Let's face it, we'll get past the Leopards and get into the second round so this is where the tournament truly starts. The 8/9 game is one that we should win, but we can also lose.
Purely from a statistical standpoint, here are some numbers.
LSU: They play very fast as they average around 71 possessions per game which is 9th most in the country, but their 1.03 points per possession is pretty mediocre. LSU averages 45.6% from the field but only 33% from 3, which means they shoot very well from 2 (as evidenced by their two bigs, who have taken the majority of their shots and they shoot roughly 51% from the field) From 3, they have one guy who has taken a lot of 3's and has only made 31%, but their two other guards shoot 36-37% so they can make them. Ball pressure is key because LSU averages over 14 turnovers a game, which is 27th worst in the country. LSU likes to gamble and get steals, then have the bigs to back it up as they average 7 steals per game and over 6 blocks per game.
Though they collect a lot of rebounds, it's attributed more to their fast pace rather than how good they are at rebounding. (EX: Both of their bigs average ~34 minutes a game, but collect around 10 rebounds per game. Ochefu, in 24 minutes a game, collects 9 rebounds a game.)
They essentially are a 6 man rotation but will play up to 8, though against UK, the 7th and 8th men only played a combined 8 minutes.
LSU plays at a fast pace, but are not very efficient. If we run with them, we'll likely need to score 80 to win, mostly due to pace of play and not bad defense.
NC ST: Essentially the exact opposite of LSU...they have 3 guards / wings who play 30 minutes a game, then a bevy of other players who play under 20 minutes a game, including most of their bigs, but also have an 8 man rotation.
The Wolfpack play at a slow pace, but are efficient at doing so as they average 1.08 points per possession, 65th best in the country. They shoot 36% from 3 and take around 18 a game. They rebound well, but they are better offensive rebounders than defensive rebounders so boxing out will be crucial. NC ST plays a very conservative game as they only average 4 steals per game, but also swat shots away at just over 5 per game. The antithesis of LSU, they don't turn the ball over much at all.
Their achilles heel is defense, as it's not quite swiss cheese, but it's not great so we should be able to drive and score on them, though during their last 8 games (6-2) it's been a lot better.
Whomever we play, we should beat, but both of these teams have played top teams before and won't be scared. They'll think they can win and play to win. We'll need our A game from here on out...
Comparison
