LSU in strong position for NCAA Tournament bid

By Jbriaan Johnson | @JBriaan_Johnson

February 23, 2017

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The Lady Tigers are vying for a spot in the NCAA tournament.
With two games remaining before the Southeastern Conference tournament, LSU (18-9, 7-7 SEC) has a chance to make a last-minute push at a higher seed.
LSU has played quality opponents in and out of conference, including Connecticut, Kansas State and Texas A&M.
However, many of its non-conference opponents — like Rice, Alabama State and UTEP — don’t fit the mold of potential NCAA tournament teams.
ESPN.com women’s college basketball insider Charlie Creme, said LSU’s résumé is a lock for the NCAA tournament.
“Right now, I have them as an eight-seed,” Creme said in a phone interview with The Daily Reveille. “I feel with their number of top-50 wins and the fact that they are .500 in the Southeastern Conference, it would be a rare year that a team with their credentials does not make the tournament.”
As of Feb. 21, LSU has the 18th-toughest schedule in the country and an RPI ranking of 29, according to NCAA statistics.
The Lady Tigers have not won all of the games against their premier opponents but have shown flashes throughout the season of being able to compete and make a run in the NCAA tournamentwith their defense.
LSU ranks No. 2 in the country in steals and has forced 20 or more turnovers in 15 games this season.
“If you’re going to win, you have to stay in the moment,” coach Nikki Fargas said when asked how focused her team is on winning the last two conference games. “It’s an opportunity to finish out what we started.”
LSU still has opportunities in the future to raise its seeding. With the SEC tournament coming up, LSU has a chance to face elite competition once more such as No. 4 South Carolina, No. 3 Mississippi State and No. 14 Kentucky.
A win against a team of that caliber would help LSU grab the committee’s attention heading into the tournament.
But LSU’s chances to run the table in the SEC tournament are not high, Creme said.
“There’s very little chance that LSU could win the SEC tournament without beating South Carolina and/or Mississippi State and Kentucky or Texas A&M,” Creme said. “That would mean probably two to three heavy-weight wins that they would have.”
The Lady Tigers will go on the road to face Auburn on Feb. 23, and their final home game will be played Feb. 26 in the PMAC against Vanderbilt.
“We have a chance to go on the road again and show the committee that we can win on the road,” Fargas said. “Auburn is tenacious in their relentless full-court pressure the entire game. The team that gets out and runs and scores probably gonna have a good look at winning the basketball game.”