Preview of Marquette vs LSU 12-19-11 from Ray Gajan

From this mornings(Monday 12/19/11) New Orleans paper:

BATON ROUGE -- LSU might be on a four-game winning streak -- its first such streak since the early part of the 2009-10 season -- but it faces an entirely new challenge tonight against an undefeated No. 11 Marquette team.


The game will pit one of the Southeastern Conferences' top defensive teams against one of the nation's highest-scoring teams.

During its four-game winning streak, LSU has held opponents to an average of 53 points, which has been a necessity while the Tigers struggle to find their shooting touch.

LSU has shot 35 percent from the field during the win streak, dropping its season average from 42 percent to 39 percent in the process.

"We've shot the basketball more in the last three days than we have all year long," LSU Coach Trent Johnson said. "The key is continuing to stay aggressive, continuing to take good shots and don't think about it.

"Everybody understands their role; everybody understands what a good shot for them is and what a bad shot for them is."

It doesn't help the Tigers' cause that they will be playing without guard Andre Stringer again as he still is undergoing a series of tests to determine what caused him to faint during a light practice last week.

Stringer was LSU's leading scorer with 12.1 points per contest before sitting out LSU's past two games. It's unclear how long Stringer will be out.

"(Stringer's) not doing anything, no physical activity," Johnson said. "The only thing he does with a basketball is sit in a chair and dribble it. He's not released to do anything, period."

Without their top scorer, the Tigers must find a way to shut down the high-flying Marquette attack, which boasts superior scorers in senior guard Darius Johnson-Odom (18.8 points per game) and senior forward Jae Crawford (17.6 points per game).

Sophomore guard Vander Blue (11.6 points per game) and freshman guard Todd Mayo (11 points per game) also are averaging in double figures for Marquette.

"Marquette is a very complete basketball team," Johnson said. "What impresses you the most about them is that they're very, very aggressive. They're always in attack mode.

"There is a nucleus of about seven or eight guys who were probably aggressive and mentally tough at birth."

The Golden Eagles were without Johnson-Odom for their most recent game, when he was suspended for violating team rules. Johnson-Odom will be available for tonight's game.

With its full complement of scorers, Marquette poses a dangerous threat for an LSU team if the game turns into a shootout, though LSU players are confident they can find their shots if it comes down to it.

"I think we're going to build it on ... stopping them on defense," junior center Justin Hamilton said. "But I think we have the capability of keeping up with them (offensively) if we execute."

Without Stringer's offensive punch, LSU is hoping junior forward Eddie Ludwig can continue to fill in nicely in the starting lineup at the small forward spot.