LSU hoping for Dedan Thomas Jr.'s return vs. South Carolina

If LSU is going to stay undefeated at home and pick up its first SEC victory against South Carolina on Tuesday in Baton Rouge, it may have to do so without one of the conference's most dynamic playmakers.

Dedan Thomas Jr., a two-time All-Mountain West performer while at UNLV, is averaging 16.2 points and an SEC-leading 7.1 assists per game.

LSU (12-2, 0-1 SEC) had access to neither of those assets in a 75-72 setback to Texas A&M on Saturday as Thomas missed the game with what coach Matt McMahon described as a lower leg injury.

Mike Nwoko led the Tigers with 21 points, Mac Mackinnon had 20 points and five assists and freshman point guard Jalen Reece filled in admirably for Thomas with a career-high seven assists.

However, LSU committed 16 turnovers and fell well short of its 87.8 points-per-game average.

It didn't help that Marquel Sutton, the team's leading rebounder (9.3 rpg) and fourth-leading scorer (13.4 ppg), was held to three points on 0-for-4 shooting and five rebounds against the Aggies.

"Marquel has done an incredible job making this transition from a post player to the wing, but that's the first time he's ever faced something like this," McMahon told the LSU Sports Radio Network. "He'll learn from it and get better. It's going to be a big part of winning on Tuesday."

Meanwhile, coach Lamont Paris needs his Gamecocks (9-5, 0-1) to start each half considerably better than they did on Saturday, when they fell 83-71 to No. 11 Vanderbilt. The Commodores used an early 13-0 run to take control and a 12-3 run at the start of the second half to maintain momentum.

Elijah Strong led South Carolina with 17 points, followed by Myles Stute with 14 points and six rebounds, Mike Sharavjamts with 13 points and Meechie Johnson with nine points and six assists.

The slow starts are a common theme in South Carolina's five losses. The Gamecocks also shot 25% (7 for 28) on 3-pointers against Vanderbilt, including 0 for 8 to begin each half. The team has gone a combined 0 for 41 on 3-point attempts to start each half before its first make in those five defeats.

"There was probably five shots in this game that I'd like to have back. And I think those guys would like to have them back too, not because they didn't go in, but because they decided to shoot that shot," Paris said.

--Field Level Media