One loss and the season is over. That’s what is at stake for LSU with the SEC tournament approaching.
The Tigers finished their regular season on Saturday with another loss as Texas A&M won 66-52.
LSU ended their season on a five-game losing streak and finished second to last in the conference standings at the No. 15 seed with a record of 3-15.
Year three has not been kind to head coach Matt McMahon. After a rough first year in which the Tigers finished dead last in the SEC, they improved drastically, finishing 9-9 in conference play and sitting as the eighth-best team.
Now, amongst one of the most excellent SEC regular seasons of all time, where 13 out of the 16 teams are projected to make the NCAA tournament, LSU found itself on the other side of the coin, sitting near the bottom.
The Tigers brought in a lot of talent in hopes of building on the momentum they had last season. Kansas State transfer and Donaldsonville native Cam Carter is eligible to return for another season after averaging 16.5 points per game on 42.8% shooting as the purple and gold’s leading scorer.
LSU has been given one last opportunity with the SEC tournament, one in which they must be perfect.
The Tigers’ only chance of making the NCAA tournament would be to win the conference championship and secure an automatic bid; however, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
If LSU wants to go dancing, it’ll need to start by winning against No. 25-ranked Mississippi State on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Tigers played the Bulldogs a little over a week ago in Starksville. LSU lost 81-69 despite Cam Carter scoring 23 points.
Although Mississippi State lost four of its last five games to finish the year, it was still a solid season.
Bulldogs sophomore guard Josh Hubbard led his team to a 20-11 record while being the No. 4 ranked scorer in the SEC, averaging 18.4 points per game.
Mississippi State beat talented teams such as Memphis, Ole Miss and Texas A&M and appeared multiple times in the AP Top 25.
After having to play against a No. 10 seed that eclipsed 20 wins on the season, LSU would have another pair of Tigers waiting for them in the second round in No. 7 seeded Missouri.
Missouri had one of the biggest turnarounds in college basketball history.
Last season, Missouri did not win a single game in conference play and finished 0-18, although it had 25 wins and made the tournament in the previous season.
As a result, head coach Dennis Gates had a point to prove that last season was a fluke and would not be his team’s identity. This season, he did precisely that.
Missouri bounced back and had its second 20-win season under Gates, ranked as high as 14 in the AP poll.
The 21-win Tigers picked up multiple quality wins throughout the season, including against Kansas, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Alabama.
Like the Bulldogs, Missouri finished its season on a rough patch. The Tigers lost four of their last five games, including their last three.
Don’t let the end of the season fool you; this team has been one of the best in the conference. Missouri ranks tied for fourth in points per game with 85.4. It also leads the conference in field goal percentage at 48.7% per game and steals at 9.6 per game.
The Tigers also rank second in the SEC in 3-point shooting percentage with 37.3%. It’s truly a team effort in Columbia, and you can thank the players for that.
Missouri has four players averaging over nine points per game, including Mark Mitchell and Caleb Grill, who average just over 14 points per game. Even when it’s not their night, they can rely on another efficient scorer in Tamar Bates, who led the game in scoring when Missouri beat LSU 83-67 back in early January.
If LSU takes down a pesky Missouri team in the second round, it’ll have second-seed Florida waiting for them in the quarterfinal.
The Gators are capable of winning the SEC and the national championship. The current No. 5 team in the country is led by a three-headed monster: Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard. They combine for an average of 45 points per game, more than half their team average.
Florida can score inside and outside, which makes it elite. The Gators have six players shooting over 35% from three, and if they do miss, they’ll haul in the missed shots. They are tied with Illinois as the second-best rebounding team in the country with 42.4 per game, only trailing the Crimson Tide by .9 per game.
The defense for Florida is nothing to sleep on as it ranks No. 12 in the country for opponent field goal percentage at 39.5%. The Gators have a tremendous cast of role and bench players that help the trio night in and night out.
Florida is fighting for one of the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, and with a resume like theirs, it’s not a mountain to climb.
With a 27-4 record, the Gators have earned every win, defeating No. 4 Tennessee on Jan. 7 and No. 1 Auburn on Feb. 8. Their four losses came from conference opponents and teams projected to make the tournament.
LSU kept it close in the first when they played the Gators a few weeks ago but lost in the end, 79-65.
Florida is the last of the guaranteed opponents that LSU would have if they make it to the semifinals. Teams like the No. 4 seeded Volunteers, No. 3 Alabama or No. 1 seeded Auburn, labeled as the favorites, could face the Tigers down the stretch.
There are other possible matchups that LSU could face in the tournament, but they’ll have to take down Mississippi State first to complete the rigorous path in hopes of making it to the NCAA tournament.
