ATLANTA — After picking up 12 conference wins in the regular season for the first time since 1991-92, the Tigers look to earn their first Southeastern Conference Tournament victory under John Brady when they face Vanderbilt in the second round Friday at 2:15 p.m. CST.
Vanderbilt knocked off Mississippi State, 76-53, Thursday afternoon to advance to the second round.
All of LSU’s SEC and NCAA Tournament games this season can be heard on The Official Web Site of LSU Athletics, LSUsports.net. The Voice of the Tigers, Jim Hawthorne, along with Kevin Ford will call the action live each night.
LSU’s last SEC Tournament victory came in the semifinal round in 1993, also again Vanderbilt. Since then, the Tigers have lost seven straight tournament games.
In SEC tournament history, LSU has a 33-39 record including 17 wins in its opening game. The Tigers’ lone Tournament title came in 1980 when LSU beat Kentucky, 80-78.
The Tigers (25-4) are led by SEC Co-Player of the Year Stromile Swift who averages 16.5 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game and nearly three blocks.
With 25 wins, the Tigers look to move into a tie for second place in the school’s all-time men’s basketball wins list. Two teams (1979-80 and 1985-86) won 26 games, while the 1980-81 team holds the record with 31.
SEC Coach of the Year John Brady looks for his first SEC Tournament win against the Commodores. He lost his first two tournament games to Tennessee in 1998 (73-62) and to Florida in 1999 (97-75). Brady is 1-3 against Vanderbilt, including one of his four loses this season in Nashville (65-62).
The winner of the LSU-Vanderbilt contest will play Saturday at 2:15 p.m. in the semifinals.