ATLANTA, Ga. — The building — the Georgia Dome — is a familiar one to LSU fans and some of its players because of the many times the building as hosted the Southeastern Conference tournament.
But Thursday, for the LSU Tigers and three other teams, there was a new sense of energy as the teams went through their final workouts and met with media from all over the nation in town for the NCAA Atlanta Regional Semifinals.
The Tigers and No. 1 Duke, the tournament’s overall top seed, meet on the floor of the Georgia Dome Thursday night at 6:10 p.m. CST in the first game of the double header which will be televised to approximately 75 percent of the nation by CBS Sports. The radio broadcast of the game will be available on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network and in the “Geaux Zone powered by USAgencies” at LSUsports.net.
West Virginia and Texas will meet in the other Texas semifinal beginning at approximately 8:40 p.m. EST and the winners will meet on Saturday in the regional final with the right to go to the NCAA Final Four at a time to be announced.
The Tigers began their day in as normal a fashion as possible with a video session and then a closed practice at the practice facility of the Atlanta Hawks, underneath Phillips Arena, before coming to the Georgia Dome.
LSU was the first of the four teams to appear on the Dome floor under the watchful eye of several hundred fans, photographers, videographers and CBS Sports announcers Dick Enberg, Jay Bilas and Bob Wentzel. Brad Sham and Larry Conley will call the game on Westwood One/CBS Radio’s national coverage of the game.
Following the practice, John Brady, Glen Davis and Darrel Mitchell appeared on the interview podium while other members of the Tigers were interviewed in the locker room before the team returned to its Atlanta headquarters to begin focusing on the task at hand.
“We looking forward to our game,” said LSU Coach John Brady. “It is a great opportunity for our team. We have had a really fine season at this point. We have done it with some young players. We’re excited about the opportunity. We’ll see how we play. We played a top ranked team before this year in Connecticut and played team pretty well earlier in the year at Hartford.
“Duke presents a different challenge, with some different ways they score the ball. They are very good defensively but our team is excited about the challenge and we’re looking forward to playing the game,” LSU’s ninth-year coach said of his 25-8 Tigers.
“(LSU) is very good defensively,” said Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski. “They can block shots first of all, so if you do break them down they have that last line of defense. (Tyrus) Thomas has been terrific in that, but Davis he takes up space, but it’s not just his space because he has good feet so he can be a help defender also and their perimeter defense although it’s young except for Mitchell the senior guard, plays well together knowing that they have the last line of defense so to speak, in those big kids, it they make any mistakes. So I think they are a very good defensive team. I think they are a really good team. They have the best record in the SEC so they are very good.”
Duke is 32-3 and in the Sweet 16 for the ninth straight year, with three trips to the Final Four in that time span. LSU is in its second Sweet 16 under John Brady, having lost in this game to Wisconsin in 2000. LSU is trying to go back to the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 1986 and advance to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1987, the last year LSU beat a higher seed in the tournament. But despite the difference, Brady and the Tigers are ready for the challenge.
“I did look at ESPN and I looked at — they did flash Mike Krzyzewski’s tournament resume against mine. It did dwarf a little bit,” said Brady. “But it certainly didn’t intimidate me any. He just had some opportunities I suppose and some different situations. I totally respect what he’s done and what that program is about.
“At the same time, we have beaten at LSU a sitting number one in Lute Olsen. He’s pretty good. We have played Connecticut to one this year at Hartford and had a shot to beat them. And Jim Calhoun is pretty good. We have a guy in our league named Tubby Smith that’s not bad, another one named Billy Donovan that’s pretty good.
“In due respect to Coach Krzyzewski and his team, we have played against some good coaches and some other mighty fine programs and have been able to win a few of those games along the way. Now this is a different setting. You are in the Sweet 16 now. It’s not like a regular season game, but going back to our team’s approach,” Brady said. “It certainly has been encouraging the way our team has handled the success that we have had also have handled the adversity that we have had and we’re just excited to play the game. Knowing we have to do certain things extremely well in order to win the game, and I have tried to deflect the matchup of particular players.”
Brady and the Tigers win against Arizona in 2002 marked just the second time in school history, LSU has beaten a sitting No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll.
For Darrel Mitchell, his senior season continues a long, one game of a time, trying to keep the journey alive.
“Thank God for this opportunity to be here,” said the St. Martinville guard. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to the Sweet 16 and to play Duke makes it even more significant. But this is my last string, my last go around, so I am real excited to be here and with us being dropped out of this opportunity the first three years I have been here, for me to get in my last season, I am sucking every moment in, and I am ready to go.”
While others didn’t want to talk about the matchups, LSU’s Glen Davis talked about the matchup with Shelden Williams.
“Shelden Williams is a great player. He’s an All-American. Basically I am trying not to get too excited because a guy like me who is kind of low on the radar, is licking his chops right now because this is an opportunity to show the world that you can play, that you can compete with the best. So I am seizing the opportunity that I have to compete against one of these elite players.
“I feel me being the competitor that I am, I am loving this, you know, this is what you dream of. This is what the sweat and teas and all the hard work that you put in, this is when you show, show out, and it’s not a better opportunity to show out against Duke on a big stage. So I am loving this right now. But I am also at the same time respecting this guy because he has proven himself in the ACC and also in college basketball. So I am ready. I am ready for it.”
“He’s an incredible player,” said Williams of Davis. “Somebody for that size that moves so well as he does, it’s just amazing to watch. I know it is going to be a very physical game and low post throughout the whole course of the game. I know we both are prepared for that and hopefully we’ll play the game without any injuries going on and hopefully we come out on top.”
LSU forward Tyrus Thomas also chipped in on the defensive matchup against Duke: “We have to be relentless. We have to do the things that we’ve done all year and execute. Teams change, but the goal and the objectives never change. That’s to play your best and win. Duke has a great program and a great history behind their program. But, once the game starts, all of that leaves. They are another team … another hurdle in our way … and we have to do what have to do to win.”
“I’m definitely excited about (playing Duke),” said Darnell Lazare, who has posted strong performances for the Tigers while starting in place of Tyrus Thomas. “As a kid, you grow up watching Duke. They’ve always been an elite team in college basketball, and now here we are with an opportunity to play them in the Sweet 16. It’s going to be a fun game and definitely a memorable game.”
The hours are counting down, the stories and media reports are being filed, the teams are at their hotels waiting along fans everywhere to see if the Sweet 16 will be as sweet as possible for their respective teams. The Tigers hope that they can go from Sweet to Elite as the winners of the two Georgia Dome games will play Saturday at either 4:40 or 7:05 p.m. EST Saturday for the right to go to the NCAA Final Four.
Duke and LSU. Let the Madness of a March night in a building LSU has seen its share of success in continue.