by Joey Papania
LSUsports.net
BATON ROUGE — Head coach John Brady and the LSU basketball team began the 1999-2000 season just three and a half months ago. LSU returned only two players with more than seven Division I collegiate starts to their credit. The Tigers added three freshmen and a first year junior college transfer to the roster, and were without the services of last season’s leading scorer. The team began the season just hoping to take another step towards rebuilding its basketball program.
It has been a big step.
This season’s 25-4 overall record is the best regular season mark since the 1980-81 Final Four team. This year also marks the first time since 1990-91 that the Tigers have claimed a share of the SEC title. LSU is currently riding a nine game SEC win streak, the longest SEC win streak in 19 years, and is currently ranked No. 10 in the latest AP poll.
Brady’s team heads to the SEC Tournament in Atlanta this weekend as the No. 1 seed in the West. After a first round bye, the Tigers will play the winner of the Mississippi St. – Vanderbilt game Friday at 2:15 p.m. CST.
“We’re going to be facing a team that has beaten us, so there should be some motivation for us,” Brady said. “Mississippi St. beat us at their place, and we fought it pretty hard to beat them here. Vandy beat us on their home floor earlier in the year. So our team will have respect for both of those basketball teams, whichever one we play.”
The last time the Tigers won a game in the SEC Tournament was in 1993. It was also the last time LSU made the NCAA Tournament. But coach Brady is simply approaching the postseason as he would any other game on the Tiger’s schedule.
“As long as I’m the coach LSU will be trying to win every single game. That doesn’t mean we are going to do it,” Brady explained . “Our goal is to win the first conference game, the second, and the third one if possible. I don’t want to lose another game the rest of the year so there is no reason to change what we started to do on October the 20th with practice. We are trying to win every game we play.”
LSU has relied heavily on its defense to win the last two games. The Tiger defense held Auburn and Ole Miss to a combined 32 percent from the field, 23 percent from three-point range. However, Brady feels the Tigers will need to improve offensively. The LSU offense has not been as productive as it had been earlier in the season, despite the recent success. The players and the coaching staff concentrated on cleaning up a few things on offense and stressed rebounding as a concern in Monday’s practice. The Tigers have been out rebounded offensively 29-18 in the last two games.
The excitement of the postseason also brings the pressure of the tournament atmosphere. Freshmen Torris Bright, Ronald Dupree, and Collis Temple III matured rapidly in the regular season. Now they will face the challenge of adapting to the tournament environment. The Tigers have only a handful of players who have experienced SEC Tournament play. The deeper into the SEC Tournament the Tigers play, the more experience they will gain for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
“Every game we play now is one-and-done,” said junior forward Brian Beshara. “If we lose in the SEC Tournament we’re coming back home until the NCAA Tournament. And once the NCAA Tournament hits, we win we move, we lose we’re done. I think there’s a big sense of urgency this part of the season. But we want to win the SEC Tournament and we want to go to the NCAA Tournament on as big a roll as we can. The writers and the coaches can say whatever they want to say, but you have to play the game. We’re going to prove how good we are on the court.”
The Tigers will not find a better tournament atmosphere outside of Atlanta this weekend. The SEC is home to some of the nation’s elite teams, coaches, players and fans. If one wants to see how tough the conference is, look no further than the seedings for the tourney. The Florida Gators are currently ranked No. 11 in the AP poll, are co-champions of the SEC regular season and are only the No. 4 seed in this weekend’s tournament.
“Our league is extremely talented, it’s very well coached, there is parody and balance within the league, and I think that’s why you have a four way tie for the first time in the league for a championship,” Brady said. “It won’t surprise me if one of the teams that plays the first day don’t win the thing, because I think that’s how difficult this league is and that’s why I’m so appreciative of what our players have been able to accomplish by being 12-4 and sharing in a four way tie for the conference championship.”
This year’s Tigers have accomplished more than anyone could have ever imagined they would. They have certainly proven they are a team to be taken very seriously. But despite the recent success, the Tigers still feel they have something to prove. Hopefully that hunger will carry them through the end of March.
“It’s been a very long road,” Bright said. “But there is still a lot of people who don’t realize how good our team is. We kind of figure that everyone is going to be coming at us. We have to stay strong and play hard every game.”