UNC Wilmington @ Louisiana State preview
Pete Maravich Assembly Center
Two teams trying to find their stride under first-year coaches square off Sunday, when LSU hosts UNC Wilmington. Both squads are playing for the first time in December and beginning key stretches leading up to conference play.
LSU is coming out of an 11-day break for final exams and beginning a stretch of five home games in 13 days that will be followed by a trip to Memphis in the final tune-up before starting SEC play. “We have to handle our home court,” Tigers coach Will Wade told reporters. “We talked about making the Maravich Center a tough place to play. So we have to make sure we handle our business here and make some good efforts.” The Seahawks lost their last three games before a 10-day layoff for exams. Wilmington has struggled a bit in its first season under longtime Roy Williams assistant C.B. McGrath, but the team is adept at running the transition offense Williams employed at Kansas and North Carolina.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, SEC Network Plus
ABOUT UNC WILMINGTON (2-4): The Seahawks have a tremendous inside-outside duo in big man Devontae Cacok (19.3 points, 13 rebounds) and senior point guard Jordon Talley (16.8 points, 7.6 assists). Cacok has recorded double-doubles in five of the Seahawks’ six games while Talley leads the Colonial Athletic Association in assists. Wilmington employs a three-guard lineup, and both of Talley’s starting backcourt mates – sophomores Ty Taylor II (12.3 points) and Jaylen Fornes (10.8) – average double digits in points.
ABOUT LSU (4-2): The Tigers rank fifth in the nation in field-goal percentage (52.6) with freshman point guard Tremont Waters (18 points, six assists) guiding the offense. Skylar Mays (11.8 points) is the other ball-handler, while 6-11 Australian Duop Reath (12, 4.8 rebounds) is the top scorer in the post. The Tigers will be a bit short-handed for the next few weeks as Brandon Sampson, who averages 10 points, is out with a sprained ankle.
TIP-INS
1. LSU leads the nation in two-point field-goal percentage (63.1).
2. Both teams are 49-for-134 from 3-point range this season.
3. Wilmington is 2-14 all-time against current SEC schools and has lost four straight since beating Mississippi State in 1996.
PREDICTION: LSU 87, UNC Wilmington 79