by the Webmaster
(12/29/99)
BATON ROUGE — Before the start of the 1999-2000 season, LSU and Oklahoma State would have never been mentioned in the same sentence when it came to college basketball success. However, with both being undefeated after Christmas, these are two teams that have high expectations for that cliched “second season” that begins Thursday night when the Tigers and Cowboys square off in the New Orleans Arena.
LSU, 11-0 and unranked, takes on 11th-ranked Oklahoma State at 9 p.m. in the nightcap of the Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic. Kentucky and Missouri will open the two-game event with a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Riding the longest winning streak since winning its first 14 in 1985-86, LSU has surpassed every expectation and prediction placed upon it before the season.
“At this point in the season, I think we’ve beat who we were supposed to beat, and beat a few team that we were not expected to beat,” head coach John Brady said. “That’s why we’re 11-0 at this point in the season and we’re where we want to be.”
In just his third season with the Tigers, Brady is looking to match his most wins at LSU, and it’s only December. In his first two seasons, Brady went 9-18 and 12-15, respectively.
Based on this past performance, the NCAA probation that limited scholarships and the attrition that has hurt the program over the past five years, the college basketball gurus had bleak predictions about the Tigers’ success this season. And rightfully so.
Although Brady is where he wants to be at this point in the season, he didn’t think his young team would be here either.
“I don’t think anybody expected us to be as good as we are,” Brady said. “We were picked last in our division, which equates to 11th or 12th in the league before the season. Then, we went out to Hawaii expecting to get one win, and we got two, then three against quality opponents like Fresno State and Wyoming. No one expected that.
“Our team is where it needs to be. But, it is not a finished product.”
In order to beat an experienced Cowboy team, the Tigers are going to have to be at the top of its game without sophomore sixth man, Jermaine Williams who will miss about two weeks with a sprained knee ligament.
“Losing any player from this team is going to hurt the team, however, it just means that the other guys will have to play harder and longer,” Brady said. “Jermaine is third on our team in terms of minutes played, and he is not a starter. That says that he plays a big role on this team. Injuries also tend to hurt us more than other teams because of our limited numbers.”
Despite the loss of Williams, Brady recognized that the Tigers have exceeded expectations thus far this season and expects nothing less when the Tigers face the nation’s ninth-best scoring team (86.8 ppg.).
“Oklahoma State will be the best team we’ve faced thus far,” Brady said. “They start four or five seniors and have a lot of game experience. Our team is not like that. But, if we play together and do what we know how to do, then we’ll see how it goes.
“We have experience, but not like (Oklahoma State). Are we ready to play with a Top 15 team that has been to the NCAA Sweet 16 and has five seniors? Well, the team is mentally ready. I plan to win the game, and I think our team is ready for the experience.”
The Cowboys are led by senior, preseason All-American forward Desmond Mason. Mason, 6-5, averaged 20.9 ppg. and 6.9 rpg. in the Cowboys’ first 10 games this season, including a 31-point performance at Washington in Oklahoma State’s last outing, an 84-72 win at Washington.
LSU, on the other hand, is one of five teams in NCAA Division I basketball that was undefeated going into Tuesday’s action.
The Tigers have won these 11 games by an average of 24.7 points and are just behind the Cowboys with 86.6 ppg. Defensively, LSU has allowed only 61.9 points per game including holding five teams to 55 points or less.
Although his team has exceeded expectations and been successful game-in and game-out, Brady doesn’t anticipate a letdown of any sort on Thursday night.
“I don’t think this team will fall back on anything. I’m not sure how good we are, and I don’t know if our team knows how good it is,” he said. “We haven’t played the elite, top teams in the nation yet, but we’re going to get that change Thursday night. This game will give us something to compare ourselves to.”
So, what’s next for the Tigers in 2000? According to Brady, the Tigers are on the road to the postseason, once again, much sooner than the “experts” predicted.
“I think we can make the postseason. I’d be surprised if we did not continue to improve throughout the rest of the season and into SEC play to the point where we have a winning record in conference and an overall winning record. Winning most of our home SEC game and picking up a few road wins should get us into the NIT, at least. That’s when they start calling you a ‘bubble team’ for the NCAA’s.
“We’ll just have to answer these questions with our play.”
GAME NOTES:
- With a win against the Cowboys, LSU would close out the century with a 1195-917 record.
- LSU has started the season 11-0 four other times: 1985-86 (started 14-0), 1921-22 (14-0), 1920-21 (13-0), 1919-20 (13-0).
- LSU hasn’t beaten a Top 15 team since beating No. 3 Oklahoma State, 71-68, on Dec. 11, 1993, at the UNO Arena.
- The Tigers are 6-4 in its seventh appearance in the Sugar Bowl Classic dating back to 1936. LSU last played in the classic in 1981.
- LSU is 52-174 (.230) against ranked team since 1948-49. LSU’s last victory over a ranked opponent was a 71-68 win over Vanderbilt on Jan. 10, 1996. Since then, LSU has lost 23 straight to ranked teams.
- LSU is 4-0 this season on neutral courts and 97-95 (.505) all-time. From 1994-99, LSU was 1-10 on neutral courts.
- The Howard game marked the ninth time in 11 game that the Tigers have had four players in double figures this season.
- Stromile Swift leads the Tigers in scoring (20.0 ppg), field goal percentage (70.2), free throws made (45), rebounds (8.4 rpg.) and blocked shots (31).
- Oklahoma State point guard Doug Gottlieb (6-1, 180, Sr.) averages 11.0 apg. to lead the nation. He ranks 25th in Division I history with 764 assists and hold the school and league records in the category.
- LSU opens the year 2000 against Alabama on Jan. 5 in the Maravich Assembly Center at 7 p.m.