Winless.The word itself inspires a cringe and a truckload of pessimism. It also conjures up frightening memories of the LSU men’s basketball team’s 0-4 start in conference play during the frightful 13-18 season Tiger fans had to endure in 2007-08. Winless is where the current LSU team (9-8 overall) sits at the moment, 0-3 in Southeastern Conference play after Florida drubbed LSU coach Trent Johnson’s squad Saturday in Gainesville, Fla., 72-58. Listening to Johnson and the rest of the players speak, conference play was supposed to be the “second season.” Things were supposed to turn around with the clean slate. The Tigers limped into the SEC schedule with a 9-5 record. “This is the SEC,” said senior forward Tasmin Mitchell two days before the Alabama contest. “This is what really matters at the end of the year.”The Tigers started off the winter break quite convincingly. After two losses in Madison Square Garden to Connecticut and Arizona State, LSU reeled off four consecutive wins against in-state opponents who they were expected to beat.Johnson and company then followed those wins with three straight puzzling losses. LSU first traveled to Seattle to play Washington State in the Cougar Hardwood Classic, losing, 72-70, in overtime. Cincinnati was next on the map for the Tigers, where Xavier smashed LSU, 89-65. Back home they came, downtrodden after losing a winnable game followed by a beatdown. Utah, who defeated the Tigers by 30 just a year ago, came to Baton Rouge on Jan. 2 for both teams’ first game in 2010. Utah escaped Baton Rouge with a 61-59 victory in a game dominated by the Tigers. LSU had a 12-point lead at one point in the second half.Johnson’s postgame press conference might have been more of a story than the game itself. Johnson, after fielding a question regarding junior point guard Bo Spencer’s performance, proceeded to swat the microphone and leave the press conference in a huff. Johnson had been frustrated with Spencer’s lack of emotion and effort in the game. Spencer finished the contest with four points, going 1-of-6 from the field. It was arguably his worst performance of the season. Johnson’s true frustration was Spencer’s lack of effort on the last play, was drawn to get Spencer open for a last-second shot. Spencer didn’t take the shot. The relationship has since seemed to be repaired. Johnson relegated it as how a coach gets frustrated with any player. Spencer told reporters that “personal problems” led to a lackadaisical mindset.  “Our program, our base, our chemistry or whatever you want to call it — that’s not going anywhere,” Johnson said pointedly the next week.The Tigers ended their three-game skid with an 83-60 win against McNeese State on Jan. 4 after the Utah debacle. That win was the Tigers’ last. The Tigers were hopeful for a strong SEC performance to resurrect a season heading for mediocrity. Those hopes were quashed in about 10 minutes. Alabama sent a message to the rest of the conference with a 66-49 pounding of the Tigers. Next, LSU traveled to Columbia, S.C., to face South Carolina, a team devastated by a season-ending injury to senior forward Dominique Archie and the dismissal of junior forward Mike Holmes. The Gamecocks still had senior guard Devan Downey, though. The Tigers wasted their best chance yet at a conference win, allowing Downey to explode for 29 points in the game, 17 of those in the second half. LSU led for most of the game and built a lead as big as 11. Yet, Downey and the Gamecocks won, 67-58. Some of whatever emotion was exerted in Columbia didn’t travel to Gainesville, Fla.. Behind solid performances from junior center Vernon Macklin and guard Kenny Boynton, Florida swamped the Tigers en route to the Gators’ first conference win. “We didn’t play hard,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think we played our best in the second half … It was real disappointing.”Mitchell has been the only consistent bright spot for LSU in conference play. Mitchell has averaged 13.7 points and nine rebounds a game against SEC foes. The rest of the team has not been so helpful. Spencer and sophomore forward Storm Warren, the two other members of LSU’s “Big Three,” have been lethally inconsistent. Spencer had solid outings against Alabama and South Carolina with 13 and 14 points, respectively, but disappeared against the Gators with just six points. Warren has had a roller coaster ride so far through SEC play. The sophomore had four points against Alabama, 19 against South Carolina and eight against Florida. The only consistent trend with Warren is foul trouble — as fouls go, so does Warren. Warren had four fouls in both the Alabama and Florida games. He only had one against South Carolina. The rest of the schedule is somewhat scary if LSU continues on this putrid stretch. Their next game, Wednesday against Auburn in the PMAC, might be the best chance for a first conference win. LSU’s first conference win in 2007 also came against coach Jeff Lebo’s crew. Solid teams like No. 2 Kentucky, No. 8 Tennessee and No. 22 Ole Miss loom on the horizon. “We are having a hard time, physically, coming back to back with maximum effort, which is what you expect with a young and inexperienced team,” Johnson said after the Florida loss.——Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]