LSU men’s basketball coach John Brady and Athletic Director Skip Bertman asked media and fans Thursday to curb their criticism of the basketball team and help create a positive atmosphere of support.
The fans got the message.
“The people that were there were really positive and supportive of our team, and I appreciate that a lot and I know the players do – and that’s really what it’s for,” Brady said after the Tigers’ 68-52 loss to Arkansas. “[The players] mentioned that in the locker room after the game. ‘They stayed with us, coach,’ and I said, ‘Yep, and you kept playing.'”
The crowd stayed with the Tigers (7-12, 0-5) even after they allowed the Razorbacks (14-5, 3-2) to build a 17-point halftime lead, 39-22.
And LSU made the most of the support early in the second half when the Tigers came out the locker room swinging with an 8-0 run, cutting the Arkansas lead to 39-30 with 17:09 remaining.
The gym stayed abuzz even when the Razorbacks stabilized their lead at around 10 points. And for a while the energy made the Tigers look as though they might make the final run and end their losing streak.
“I guess the adrenaline is pumping a little more when the crowd is into it,” said junior guard Garrett Temple. “And everybody knows when your adrenaline’s pumping, crazy things happen.”
But in reality, the Razorbacks played the Tigers evenly for the next 10 minutes prior to stretching the lead back out and eventually winning.
LSU showed as much energy as it had in some time, seemingly feeding off the crowd’s enthusiasm – and the crowd, in turn, off the team’s.
Freshman forward Anthony Randolph and sophomore guard Alex Farrer, both often mild-mannered, particularly seemed to take advantage of the screaming fans.
Randolph tallied all four of the team’s blocks in the second half, standing in the lane roaring after one.
“My goal is to be more aggressive and physical every game,” Randolph said. “Because every post player I’ve played against tries to do the same thing and overpower me or make me curl up in a shell, so I’m going to try to do the same thing to them.”
After recording no statistics in two first-half minutes, Farrer grabbed three rebounds and a backcourt steal that led immediately to two of his 11 second-half points.
Despite the 8,860 recorded paid attendance, there were still many empty seats in the PMAC, which has a capacity of more than 14,000.
“I can’t plead enough with the students,” Farrer said. “You can fill a football stadium with 90,000 fans, but you can’t fill the PMAC? Regardless of the situation, this is LSU. This is a state school. Be proud.
“I understand that right now we aren’t playing up to our expectations or the standard that we’re supposed to play at, but at the same time, we need that support.”
The third-highest home attendance this season falls only behind LSU’s matchup with Washington and the student priority point game against Auburn. Five of LSU’s six largest crowds this season were on the road.
“We’ve still got 11 more games left in the [Southeastern Conference] – five at home,” Temple said. “Keep supporting us, because me and Marcus [Thornton] were talking about in the locker room – how we have a gut feeling that this thing is going to turn around for us.”
—-Contact Jerit Roser at [email protected]