Head coach Will Wade’s return to LSU opened with an impressive 43-point win over LSU New Orleans on Tuesday.
He didn’t need to look very far to get a scouting report for Friday night’s opponent in Baton Rouge: Texas Southern.
That’s because LSU assistant Johnny Jones was the head coach at Texas Southern for the past eight seasons (2018-26), leading the Tigers to three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths (2021-23) during that span.
Jones, 65, played for the late Dale Brown at LSU in the early 1980s and was head coach at his alma mater from 2012-17. He decided to return to campus as an assistant under Wade in April.
Corey Lowery, who spent the past four seasons as an assistant at Seton Hall, took over for Jones in August.
Texas Southern (0-1), which finished 12-18 last season, dropped its opener, 103-79, at Grand Canyon on Monday night in Phoenix.
“We move forward,” Lowery said. “When you walk into that gym, all your problems go away.”
Texas Southern trailed 29-28 before Grand Canyon pulled away with a 17-4 run. Karris Bilal led the Tigers with 15 points, while Bowling Green transfer Jason Kimbrough added 14 points.
LSU (1-0) cruised to a 100-57 victory over the Privateers on Tuesday with six players scoring in double figures.
Donovan Dent, a transfer from UCLA who earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors last season, and Saliou Niang both had double-doubles. Dent finished with 19 points and 10 assists while Niang had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
LSU raced to a 40-8 lead en route to a 53-17 advantage at halftime and led by as many as 54 points. The Tigers held the Privateers to 15-of-61 shooting (24.6%), including 4-for-29 from 3-point range (13.8%), forced 16 turnovers and finished with 11 steals.
LSU converted 39 of 76 shots from the field (51.3%), but only 7 of 28 from beyond the arc.
“There’s a lot to build off,” Wade said. “We’ve certainly got to be better as we move forward here. Second-half effort wasn’t good enough. We’ve got to play to a certain standard, but overall, a solid first outing.”