Louisiana State @ Utah St. preview

Louisiana State at Utah St.

Utah State is taking its No. 16 ranking and 5-0 record to the Caribbean on Friday to play in the eight-team Jamaica Classic. The Aggies will play two games in Montego Bay, beginning with Friday night’s matchup with LSU.

Despite playing without 7-foot force Neemias Queta, who’s recovering from a summer knee injury, Utah State has dominated five lower-major foes, scoring at least 81 points in every outing and winning by an average of 32.6 points. Friday night’s matchup with the Tigers, though, will be a significant step up for the Aggies who are venturing outside of Logan for the first time this season. LSU, meanwhile, is 3-1 and was among the top six teams receiving votes in this week’s Coaches’ Top-25 Poll. The Tigers have won all three of their home games with their only loss coming by two points (84-82) at VCU on Nov. 13.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT LSU (3-1): The defending SEC regular-season champs brought back two starters and have had head coach Will Wade reinstated after his postseason suspension last spring following allegations of recruiting improprieties. The Tigers have regrouped around senior guard Skylar Mays (team-leading 17 points per game), with the top six in the rotation all averaging at least 9.5 points and four rebounds per outing. Led by 6-foot-6 forward Darius Days (team-most eight boards per contest), the Tigers are outrebounding the opposition by an average of 12 per game, but the offensive flow has been ragged at times with LSU averaging 20.5 turnovers and only 11.5 assists so far.

ABOUT UTAH STATE (5-0): Senior guard Sam Merrill, the reigning Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, is off and running again, averaging a team-best 17.4 points while contributing 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists and shooting 54.5 percent from 3-point range. Justin Bean, a 6-7 forward, has stepped up inside in Queta’s absence with 13.2 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds, while fellow forward Alphonso Anderson is averaging 12 points and 6.6 boards. As a team, Utah is outrebounding the opposition by an average of 16.4 per game and is averaging 20 assists per outing.

TIP-INS

1. This will be the fourth meeting between the schools but the first since 1984-85.

2. Utah State’s five foes have shot a combined 33.4 percent from the field while committing 78 combined turnovers and averaging 53.4 points per game.

3. LSU will face Rhode Island on Sunday in its other Jamaica Classic game while Utah State will meet North Texas. Nicholls, Eastern Michigan, UMBC and North Carolina A&T also are participating in the event.

PREDICTION: Utah State 74, LSU 71