The LSU men’s basketball team has decided not to participate in a postseason tournament, coach Johnny Jones announced via a new release Sunday evening.
The Tigers completed their season 19-14 overall and 11-7 in the Southeastern Conference, losing to Texas A&M, 71-38, in SEC tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon. The Tigers’ point total in the elimination loss to the Aggies was the lowest among teams from the six major conferences this season.
LSU was not among the field of 68 in the NCAA tournament bracket released Sunday, and the National Invitation Tournament selection show is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
“We will be able to utilize this time to get better and start preparations for next season,” Jones said in the news release. “We fell short of the mark of getting to the NCAA Tournament. I take full responsibility for this team, and will do the things necessary to make sure we are able to reach one of our main goals at LSU in the future.”
Jones conferred with his staff and met with his team earlier on Sunday before publicizing the decision.
Without the services of senior guard Keith Hornsby, who underwent a season-ending medical procedure Tuesday, freshman guard Antonio Blakeney played with flu-like symptoms in the SEC tournament and would have been “questionable at best” for any upcoming games, according to the news release.
“That also factored into our decision, but it is primarily now my responsibility to begin working and preparing our players for the prospects that lie ahead,” Jones said in the new release.
In Jones’ first season in 2013, LSU passed on an opportunity to play in the College Basketball Invitational, a tournament in which team’s must pay to participate. 
With a top-five recruiting class, including the consensus No. 1 overall prospect Ben Simmons, the Tigers started the season ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll and No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
After winning its first three games of the season, LSU dropped its next three and finished 7-5 in nonconference play. Despite wins against NCAA tournament teams such as Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Texas A&M in conference play, the Tigers finished the season No. 94 in the Ratings Percentage Index, a measurement used by the NCAA tournament selection committee.
The Tigers were attempting to make back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances for the first time in ten years.