An LSU men’s basketball fan displayed the sign “NIT or bust” Saturday after the Tigers (16-14, 5-11) defeated the University of South Carolina (14-15, 4-12) with a 61-52 score in the last LSU home game of the season. The reference to the second-rate National Invitation Tournament implied that some think an NCAA tournament bid for the Tigers is out of reach. But LSU coach John Brady and several players said after the South Carolina game that they still believe LSU can win the Southeastern Conference tournament, which begins Thursday with first round opponent Tennessee, and receive the automatic NCAA bid. “I deal with reality,” Brady said. “I’m not going to give a rah-rah talk. When we play well together as a team, we can win the tournament.” And the Tigers’ team has one welcome return in the form of reigning SEC Player of the Year and team-leading scorer and rebounder Glen Davis. The junior forward returned to the lineup Saturday after sitting out three games with a strained quadriceps muscle. Davis did not start but scored 11 points in 25 minutes of play. Nine of his points came within the final nine minutes of play. “I felt good out there,” Davis said. “I thought I was going to be dead tired, but I wasn’t.” Sophomore forward Tasmin Mitchell led the Tigers with 21 points, and senior forward Darnell Lazare added 12 points and eight rebounds. Lazare, a Baton Rouge native and the only Tiger senior, was honored during a pre-game senior recognition ceremony in front of a home crowd of 5,267. “To be quite honest, it really hasn’t set in 100 percent yet,” Lazare said of his last game in the PMAC. “I’m definitely going to miss it … miss the atmosphere … miss the fans. The fans showed me a lot of support tonight, and I appreciate that.” But some speculated that it may have also been Davis’ last home game, as the junior may decide to enter the NBA draft at the season’s conclusion. “I wish I would have started if it was my last game,” Davis said. “But you know, things happen like that. Hopefully we’ll see what we’re going to do and see what I’m going to do at the end of the season.” Tre’ Kelley, hyped as an SEC player of the year candidate, led the Gamecocks with 19 points but shot only 6-17 from the field. South Carolina coach Dave Odom said he thinks the combination of Mitchell and Davis is one of the best SEC pairs. “We tried to answer with Tre’ [Kelley] or one of our own, but we just couldn’t find another guy to play with them in the second half,” Odom said in a post-game news conference. Brady said he thinks LSU can beat any team in the league but acknowledged some apprehension about the rigorous schedule ahead. “The only thing that concerns me is four consecutive games in three and a half days,” Brady said of the SEC tournament schedule. LSU will play the University of Tennessee on Thursday at 9:45 p.m. EST in Atlanta. The Tigers lost to the Volunteers 70-67 on Feb. 6 in Knoxville, Tenn. Brady said Davis, who was held to a season-low five points Feb. 6 against Tennessee, should have additional motivation for the game. “Even though he was on the floor against Tennessee in Knoxville, he didn’t do a whole lot,” Brady said. “He knows that. He’s got a chance to have some redemption … there should be some incentive for him to want to get himself in the best condition possible.” Lazare said he hopes momentum from the South Carolina victory will lead the Tigers through an SEC tournament run. “The season’s not over,” Lazare said. “This was a good game for us to play to get a win going and get some confidence to head into the SEC tournament because we really feel like we can win it.”
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