Sam Houston St. @ Louisiana State preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 13, 2014 ) Sam Houston St. 67, Louisiana State 76

LSU struggled with its ball-handling and defense in its last game, but coach Will Wade has a more intangible area where he would most like to see improvement. The Tigers' attempt to rebuild their toughness begins Tuesday against visiting Sam Houston.

The Tigers lost to Stephen F. Austin in the final seconds their last time out, dropping an 83-82 decision in a game where they allowed the Lumberjacks to shoot nearly 50 percent from the field and from behind the 3-point line. LSU also committed 17 turnovers and got outrebounded in losing at home for the first time this season. "They played harder than us from the start. They were tougher than us," Wade told reporters. "It was basically the exact opposite of what happened on Wednesday night between us and Houston. We got beat because we weren’t tough enough. At the end of the day, that’s what happens." Sam Houston's last three games featured road losses against Baylor and Ole Miss before a bounce-back win against Little Rock.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network Plus

ABOUT SAM HOUSTON (6-5): The Bearkats rank outside the top 300 in scoring (67.2 points per game), but their defense (62.6 points, which ranks 25th nationally) has kept them in most of their games. Little Rock missed 20 of its 28 3-pointers against Sam Houston, although the Bearkats were just 7-of-28 from 3-point range themselves in that contest. Christopher Galbreath Jr. scored a team-high 22 points - his third straight game with at least 22 - and leads the team with 16.1 points per game.

ABOUT LSU (6-3): Tremont Waters had a solid all-around game against Stephen F. Austin, registering a team-high 19 points, six assists, four steals and four rebounds. Aaron Epps notched 16 points and 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double after a relatively quiet six games to open the campaign. Waters is the team's top scorer at 18.2 points per game, while Skylar Mays chips in 13.3 points and has scored in double figures in five consecutive games.

TIP-INS

1. LSU F Duop Reath has made at least 60 percent of his shots in six straight games and is shooting 65.7 percent on the year.

2. Nobody on LSU has more than six blocks all season.

3. Seven of the Tigers' top nine scorers shoot at least 80 percent from the foul line.

PREDICTION: LSU 73, Sam Houston 66