It took the LSU basketball team the whole season to lock up an NCAA Tournament bid.
It took about five minutes for the team to find out who and where it would play in the first round.
After opening the Southeastern Conference season 1-6, the Tigers won nine of their last 12 games, including two in the SEC Tournament in New Orleans, and garnered a No. 8 in the South region of the NCAA Tournament.
LSU will face Big Ten representative Purdue, a nine seed, on Friday, in Birmingham, Ala. The time has yet to be determined. The winner will face the victor of No. 1 seed Texas or either North Carolina-Asheville and Texas Southern, who will face off in a play-in game.
CBS announced the pairings before any others.
“That was right quick,” said LSU head coach John Brady. “They [CBS] unveiled the first pairing, and LSU goes to Birmingham.”
All in all, Brady was happy with the seeding and the matchup, but was not satisfied completely.
“I was hoping, you know in a perfect way, to get a seven seed, so we could avoid a No. 1 [seed] if we win the first game,” Brady said. “That didn’t happen. The second thing I wanted to do was go to Nashville or, in particular, Birmingham. It’s close for our fans, we are playing on a Friday night. I don’t think it could have worked out any better.
“You know, instead of the seven seed, we got an eight, and I guess the tradeoff is we got to go to Birmingham.”
Purdue finished the season 18-10, with a 10-6 record in the Big Ten conference, and have victories over several Top 25 teams, including Louisville, Indiana and Illinois.
Senior guard Willie Deane leads the Boilermakers, averaging 18.2 points per game. Purdue coach Gene Keady is in his 23rd season at the helm.
Brady said his team relishes the challenge.
“Purdue is a good basketball team,” Brady said. “But it is certainly a game that, you know, we will have an opportunity to win, I think. It is good for us. I am excited about it. I know our players are excited about it. To be able to go to the NCAA Tournament, to be an eight seed and play in Birmingham, to come from where we came from to get to this point, I think you really have to compliment our team and our players for what they have been able to accomplish the last four or five weeks of the season.”
Brady said the team needs to refocus in this time of excitement.
“The thing we need to do is don’t get caught up in the excitement of it or feel good or feel like we’ve accomplished something,” Brady said. “The thing that we need to do and that we are going to do is just get right down to the task at hand and that is gathering the information and tapes on Purdue starting tonight. We need to start breaking them down on tape and put all our emphasis on playing the best we can Friday night in Birmingham.”
Senior guard Collis Temple III knows Purdue will be physical, but he welcomes the challenge.
“I saw part of the [Big Ten] Tournament, and it was kind of rough,” Temple said. “They are rough. But the SEC is not a cupcake either. So I will be looking forward to that challenge.”