Just as the basketball higher powers envisioned, fans of Massachusetts men’s basketball will get a taste of NCAA Tournament-type basketball to go along with their morning breakfast.
UMass will host Louisiana State on Tuesday at 11 a.m. for its home opener as part of ESPN’s 24-hour Tip-Off Marathon. This is the second straight season the Minutemen are part of the event, which will take place just 43 hours after defeating Boston College 86-73 in their home opener on Sunday.
The quick turnaround is an early-season challenge for UMass coach Derek Kellogg’s squad, which spent the majority of the preseason focusing and preparing for the Eagles. Now, it’s a crash course in film study.
“You watch as much tape as you can in a short amount of time and hope your guys are quick enough to pick those things up,” Kellogg said. “It’s one of those things where you just have to make sure they can grasp it. With us having older guys, you hope that’s not an issue.”
LSU offers yet another legitimate challenge for UMass as both teams are primed to contend for NCAA Tournament spots. Unlike Boston College, which played a smaller, more spread out offense, the Tigers offer a more powerful brand of basketball.
“Some of the things they do have given us trouble in the past,” Kellogg said. “Real big guys in front that clog the paint, they kind of control the glass. So those are the things we’re a little concerned about is making sure we don’t get killed on the boards.”
The most prominent player in LSU’s front court is Johnny O’Bryant, a 6-foot-9 junior who was picked by the media to make the All-Southeastern Conference First Team. O’Bryant recorded 15 double-double’s a season ago and seriously considered turning professional after last season.
“I think that’s a good matchup to see where I’m at,” UMass center Cady Lalanne said. Lalanne, who was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after a 27 point, 12 rebound performance, said the one-on-one matchup provides him motivation.
“From what I heard coach say, he’s a pretty good player and he tried to leave to go to the NBA last year,” he said, “so I think that’s a pretty good challenge.”
Lalanne’s the most impactful rebounder on the roster and had success in the season opener. Despite LSU offering a noticeable size advantage, he thinks the rebounding battle will come down to who wants it more.
“Rebounding is just about if you want to go get it,” Lalanne said. “If you wanna go get it, you’ll get the ball.”
The Tigers enter the season with two leaders, O’Bryant and guard Anthony Hickey. LSU blazed a path on the recruiting trail over the winter, signing forwards Jarrell Martin and Jordan Mickey. Both players were considered top 50 recruits, with Martin generally considered one of the top 10 recruits. The added depth offers LSU an opportunity to spread out the scoring this season, something it didn’t have a year ago.
“They remind me of our old Memphis teams where they have a good core group of guys coming back and then an influx of NBA-level freshman talent,” Kellogg said. “How fast they put that together will determine how far they can go.”
Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.
