LSU (5-0) vs. Penn State (3-1)
Emerald Coast Classic , The Arena at NW Florida St, Niceville, Florida; Friday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: LSU and Penn State will take the floor in the Emerald Coast Classic. Penn State earned an 85-74 win over Cornell in its most recent game, while LSU emerged with an 83-53 blowout win against Belmont in its last outing.
STEPPING UP: Penn State’s Sam Sessoms has averaged 19.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while Seth Lundy has put up 17.8 points and 5.8 rebounds. For the Tigers, Darius Days has averaged 19.2 points and 7.4 rebounds while Tari Eason has put up 14 points and 8.8 rebounds.DOMINANT DARIUS: Days has connected on 54.5 percent of the 33 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 18 of 33 over the last five games. He’s also made 82.4 percent of his free throws this season.
ASSIST RATIOS: The Nittany Lions have recently gotten baskets via assists more often than the Tigers. Penn State has an assist on 38 of 72 field goals (52.8 percent) across its previous three games while LSU has assists on 46 of 92 field goals (50 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The disruptive LSU defense has forced opponents to turn the ball over on 29.5 percent of all possessions, the seventh-best rate in the nation. Penn State has a forced-turnover percentage of only 13.3 percent through four games (ranking the Nittany Lions 351st among Division I teams).
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