NCAAB Game Preview - LSU at Vanderbilt

Wed Feb 5, 2020 9:00 PM EST

Wednesday marks the halfway point of the Southeastern Conference season, and the only unbeaten and winless teams in the league will meet.

No. 18 LSU (17-4, 8-0 SEC) will oppose Vanderbilt (8-13, 0-8) in Nashville's Memorial Gymnasium.

The Tigers are rolling, and perhaps a bit of bayou voodoo is involved. Six of their nine consecutive wins have come by four points or fewer. LSU has yet to play a team ranked in this week's AP Top 25.

However, the Tigers' last win came easily. LSU led Ole Miss 40-16 with less than a minute to play in the first half on Saturday, and the Tigers cruised to a 73-63 win thanks to 21 points from guard Javonte Smart.

"He was very, very aggressive," LSU coach Will Wade said of Smart. "Our team did a good job of giving him space to operate. When he's able to get downhill and have space, we can have some success.

"I thought he did a great job of forcing the action and getting downhill. He drew a bunch of fouls, and then he was able to get going get going from the free-throw line."

The Tigers get the job done with offense. Through the weekend, they ranked sixth in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted offensive efficiency rankings, thanks to five players who average double-digit scoring: Smart (12.1 points per game), guard Skylar Mays (15.3) and forwards Emmitt Williams (13.7), Trendon Watford (13.4) and Darius Days (11.5).

Vanderbilt, meanwhile, took a 61-55 home loss to Florida on Saturday, the Commodores' 28th straight defeat against SEC teams. Twenty-six of those have come in the regular season. The 25th, which came last week against then-No. 13 Kentucky, broke Sewanee's all-time record for consecutive SEC losses, a mark that had stood for 80 years.

It's a streak that might have been snapped already had guard Aaron Nesmith (23 points per game) not gotten hurt in Vanderbilt's SEC opener, an 83-79 loss at Auburn. Nesmith was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot. He hasn't played since and isn't expected back this season.

Starting center Clevon Brown (nine ppg) hasn't played since Dec. 14 due to a knee injury. The Commodores are 2-10 without him.

Vanderbilt lost its next five games without Nesmith by an average of 20.2 points. However, the Commodores took both Kentucky and Florida to the final minutes of their past two games before losing by nine and six points, respectively.

"We still believe in each other, and I think that's the biggest thing at this point," said center Ejike Obinna, who scored two points and had 12 rebounds in the Saturday loss.

Guards Saben Lee (16 ppg) and Scotty Pippen Jr. (11.2) lead Vandy in scoring. Freshman forward Dylan Disu, who had 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks against Kentucky, has also given Vanderbilt a boost recently.

--Field Level Media