Young, pesky LSU next up for Chippewas

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Things were looking up two weeks ago.

After winning its first official road game of the season, the Central Michigan men’s basketball team had some momentum going into its much anticipated debut in McGuirk Arena. The team played well for 30 minutes against visiting Temple, but were overmatched down the stretch.

Against DePaul on Sunday, it was déjà vu all over again. Leading by 12 points at halftime, the Chippewas appeared uncomfortable and at times lost, blowing the lead and losing by nine.

Now CMU looks to get the sour taste out of its mouth when it hits the road for Baton Rouge, La., to play LSU at 8 p.m. Saturday.

“We’ve got to kind of forget about it,” said senior forward Jalin Thomas. “We got to keep it on our minds just so we know it can happen again, but at the same time we got to let it go.”

Thomas remains the Chippewas most consistent producer on offense – he was named MAC West Player of the Week despite playing in two losses – with a team-leading 16.4 points per game. But behind him has been a great amount of inconsistency.

Freshman forward Trey Zeigler was held at by Temple, scoring a quiet five points on 2-of-10 shooting, and suffered foul trouble against DePaul, scoring 10 points in just 15 minutes of action.

Senior guard Amir Rashid has come on offensively of late, posting double figures in the last two games, but had a team-high eight turnovers on Sunday.

“We have to develop a level of poise,” said head coach Ernie Zeigler. “Our poise under pressure hasn’t been there in both of those instances.”

But it won’t be easy as LSU features one of the best freshmen two-guard combos in the country.

Freshman Andre Singer leads in the Tigers in scoring with 16.1 points per game, while freshman Ralston Turner is averaging 12.6 per contest. Add in sophomore guard Aaron Dotson’s 11.1 points-per-game average and they will create problems for the Chippewas defense.

“They are probably the most talented team we have played up to this point,” Zeigler said. “It’s going to be a tough challenge for us to see if we can compete as we have against a much-more talented opponent.”

LSU is 5-2 on the season but has not played in 10 days, beating Houston 73-57 on Nov. 30. The Tigers rank second in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (.407) and third in field goal percentage (.462), while limiting opponents to just under 37 percent shooting.

For CMU to be successful, Zeigler said, it must dominate the offensive boards. LSU is third in the SEC in defensive rebounding, posting a +7.4 rebounding margin against opponents.

“They’ve done an excellent job with that as well and (we must) be able to play through the adversity of playing on the road, which is something that we’ve struggled with here of late,” he said.

Staying out of foul trouble will be another goal of the Chippewas, who have suffered from a lack of depth in recent games.

Trey picked up three fouls in the first half before fouling out late in the second half, alongside junior forward Andre Coimbra. Three other players – all starters – played with four fouls down the stretch.

“Guys are trying to step it up and show the coaches that they can play defense.” said Thomas, who has fouled out in one game this season and recorded four fouls in three other games. “Some of those fouls didn’t go our way these past couple games. We’re just trying to stay aggressive and hopefully it works out for us.”

Injury update

Sophomore guard Finis Craddock practiced for the first time Thursday since suffering a high ankle sprain against South Alabama on Nov. 20. He is expected to play Saturday and will add some extra depth to the backcourt.

Senior forward Will McClure sat out practice Thursday with flu-like symptoms. Ziegler said he is day-to-day and will be reevaluated prior to Saturday’s game.

Freshman center Nate VanArendonk remains out with mononucleosis. With VanArendonk’s extended absence, Zeigler elected to take a planned redshirt off freshman forward Jevon Harden. In the first game of his collegiate career, Harden went 0-for-1 while pulling down a rebound in four minutes against DePaul on Sunday.

CMU (2-5) vs. LSU (5-2)
Tipoff: 8 p.m.
TV/Radio: None/CMU Sports Network (95.3 WCFX-FM in Mount Pleasant)
Line: CMU +12.5