Controlling your own destiny is ideal, but it isn’t always as easy as it sounds.
The LSU men’s basketball team has that luxury, but in a close league race, execution down the stretch of the season is now the arduous task for coach Johnny Jones’ club.
After three straight wins and with two regular season games remaining, the Tigers (21-8, 10-6 Southeastern Conference) must prove they’re capable of being consistent with SEC and NCAA Tournament seeding on the line, starting against Tennessee at 6 p.m. tonight at the PMAC.
“It’s definitely getting around to the end of the season, so we definitely want to go out with a bang,” said LSU forward Jarell Martin after LSU’s victory against Ole Miss on Feb. 28.
With wins against the Volunteers (14-14, 6-10 SEC) and No. 18 Arkansas on Saturday, the Tigers could lock up a double-bye in the SEC Tournament, meaning they would not play until March 13 with an inside track to SEC Tournament semifinals.
While LSU may have already secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament in some experts’ minds, two more wins, especially against the Razorbacks on the road, will go a long way in determining where the Tigers will be dancing.
But Jones said his team can’t overlook Tennessee, which has lost its last five games but has wins against No. 21 Butler and Arkansas.
“We definitely can’t look at their record and feel like it is a game we can just have to show up for,” Jones said. “We’ve been through those this year, and we know the outcome of how things have happened. We certainly have to be good on Wednesday.”
The Tigers started the Vols’ five-game losing streak with a 73-55 win on Feb. 14, leading Tennessee by double figures for the final 31 minutes of the game. LSU jumped on coach Donnie Tyndall’s squad early, shooting 64 percent from the field and 7-of-10 from 3-point range against Tyndall’s matchup zone in the first half.
On top of the offensive success against the Vols, Tennessee’s 55 points was the second fewest amount given up by the Tigers all season and the least amount in conference games. In all five of the Tigers’ wins in February, LSU held opponents to less than 64 points, including a 13-point average margin of victory in the last three games.
LSU junior guard Keith Hornsby said his team is playing its best basketball at the right time.
“We don’t have to dig deep,” Hornsby said. “We’ve seen and experienced recent success, so that’s our main motivator right now — just to continue on, doing what’s we’ve been doing. Hopefully, we’ll do that.”
But pressure comes with the calendar turning to March, a month Jones is 5-7 in during his LSU head coaching career. With three of the Tigers’ conference losses to the bottom three teams in the league, Jones wants to keep his team focused on the task ahead.
Jones said those losses should keep his team in check from looking at NCAA Tournament projections.
“My biggest example to them is to bring up some of the setbacks that we have had,” Jones said. “You can’t take anything for granted and how teams are capable of playing … It’s just making a conscious effort that you relay those messages to them because if it’s after the fact, then it’s too late. I try to make sure and let them know on the front end so it doesn’t end up being an ‘I told you so’ deal.”
You can reach James Bewers on Twitter @JamesBewers_TDR.