The LSU men’s basketball team is running out of chances to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers currently sit with a record of 16-12 and 7-9 in the Southeastern Conference. A loss to Georgia last week will make it hard for the Tigers to sneak into the NCAA Tournament, but with two games remaining, the Tigers still have a small chance of getting into the big dance.
LSU’s two games left on its schedule will improve its resume if they can win, with a matchup on the road against South Carolina and a home matchup to end the season against Mississippi State. The two remaining games will be pivotal for the team as they try and work themselves into tournament discussions.

LSU currently sits with the 11th best record in the SEC and a pair of wins would put LSU at .500 in SEC play and 18-12 on the season.

The loss against Georgia last weekend has made LSU’s realistic hopes of making the NCAA Tournament hinge upon how well they do in the SEC Tournament next month. An automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament is up for grabs if the Tigers can win, but even a deep run in the tournament could get LSU back into the NCAA Tournament discussion.
Coach Will Wade is confident that his team can use the pressure of making the tournament as motivation as the season comes to a close.
“I’ve addressed it with the guys,” Wade said of the Tigers’ tournament chances. “‘I won’t say it to put pressure on you, but pressure is a privilege.’ It beats the hell out of not playing for anything. People want to have great seasons, but the key is you’ve got to dig out big wins in late February. Are we going to be able to dig some of these things out? When we get on the big stage, can we do it? The answer early on was no, but we’ll see how it goes now. We’re more mature, but we’ll see.”

LSU currently sits with an RPI of 80 and a strength of schedule rating of 54, according to ESPN. The Tigers have seven wins against teams that previously owned a top-50 RPI ranking: Houston, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas A&M (two), and Michigan.
The wins will only boost LSU’s resume when the selection committee makes its final 68 team bracket on Selection Sunday, which is March 11th this year.
Despite the impressive wins by the Tigers ESPN’s Jeff Borzello has LSU as his first team on his “next for out” list of teams he projects will be left out of the tournament.
Even with the projections by Borzello, according to Sports Illustrated, “there may be no more interesting team on Selection Sunday than LSU.”
If the Tigers can grind out their next two wins and make a deep run in the SEC Tournament, 20 wins might be enough for them to earn an at-large bid into the big dance.
It will be difficult for the Tigers to make the NCAA Tournament, but Wade knows that even if they can’t reach their goal this year something can always be used to help next years team.
“It’ll be good experience one way or another,” Wade said. “We can learn from it or use it for next year. And next year maybe it’s not the same pressure. Maybe it’s a chance to be in the conference championship race.”