As strange as it may sound, the LSU basketball team is looking forward to final exams. Academics aside, the players need it. Coming off two humbling losses in Madison Square Garden and a shaky-at-best 66-58 win against Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday, they need it — badly. “I don’t think we played great basketball [against UL-Lafayette],” said senior forward Tasmin Mitchell. “I think we just have to get better, go to practice, come back with a sense of urgency and play with more intensity.”Junior guard Bo Spencer agreed. “We have about a week and a half off [from competition],” Spencer said. “We have to come back hard at practice.”Things looked somewhat encouraging after a 3-0 start that saw surprisingly impressive performances from sophomore Storm Warren and redshirt freshman Dennis Harris. New York proved to be a rude awakening, in which LSU coach Trent Johnson said his team “got exposed.” The Tigers were trounced by a more athletic and energetic No. 13 Connecticut team, 81-55, then turned around and were battered in the second half by a lesser Arizona State team. The Tigers lost, 71-52. Johnson said the players are not looking forward to working the Tigers’ kinks out in practice during the break. “They’re not, but I am,” Johnson said. “They would rather work their way through it in games, but we have to get this thing cleaned up. We won, and believe me I’m happy, but I know what the big picture is.”The big picture Johnson referred to is LSU’s current 4-2 record. The Tigers’ next four opponents seem to be winnable games against Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls State and Rice, respectively. Then comes the hard part. Johnson and company travel to Seattle on Dec. 22 to face Washington State, then hop to Cincinnati to play Xavier. Utah comes to Baton Rouge on Jan. 2. The Utes pounded LSU, 91-61, last season in Baton Rouge. After what looks to be a tune-up against McNeese State, the SEC season begins. Some of the hangover from the Garden dragged into Tuesday’s game. Mitchell logged a season-high 26 points, and Warren nabbed a season-high 16 boards — but the game was nothing to build on.
Johnson was peeved at the lack of energy shown Tuesday. “It’s just beyond me,” Johnson said. “We’re home — we should be jumping up and down. I didn’t see any of that out there tonight.”LSU has only managed to shoot a putrid 38 percent from the field and 63 percent from the free throw line in its last three games. Throw in Spencer’s injured ankle, Garrett Green’s myriad of injuries and Aaron Dotson’s recovering knee, and the Tigers are literally limping into the break.Spencer’s ankle has the most people worried around LSU. The junior injured it during the UConn game in New York and sat out against Arizona State. Spencer did play Tuesday against the Ragin’ Cajuns, but he was visibly hobbled by the injury and shot just 4-of-13 and had four turnovers. “He’s got plenty of time to get off of it [his ankle], but he has to be disciplined in his approach,” Johnson said. “He turned the ankle, but I believe he was at the football game. If I have a bad ankle, I’m at home. On ice.”
Johnson isn’t concerning himself too much with the Tigers’ maladies. He’s focused on working with what is available. “I just want [athletic trainer] Shawn [Eddy] to tell me who’s ready to go, and whoever shows up at practice will pass and catch, and we’ll do things right,” Johnson said.–Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]