SAN ANTONIO – Seimone Augustus joked in Sunday’s news conference when a reporter asked about the women’s team trying to keep pace with the men’s Final Four berth.
“I think they’re trying to keep up with us,” Augustus said with a smile a mile wide.
Augustus does have a point since no LSU men’s team has had a Final Four berth in 20 years.
But the argument of who’s trying to keep up with whom simply seems irrelevant at this point because history is in the making as we speak.
The recent trend in Division I college basketball has shown one school usually sends both its men’s and women’s teams to the Final Four.
Oklahoma started the pattern in 2002 with Texas, Connecticut and Michigan State respectively following the Sooners’ lead.
And, in 2006, who could have ever dreamed LSU would be the next school on that list?
My guess is not many since both the men’s and women’s teams played for less-than capacity crowds in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center almost every home game this season.
It all just seems so surreal.
LSU is a football town by reputation with the perception of having a basketball program that always seems one step behind.
So much for reputations and perceptions.
But thinking back, the stage was set so perfectly for this to happen. The performances of both the men and the women mirrored each another all season long.
Both teams lost their impact player and team leader after their 2005 campaigns.
The men watched Brandon Bass leave early for the NBA draft, and the women bid farewell to floor general Temeka Johnson.
Both teams began their seasons with tough non-conference schedules, which no team in LSU basketball history has ever rivaled.
Both teams captured the Southeastern Conference regular season titles, a feat no other SEC school has accomplished in the conference’s 73-year history.
And both teams fell short in their conference tournaments.
But neither team seemed deterred by the outcome.
Of the list of schools to have both teams in the Final Four, only Connecticut has completed the sweep and earned both trophies.
In fact Connecticut is the only school in the history of the tournament to do so, leaving one nagging question in every Tiger fan’s mind.
Can LSU be the next King and Queen of College Basketball?
March Madness has shown it has a mind of its own and allows for inconceivable outcomes and interesting storylines.
Just look at George Mason in the men’s bracket.
Everyone saw that coming, right?
Even if the men and the women can’t complete the sweep, one thing is certain in the coming seasons.
Move over, football, there’s another big-time program in town.
LSU may not be a drinking town with solely a football problem much longer.
 
Kyle is a public relations freshman.
Contact him at [email protected]