The LSU men’s basketball team is an NCAA Tournament team.
The top-end talent is there. The bench play is coming along. Former role players, like sophomores Tim Quarterman and Darcy Malone, are progressing in every game.
Sophomore forward Jarell Martin said this team is good enough to compete for the Southeastern Conference crown.
“With the guys that we have, I definitely feel like we’re one of the best teams in the league,” Martin said.
But why stop there?
CBS and ESPN both have LSU currently in their tournament field, but the Tigers are far from a guarantee to make it. Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has them in his “Last Four Byes” category, or one of the last eight teams in.
In a radio interview with 104.5 ESPN earlier this week, LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva said he believes LSU needs 11 SEC wins to earn its tournament berth. Heading into this weekend’s game, the Tigers need to win eight of their next 13 games to reach Alleva’s benchmark.
While it’s not a given, it’s incredibly possible the Tigers can pull it off — as long as they focus on each opponent. Junior guard Keith Hornsby said the Tigers have to stress not giving anything away like they did against Texas A&M last Saturday.
His coach, Johnny Jones, reiterated the same sentiment, but he wants to make sure his team doesn’t get too caught up in the rankings early in the season.
“You just got to make sure you go out and play as well as you can,” Jones said. “We have a lot of games left in front of us … On the back end of the conference schedule you might get a little more concerned about where you are because things are starting to play out.”
But at a school that loves athletics, especially one that hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament in six years, it’s never too early to look at the team’s Tournament hopes.
Five teams — LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida and Arkansas — are tied for third in the SEC at 3-2. Every SEC team has at least one win in conference. The only unbeaten remaining is the almighty Kentucky — I think they go down eventually, but that’s a story for another day.
Nothing is going to come easy in this conference this year, but the Tigers are good enough that they shouldn’t lose to most teams. Hornsby said Jones has stressed to his team not to take any opponent for granted. Those words will be even more important in the Tigers’ upcoming stretch.
Starting with Vanderbilt on Saturday, LSU faces five of the bottom seven teams in the conference before playing the aforementioned basketball gods from Kentucky at the PMAC.
While every game is important, Jones’ message will be challenged hard before LSU’s toughest opponent comes to town. But as long as the Tigers play within themselves, they’ll be dancing in March.
Brian Pellerin is a 20-year-old mass communication major from Keller, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @Pellerin_TDR.