BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Ja’Vonte Smart had 25 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, and shorthanded LSU beat Sam Houston State 88-66 without coach Will Wade after he tested positive for COVID-19.
Hours before the game, LSU announced Wade would not be available because of contact tracing issues.
Wade said during a Zoom press conference after the game that he tested positive.
Associate head coach Bill Armstrong led the Tigers — without assistant coaches Tasmin Mitchell and Kevin Nickelberry.
Freshman Cameron Thomas scored 19 points for LSU. Demarkus Lampley scored 16 points for Sam Houston State.