Preview: Tulane vs. LSU

Men's Basketball vs. LSU (
Women's Basketball vs. Nicholls State (5 p.m.)
New Orleans Arena
CSTV

It's only 18 hours until Tulane basketball resumes with a double-header in New Orleans Arena. The women will begin by feasting on a poor Nicholls State team, and then the men will follow with a huge matchup against a very beatable LSU team.

Scouting Women's Basketball vs. Nicholls State.

The reason Lisa Stockton's crew doesn't get a separate blog post is because Nicholls State is, to be blunt, bad. Their RPI is estimated to be around 334, which would make them one of the worst teams in Division I women's basketball. This win will hurt the Green Wave's RPI, which now sits around 70. This game could get ugly -- I'm talking Georgia vs. Hawaii ugly.

Scouting LSU
The Tigers are a tough team to scout for one simply reason: who knows which Tigers team will show up, and for how long? Will it be the well-oiled machine that pounded the likes of Washington and Villanova in the first half, or the mess of a ball club that ended up blowing those two games in the second half with poor shooting and non-existent defense. The Green Wave should expect the best from the Tigers, since the last thing LSU basketball needs while struggling to fight obscurity in football country is a loss to an in-state rival.

The Tigers feature plenty of size inside with big men Chris Johnson and Anthony Randolph both standing at 6'11." The pair can hit the glass, block shots, and get easy buckets inside. The key to this game will be rebounding. LSU dominated the Green Wave on the boards last year and, as a result, won the game despite playing poorly.

Player to Watch: David Gomez

Last season, the Baton Rouge native led the Wave in scoring and rebounding and forced the Tigers to pay more attention to him on defense, leaving Sims and others with easier shots on the perimeter. Gomez is a fun player to watch when he plays with a chip on his shoulder. Also look out for LSU's Bo Spencer, an outstanding freshman who was recruited by Tulane but decided in the end to go to LSU

Prediction:
If LSU plays its best basketball for 40 minutes: LSU 76, Tulane 58
If LSU goes through the motions like it usually does: Tulane 67, LSU 62