With his head down, poring over the box score that showed the carnage of a sound 81-67 drubbing at the hands of Ole Miss, LSU coach Johnny Jones perked up as a hypothetical question was posed during his postgame media session.
Jones couldn’t help but interrupt the reporter as he asked what the first-year LSU coach would have done in the preseason had someone predicted a 9-9 Southeastern Conference record for his first team.
“Hugged them,” Jones said with a smile. “Give them a big hug.”
Even with the sting of the Tigers’ (18-11, 9-9 SEC) loss to the Rebels (23-8, 12-6 SEC) still fresh in his mind, Jones couldn’t help but be proud of how far his team had progressed — especially after a less-than-hopeful 0-4 start in SEC play.
“I’m just amazed,” Jones said. “For them to compete at this level in this type of league, with the coaches and teams you have in this league, it says a lot about these guys.”
Returning only three consistent starters from last year’s 18-win team that advanced to the NIT, this year’s crop of Tigers has already equaled that win total and is in strong contention for similar postseason positioning.
LSU sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III, who finished the loss with 17 points and 12 rebounds, pointed to last season’s teams as proof that anything is possible come tournament time.
“When you go into the conference tournament, anything can happen,” O’Bryant said. “Last year [in the SEC Tournament], we played a good game against Arkansas then faced a good Kentucky team. We had them, and we stayed in the game. … The teams are 0-0 right now.”
LSU senior guard Charles Carmouche, playing his final regular-season game in the PMAC, had his first half cut short after being bulldozed in mid air by Rebel forward Murphy Holloway in the game’s second minute, sending him to the locker room for an extended period.
As the fifth-year senior watched in the locker room, the Tigers struggled to maintain their early seven-point lead, quickly watching it evaporate courtesy of a 34-9 run that spanned both halves, even after Carmouche returned to the floor.
“We tried to execute while [Carmouche] was away,” said LSU junior guard Andre Stringer. “But we let some of their guys get open for some shots. Against a team like that, you can’t do that.”
Not even LSU’s trademark full-court press slowed the Rebels down as Andy Kennedy’s squad handled it with ease, getting past half court for many two-on-one or three-on-two breaks leading to easy buckets.
Stringer, who scored a team-high 18 points, lamented his defense on Ole Miss junior guard Marshall Henderson, who scored a game-high 22 points and put the nail in the Tigers’ coffin with an open 3-pointer after the Tigers cut it to a 10-point lead late in the second half.
Even with the bitter taste after a disappointing end to the regular season, Jones was optimistic in forging ahead to the SEC Tournament, especially given the five-day layoff his team has to heal up after a grind to end the conference slate.
“Not playing on that first night is huge for us,” Jones said. “Anything can happen in the tournament. You just want to be playing well at the right time.”
