LSU Tigers
SEC (19-14, 11-7)
LSU could have had a great season. They lost some early games though against Marquette, North Carolina State, Charleston and Houston. Their nonconference slate came and went without a big win. Back in December many said that this team just needed some time to come together and develop, which is true since this is a very young team; but inconsistency continued to strike the Tigers during SEC action.
Big Wins: 1/2 at Vanderbilt (90-82), 1/5 Kentucky (85-67), 2/13 Texas A&M (76-71)
Bad Losses: 11/24 vs NC State (72-83), 11/30 at Charleston (58-70), 12/29 Wake Forest (71-77)
Coach: Johnny Jones
Why They Can Surprise:
LSU has some nice wins in SEC play, most notably against Kentucky and Texas A&M. The Tigers also have one of the best players in college basketball in freshman Ben Simmons. The 6-10 forward has lived up to the hype, averaging 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Putting up numbers like that is extremely impressive in any conference, but especially for a freshman in the SEC. Fellow freshman Antonio Blakeney has had some great outings as well, especially when his outside shot is falling. Tim Quarterman joins Blakeney as double digit scorers in the backcourt. Quarterman is a big 6-6 point guard who does it all, including helping Simmons and Craig Victor on the glass. Victor has been overshadowed by Simmons, but he is having a very good sophomore season, averaging 11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Why They Can Disappoint:
With Simmons and Victor not being great shot blockers and very little depth in the frontcourt for Johnny Jones to work with, the opposition can get to the basket pretty easily against LSU. The defense cannot allow the opposition to shoot as well as they have during the regular season if they hope to make a serious postseason run. LSU has a lot of scoring threats, but their outside shooting can be problematic. Keith Hornsby was really the only consistent three-point shooter on the team, but he is out for the postseason with an injury. Without some outside shooting threats, good teams can crowd the paint and stop the slashers and the big men. Quarterman is the best shooter left on the team, so most of that pressure will fall on him.
Probable Starters:
Tim Quarterman, Junior, Guard, 11.2 ppg, 3.6 apg, 4.6 rpg
Antonio Blakeney, Freshman, Guard, 12.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg
Josh Gray, Senior, Guard, 5.4 ppg, 1.8 apg,
Craig Victor, Sophomore, Forward, 11.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Ben Simmons, Freshman, Forward, 19.2 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 4.8 apg, 2.0 spg
Key Roleplayers:
Jalyn Patterson, Sophomore, Guard, 4.7 ppg, 1.6 apg
Brandon Sampson, Freshman, Guard, 4.0 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 79.0 (44th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.9 (85, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.6 (31, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 39.7 (25, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.6 (211, 10)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.8 (125, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.5 (260, 9)
Rebound Margin: 6.0 (32, 2)
Assists Per Game: 14.5 (101, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.3 (52, 3)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2015 NCAA Second Round loss to North Carolina State
2014 NIT First Round win over San Francisco
2014 NIT Second Round loss to SMU
2012 NIT First Round loss to Oregon
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Butler
2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to North Carolina
2006 NCAA Round of 64 win over Iona
2006 NCAA Round of 32 win over Texas A&M
2006 NCAA Regional semifinal win over Duke
2006 NCAA Regional final win over Texas
2006 NCAA National semifinal loss to UCLA
2005 NCAA Round of 64 loss to UAB
2004 NIT First Round loss to Oklahoma
2003 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Purdue
*all team stats through 3/6
