Futile.
That is the word to best describe the LSU men’s basketball team in Southeastern Conference play thus far, and things don’t seem to be getting better when two top-15 teams travel to Baton Rouge this week to try to add to the Tigers’ misery.
LSU will play No. 4 Kentucky and No. 14 Tennessee to close this week.
The Tigers (9-12, 0-7) are currently riding their worst conference losing streak in recent memory, but will try to right the ship when the Volunteers (16-4, 4-2) come to the PMAC tonight.
“All the games are big,” said LSU senior forward Tasmin Mitchell. “With them being ranked No. 14 seems like a big game to the public eye, but to us, we’ve just got to get a victory.”
Getting a conference victory has proved to be an impossible task thus far — especially since the Tigers are last in scoring offense and scoring margin.
They score 63.5 points a contest and are one of only two teams along with Georgia to have a negative scoring margin on the season.
LSU coach Trent Johnson said although his team has struggled on offense, he’s not going to try to impart new knowledge into his players on that side of the ball.
“Basically, it’s nothing I haven’t said to them before,” he said. “I tell them to continue to stay aggressive, positive and confident within themselves. I’ve never been a coach that puts pressure on guys and worries about free throws and missed shots as long as they are taking good shots within our framework.”
Johnson said his team just needs to remain positive in order to have some success.
Tennessee, on the other hand, has been almost the polar opposite of LSU.
The Volunteers are No. 4 in average points per game with 77.8 and No. 2 in scoring margin, outscoring teams by nearly 13 points a contest.
Tennessee is led on the offensive end of the floor by sophomore guard Scotty Hopson, who averages 13.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists a contest, respectively.
One of Johnson’s sticking points this season has been his team’s concentration level throughout games as LSU has carried leads into the second halves of many of its conference games but squandered away its shots at victory.
“We don’t have the personnel to do that — play in spurts,” Mitchell said. “Last year we had the personnel to play in spurts because we could turn it up when we wanted to and turn it down when we wanted to. We’ve got to put together two halves.”
One area where Johnson has said he’s not afraid to find players who will help with the team’s consistency issues is its crop of walk-on players.
Sophomore guard/forward Zach Kinsley and junior guard Chris Beattie are the only two non-scholarship players to log starts this season, but all of Johnson’s walk-ons have seen court action.
Freshman guard Daron Populist also played extensively in the Tigers’ loss against Mississippi State on Saturday, and Johnson said he was pleased with his walk-ons’ performances.
“I thought Daron Populist did a good job against a very athletic and quick team Saturday,” Johnson said. “Chris Beattie has shown he is a guy that gets more minutes because he is making shots. Both of those guys look comfortable coming in and giving us a lift.Yes, they missed a couple of threes, but they had an opportunity to stay within striking range. I’m playing as many guys as possible.”
 
—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]