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Throw it all out the window.
Forget about everything the LSU men’s basketball team has done since beginning the season Nov. 17 against Nichols State University.
Disregard all the ludicrous speculation that somehow, the Tigers are actually a better basketball team without their best player junior forward Glen Davis.
But before forgetting about the disappointing past three-and-a-half months and counting LSU out of the Southeastern Conference and National Invitational Tournaments, think about what the Tigers’ season was and what it could have been.
LSU’s Achilles’ heel this season was their inability to put the ball in the orange hoop called the basket.
The Tigers have been strong defensively all season long, but tough defense does not mean anything if a team cannot score. LSU entered Saturday’s game against the University of South Carolina No. 2 in the SEC in scoring defense, giving up only 62.3 points per game.
But LSU ranked second-to-last in scoring offense, averaging 68.3 points per contest, and No. 9 in field goal percentage.
Beginning with the Tigers’ Dec. 29 matchup against Samford University, they had a nine-game stretch where opponents held them at or below 70 points.
They broke that streak in an 85-78 loss Feb. 3 to Mississippi State University but proceeded to hit the 70-point mark only two times in the season’s final nine games.
Add the offensive problems to Davis’ quadriceps injury suffered Feb. 10 against the University of Arkansas, and the Tigers have had a difficult season to say the least.
LSU has lost six games this season by five points or less, and the Tigers have struggled all season to close teams out in the waning minutes of games.
They lacked someone with the killer instinct and ability to perform under pressure that former guard Darrel Mitchell provided in 2005-2006, best displayed by Mitchell’s game-winning 3-pointer in a 58-57 win against Texas A&M University in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
But throw all of that out the window. When LSU takes the court Thursday against the University of Tennessee, their record might as well be 0-0.
LSU has proven it can play with, but not necessarily beat the “big boys” this season. In the past month, the Tigers have upset No. 5 University of Florida, lost by three points on the road to Tennessee and squandered a 16-point first-half lead in a seven-point loss to the University of Kentucky.
The Tigers also lost by one point, 76-75, in overtime to No. 15 University of Texas and held the frontrunner for every player of the year award, freshman sensation Kevin Durant, to a season-low 10 points.
A miraculous run to an SEC Tournament title is the only hope the Tigers have at reaching the NCAA Tournament, so let the NIT preparations begin.
Two things are in the Tigers corner as they get set for the NIT – experience and the luxury of playing in one of the toughest conferences in the country.
Unfortunately for them, they might have to get past some familiar obstacles if they want to bring an NIT championship back to Baton Rouge.
As of Sunday, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi had four SEC teams getting into the NCAA Tournament. All of those teams, Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Kentucky, are members of the SEC East Division, leaving seven of the eight remaining conference teams setting their sights set on NIT glory.
Two-time defending NIT champion South Carolina finished the regular season 14-15 after Saturday’s 61-52 loss to the Tigers and most likely will not get the opportunity to defend their crown.
The core of the Tigers’ roster was a part of the improbable run to the 2006 Final Four, so they should know what it takes to show up in big games, which happens to be every game scheduled this month.
Despite the inconsistency this season, the Tigers have definitely brought their “A” game when the lights are bright. From their 64-52 win Dec. 5 against Texas A&M to the recent upset of the Gators, LSU has never showed a lack of heart when it has been in the spotlight this season.
Lunardi’s last four teams out of the NCAA Tournament, Drexel, Purdue, Kansas State and Oklahoma State Universities, all have 20 or more wins this season, so the Tigers definitely will not be favored to win the NIT.
One bad game and the Tigers will be sent packing to a disheartening and reflective offseason.
Or five good games and the Tigers can call themselves champions.
They are certainly not the type of champions they envisioned they would be before the season began, but they are champions nonetheless.
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]