INDIANAPOLIS — LSU Head Basketball Coach Will Wade and Point Guard Javonte Smart spoke with media Wednesday as the team prepares to practice for the first time since their loss to Alabama in the SEC Tournament Championship.
The team just finished quarantining in the NCAA Tournament bubble, an experience that Will Wade calls “different.”
“The bubble has been different certainly. It’s a different NCAA experience but you’re not going to hear any complaining from LSU. We’re excited to be here,” says Will Wade.
Wade says the NCAA has done a tremendous job of implementing security measures to protect the sanctity of the Indianapolis bubble and the team personnel inside.
“You can’t even get to the first floor of our hotel and they’ve got barricades and police around the hotel. So, the first time I will have stepped outside since we got here is when we leave to go to Bloomington for practice today,” says Wade.
LSU takes on St. Bonaventure in the first round of the tournament Saturday at 12:45 p.m.
The Bonnies are a team that Will Wade is familiar with dating back to his days at VCU.
St. Bonaventure is currently has the 4th in the country in opponent points per game, holding the opposition to 60 a contest.
The Tigers are the 8th best scoring club in the nation, averaging 82 points per game.
Will Wade says the key to victory in matchup like this is for his team to remained disciplined on both offense and defense and to win the possession game.
Wade says if the Tigers can keep St. Bonaventure off the offensive glass, the Tigers can play at a fast pace that the Wolf pack is not accustomed too.
“We’ve got to defensive rebound the ball because if you guard them for 24, 26 seconds they miss the shot, you’ve got to get that so you can go. You give up another possession they may just kick it out and run clock again for another 20 seconds. If we’re not careful and not disciplined, we could end up playing defense for 32 minutes and offense for 8 minutes,” says Wade.