Even with 15 games in the books, there’s still much to learn about this season’s LSU men’s basketball team. First-year coach Trent Johnson has guided LSU to a 12-3 record, just one win shy of last season’s total. The Tigers have a 64-52 win against Washington State (9-6) to their credit, but that doesn’t tell the entire story.LSU has been a bit of a mystery to understand since the fall semester ended.The victory against Washington State stands out as a high point, but the upset was sandwiched between a three-point win against McNeese State (4-8) and an 81-79 squeaker against Louisiana-Lafayette (5-9).The Tigers took their second loss, 91-61, at Utah (10-5) to cap off the non-conference schedule.”We’re 12-2. You can talk about our schedule, but I’ve always felt that in college basketball there’s so much parity you need to be ready to play,” Johnson said Thursday. “We have to continue to improve our game and have a short-term memory if things don’t go well for us.”The Tigers’ first conference game, a 65-59 loss Sunday to Alabama, didn’t do much to clear up the ambiguity.The Crimson Tide led throughout the physical contest, allowing LSU to come within one basket but never tie or lead. The game marked the first time LSU out-rebounded an opponent with a winning record.”This performance, this execution in terms of our ability to compete was a lot different than Salt Lake City,” Johnson said in a postgame radio interview. “We’ve got to keep that in the forefront … if we take care of [the ball], we’ll get the chance to execute on offense.”Winning opponents have been few and far between for LSU until the start of conference play.The Tigers’ strength of schedule is ranked No. 310, while their Ratings Percentage Index is ranked No. 118. LSU had played just two teams with an RPI of 100 or better — Texas A&M and Utah — and both of those games were double-digit losses.”If those teams are healthy, those will be postseason teams in my opinion,” Johnson said. “I’ve seen us play well in spurts, and I’ve seen us play bad in spurts. Those things are being addressed, and it’s up to us to improve.”The team’s statistics do check out, despite the unimpressive schedule. Even with the games against Utah and Alabama, LSU ranks No. 3 in the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense, No. 4 in scoring margin and No. 2 in rebounding defense.The Tigers also rank in the top half of the conference in scoring offense, field goal percentage and turnover margin.The next few games could be crucial in determining whether the numbers hold up.The average RPI ranking of LSU’s first 15 opponents is 226. By comparison, the average RPI ranking of LSU’s next five opponents is 56.6. Alabama was projected by many to win the SEC Western Division before the season began, and the Tigers played to a close finish in a road environment.Next up is South Carolina, the conference’s No. 2 scoring offense and No. 1 team in 3-point field goal percentage. The Gamecocks defeated then-No. 20 Baylor on the road Jan. 2, grabbing a statement victory missing from LSU’s resume.—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]