Northwestern St. @ Louisiana State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 16, 2013 ) Northwestern St. 74, Louisiana State 88

LSU is doing its best work in the paint and will try to produce another masterpiece when it hosts Northwestern State on Saturday. The Tigers have won three straight after a 90-54 victory over New Orleans on Tuesday and are shooting 61.5 percent from inside the arc while owning a plus-7.8 rebounding margin.

LSU coach Will Wade left little doubt that his team will pound the ball inside against the Demons, telling reporters: “Oh yes. That’s how we always kind of play. It’s the safest way to play and it’s a good way to play.” Sophomore forwards Emmitt Williams and Darius Days have done the most damage inside and shoot a combined 75.7 percent from two-point range. The Demons are coming off a 77-51 loss at SMU on Tuesday during which they were outrebounded 47-32 and are 0-5 versus clubs in major or mid-major conferences, including a 77-63 setback at Texas A&M earlier this season. "Defense and rebounding go hand in hand, and those are the building blocks you have to have in place to be successful," Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy told reporters. "We got outrebounded badly against SMU, and that's because our guards didn't rebound. You've got to go to the glass to rebound. If you don't go to the supper table, you're not going to get supper."

TV: 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN STATE (2-5): Junior forward Chudier Bile (team highs of 10.9 points, 8.4 rebounds per game) recorded nine points and three boards versus SMU after totaling 39 points and 19 rebounds in the previous two contests. Junior guard Jairus Roberson and sophomore guard Brian White average 9.1 points apiece with White leading the club in assists (3.6) and shooting 52.1 percent from the field, including 8-for-19 from 3-point range. Nikos Chougkaz, a 6-10 freshman guard, averages 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds while twin brother Robert, a 6-9 forward, scored five against SMU for his first career points in his third game.

ABOUT LSU (6-2): Williams (15.4 points, 7.6 rebounds) recorded his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 boards against New Orleans while Days (14 points, team-high 8.5 rebounds) provided 12 points and 10 boards for his second straight double-double and fourth of 2019-20. Senior guard Skylar Mays (club-best 16.3 points) recorded six points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals Tuesday and is 32-for-51 from inside the arc. Freshman forward Trendon Watford (13 points, six rebounds) has averaged 15.3 points over his last three games after scoring a season-high 18 versus New Orleans.

TIP-INS

1. The Tigers were one of 16 teams in the nation entering Saturday shooting better than 50 percent from the field (51.2).

2. The Demons shoot 28.8 percent from 3-point range, which was 303rd among the 350 Division I teams, while LSU is at 31.3.

3. Days leads the nation in two-point field goal percentage by making 89.1 percent of his 37 attempts.

PREDICTION: LSU 82, Northwestern State 52