite head coach Will Wade's focus on taking care of the ball. The Tigers have coughed it up 67 times for an average of 22.3 times per game, placing them second to last in the nation (349th) ahead of only North Carolina Central. "We've got to take care of the ball better; that's all there is to it," said sophomore forward Darius Days. "We're not pressing, but sometimes we just get in a hurry and make passes that were higher than we expected. But we're going to take care of that. It just has to be done." UMBC, at 4-0, is off to its best start since 2016-17, and head coach Ryan Odom picked up his 100th career win last time out with the Retrievers' 60-48 victory over Georgian Court.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network.

ABOUT UMBC (4-0): Junior guard Darnell Rogers spearheaded the Retrievers' attack against Georgian Court, scoring a career-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting to lift his team-best scoring average to 16.0 points, and he is shooting 52.5 percent from the floor and 50 percent from deep. Junior forward Brandon Horvath has posted back-to-back double-doubles and he leads the team in rebounds per game (8.5) in addition to being one of five players averaging in double-figures in scoring (12.5). UMBC is averaging 84.5 points per game and allowing just 53 as teams are shooting 31.9 percent from the floor against the Retrievers, sixth best in country.

ABOUT LSU (2-1): The backcourt of senior Skylar Mays and sophomore Javonte Smart leads the way for the Tigers, with Mays topping the team with 19.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and Smart recording a team-high 13 assists. Smart (17) and Mays (12), however, are also responsible for a large chunk of the turnovers, with freshman forward Trendon Watford chipping in with 15. Five Tigers in all - Mays, Emmitt Williams (13.7 ppg), Days (13.3), Smart (13) and Watford (12.7) - are scoring in double figures as the team is hitting nearly 50 percent from the floor.

TIP-INS

1. LSU and UMBC will both compete in the Jamaica Classic after their meeting.

2. VCU totaled 37 points off 26 LSU turnovers, but Nicholls State only converted 25 turnovers into 19 points.

3. Junior G Charles Manning Jr. has seven of LSU's 17 blocked shots.

PREDICTION: LSU 77, UMBC 60