It’s no secret the LSU men’s basketball team has struggled this season.The Tigers (9-12, 0-7) have lost their last seven games and are in realistic danger of continuing that streak.
But we urge LSU fans to continue to support this team and the men’s basketball program as a whole.
They need it as much now as ever with two big home games this weekend against No. 14 Tennessee at 8 p.m. tonight and against No. 4 Kentucky at 3 p.m. Saturday.
LSU hasn’t often hosted two top-15 teams in such a short time frame — the most recent being a pair of wins against Auburn and Kentucky in February 2000.
And the encouraging screams will be necessary for the Tigers to compete at the same level and have a good showing in the two televised games.
The Tiger faithful rallied around the team two years ago when then-No. 7 Tennessee (21-2, 8-1) came to Baton Rouge the day after LSU (8-13, 1-6) fired former coach John Brady.
Fans filled the PMAC with cheers, and Chris Johnson’s dunk came just after the final buzzer and less than a second late from taking a highly ranked team to overtime.
This team needs that kind of support tonight and this weekend.
And while LSU has struggled, fans shouldn’t blame coach Trent Johnson.
Johnson inherited a team that had finished the 2007-08 season 13-18 and 6-10 in the SEC, and he took it to the second round of last year’s NCAA tournament and a 27-8 final record.
He lost seven players from that team — including senior guard Alex Farrer’s season-ending injury just before this season’s start — and had little to work with this year.
But Johnson has had success everywhere he’s coached — it just takes about three years to overhaul a program.
He had his work cut out for him in Brady’s wake, and he deserves the support it will take to complete the task.
And with two huge games slated for the next three days, now is a perfect opportunity to show it. Wear gold to see the Tigers take on Tennessee tonight and pack the PMAC for the Kentucky game on Saturday — you won’t regret going.