After winning its last three games, the men's basketball team travels to Baton Rouge, La. to take on LSU as a part of the SEC/Big East Challenge.
The Pirates (5-1) are coming off a 76-61 win over Saint Peter's on Sunday. The Hall was led by juniors Fuquan Edwin and Eugene Teage.
Edwin scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half, after being limited in the first half because of foul trouble.
"He got two fouls early so we tried to get him in and out, which never works," head coach Kevin Willard said. "In the second half he stayed on the floor the whole time. He was able to get into a rhythm and he was one of our best players."
Teague recorded his second double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Teague was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line, increasing his percentage to 56.5 percent on the season.
Teague said that the matchup against the Tigers is going to be a tough one.
"It's going to be a test," Teague said. "We are all going to have to be on the same page and just click. Playing on the road is always tough."
The Tigers (4-0) are led by junior forward Shavon Coleman, who is scoring 17.3 points per game off the bench. Coleman also grabs 8.0 rebounds per game.
LSU is coming off a 75-50 win at home over Mississippi Valley State. Coleman recorded a double-double in the game, scoring 16 points and grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds.
All four of the Tigers' games have been at home this season, none of which were closer than seven points.
The game against LSU will be the first road game of the season for the Pirates, and will also be the first meeting between the teams.
The Hall is 9-9 overall against SEC opponents. In the last two years the Pirates are 1-1 in the SEC/Big East Challenge with a win over Auburn at home last season, and a loss to Arkansas in 2010.
Although the Hall has won three consecutive games, they will be without junior forward Patrik Auda for the rest of the season, after he broke his fifth metatarsal driving to the lane in the team's game against Maine on Nov. 21.
Before going down, Auda averaged 7.6 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game for the Hall.
Willard said that in preparing for Saint Peter's the lineup limited the team offensively, becuase they had not practiced together.
"It's a new lineup," Willard said. "We haven't played with that lineup very much. So, we only had four plays we can run with that lineup, and they are all kind of quick hitters. It wasn't like we can run the motion and run some clock and make them work."
The game is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.
T.J. Brennan can be reached at thomas.brennan@student.shu.edu
