These moments are sometimes referred to as “winning time.”
It’s the time when championships are on the line or when a team’s back is against the wall. It’s when the pressure is pronounced or immense odds are stacked against you.
LSU freshman forward Ben Simmons considers himself proficient in winning time, taking home three consecutive high school national titles at Montverde Academy. With a share of the Southeastern Conference regular season championship on the line, Simmons will get another chance to prove that against No. 22 Kentucky at 1 p.m. Saturday at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
The pressure? LSU’s narrow hopes for an NCAA tournament at-large bid may rest on a win against the Wildcats (22-8, 12-5 SEC). Kentucky is undefeated at home since the end of the 2014 season — 36 straight wins.
“You just got to want it more,” Simmons said. “I’m going to talk to the guys about that. We have guys in the locker room that have played at high levels. It really comes down to who wants it more, and who’s willing to put all of it out there.”
As it stands, LSU is tied for second place in the league. It needs to beat the Wildcats and Vanderbilt to upset No. 20 Texas A&M on the road to share the SEC regular season crown.
If both the Tigers and Commodores (19-11, 11-6 SEC) win, there will be a four-way tie for first place for the first time since 2000. In that scenario, the Tigers would be the No. 1 seed in the league tournament.
Even junior guard Tim Quarterman probably couldn’t have foreseen LSU in this position after three straight losses last month, he said.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Quarterman said.
If LSU loses, it still has a chance to gain a top-four seed and a double bye in the conference tournament, needing either Vanderbilt — which plays before LSU — or South Carolina to lose. However, some feel, including ESPN analyst Dick Vitale, the Tigers could get an at-large berth just by beating Kentucky, which is similar to LSU’s tournament solidifying road win against No. 18 Arkansas at the end of last season.
Likewise, LSU went into Fayetteville, Arkansas last year without the services of second-leading scorer Jordan Mickey. Now, it will do the same with senior guard Keith Hornsby, who is still recovering from a groin tear.
But LSU coach Johnny Jones acknowledges there are some differences.
“Last year, we lost the game prior going on the road,” Jones said. “It was a little bit different. I’m hopeful that our guys are in an even better mindset this time around because we are on a two-game win streak going into this game. Mentally, we are in a much better place than when we went to Arkansas a year ago without Jordan Mickey to be able to pull off a big game there.”
The Tigers’ quality victories are few and far between this season, but their banner win, an 18-point trouncing of then-No. 9 Kentucky on Jan. 5 at the PMAC, showed what Jones’ talented bunch was capable of against some of nation’s best.
Despite Simmons missing the majority of the first half because of foul trouble, LSU held the Wildcats to 41.4 percent from the field, allowing just seven combined points between forwards Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress and Skal Labissiere. Both Lee and Poythress had also fouled out by the 7:29 mark of the second half.
Kentucky’s guard duo of sophomore Tyler Ulis and freshman Jamal Murray, considered to be one of the best backcourts in the nation, did most of the damage for the Wildcats in the last meeting, scoring 44 of the team’s 67 points.
LSU freshman guard Antonio Blakeney said he is hoping he’s matched up with Murray, who he shared SEC Freshman of the Week honors with, in a rematch Blakeney sees as a must win, even if most don’t picture it happening.
“I know some people still believe in us,” Blakeney said. “I hope everybody still believes in us. But, of course, there’s some people who don’t, which is fine. I know what we can do, and I really think we’re going to win the game.”
You can reach James Bewers on Twitter @JamesBewers_TDR

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Haskell Whittington

LSU freshman forward Ben Simmons (25) dunks the ball during the LSU 96-91 victory against the Florida Gators on Saturday Feb. 27, 2016, in the PMAC.