Mar 5, 2022; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers forward Tari Eason (13) dribbles against Alabama Crimson Tide forward Darius Miles (2) during the first half at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Length, athleticism and defensive pressure.
Those are the things that jump off the screen once you turn on the videotape of the LSU Tigers this season. They’re the first things T.J. Otzelberger noted when asked about the Tigers ahead of Friday’s NCAA Tournament tilt between Iowa State and LSU in Milwaukee.
Getting past that trio of attributes will be the Cyclones’ tallest tasks in order to secure victory and get back to the round of 32 for the first time since 2017.
“They press a lot like Memphis, who we played early in the year, in terms of on all made field goals and dead balls they want to pick up. They’ve got a lot of length and athleticism on the frontline,” Otzelberger said. “Defensively, they really try to protect the rim. When you drive the basketball, they collapse their defense trying to create turnovers. We’ve got to do a great job kicking the ball early and find the open man from an offensive standpoint.”
As for personnel, everything for the Tigers starts with 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Tari Eason. The Cincinnati transfer averaged 16.9 points per game this season on his way to earning first-team All-SEC and SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors.
Eason is a versatile scorer capable of putting the ball in the basket from all three levels, shooting 52 percent from the floor and 36 percent from behind the 3-point line this season.
“Eason is playing with so much confidence,” Otzelberger said. “He’s a guy that can really drive the basketball and get to the rim.”
Eason’s ability to drive is amplified by the shooting ability of 6-foot-7 senior Darius Days, who has connected on 35 percent of his 3-pointers this season while averaging 13.7 points per game.
The duo of Eason and Days carries the majority of this scoring load for this squad, but the offense can become prolific if senior point guard Xavier Pinson and freshman guard Brandon Marshall are able to get hot.
Both players averaged in double-figures scoring while Pinson, a high school teammate of Talen Horton-Tucker’s at Chicago Simeon and former Missouri transfer, also plays the role of the primary distributor with a team-high `126 assists this season.
Keeping Pinson out of the paint and preventing him from penetrating the Iowa State defense will be a significant key in this game for the Cyclones. Pinson is fast with the ball in his hands and possesses a high-level floater game in the paint to accompany his passing ability.
“They’ve got some veteran players, a lot of length athleticism,” Otzelberger said. “They try to break your spirit with the press and turn you over when you try to drive to the goal.”
