BATON ROUGE — A double-overtime win on the road at Mississippi State and a rallying win over Ole Miss Saturday did the trick and finally helped push the votes over the top to get the LSU men’s basketball team into the two major basketball poll.
LSU, in the polls announced on Monday, is now ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press media poll and No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. There were three new teams in this week’s AP poll ? Washington (22), LSU (23) and Dayton (25). LSU was the only new team to appear in this week’s ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
LSU was last ranked in the AP in the 12th poll of the 2006-07 season in late January of that year at No. 21. LSU had been ranked in 17 straight polls from the last five of the 2005-06 season when the Tigers dropped out until this week.
This marks the 190th AP poll that LSU has appeared in since its poll debut on Dec. 16, 1952. The Tigers are 252-91 (73.4 percent) when playing as a ranked team and 3-3 as a No. 23 team in the AP poll.
LSU travels to Fayetteville on Wednesday to take on the University of Arkansas at 7 p.m. and returns home on Saturday at host Auburn at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Tickets are on sale for the game at LSUsports.net.
Coach Trent Johnson and players addressed the poll situation later Monday at the team’s pre-Arkansas media session.
LSU Men’s Basketball : Monday Media Session
February 16, 2009
LSU HEAD COACH TRENT JOHNSON QUOTES
On LSU being ranked …
“It is interesting. If Pittsburg beats UConn, Oklahoma will probably be ranked No. 1. They only have one loss. Guess who beat them. Arkansas did, in Fayetteville. I’m happy for the people that are happy and follow the program. The other side of it is that we have a lot of work to do. I’m more concerned about our point guard (Bo Spencer) who is not going to play and not going to travel. Obviously, he is a little upset, but he needs to stay behind and get some treatment and get some rest. That is not to say that there are not guys on this basketball team that won’t step up like Alex (Farrer) Terry (Martin), Chris Bass and Garrett Temple. I always feel for guys that worked as hard as Bo has and they have a level of toughness that he is in pretty bad pain if he can’t play.
“We are going to have to play better than we’ve played. I don’t want to take anything away from what we have done the last two or three games, but Arkansas, in Fayetteville, is a difficult and different challenge. Fully expect (Courtney) Fortson to play. I know he has been suspended, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was back.”
On Bo Spencer‘s injury …
“All I know is this, for him not to be able to play and practice, it’s bad. Let’s just call it what it is. It be different if it was some of the other guys. Bo has a high pain threshold and he is tough kid, so it’s not good.”
On what he saw in LSU against Mississippi
“There is some versatility and experience on this team. Did I like the way we attacked the zone? No. Did I like the way we rebounded? No. Also, I have to understand and be realistic for what we have been through the last three and half days. I fully expect and hope we will be a lot better because I think Arkansas will run some different types of defenses. I don’t think teams are going to try to guard us on the man. We are going to have to make better decisions and be better on the glass if we expect to compete at a high level come Wednesday (against Arkansas).
On Garrett Temple playing point guard against Mississippi
“When you lose a guy like Bo that has been running your team so far and Garrett has been playing at the off-guard and Marcus (Thornton)has been playing his position and you put a new body in there, it takes you out of your rhythm. Your continuity is gone. Basketball ,offensively, is a game of rhythm, of continuity. Terry Martin understands his role. Alex understands his role. Those five guys are so used to playing with each other that it was just different, but Garrett did a good job.”
On what LSU misses from injured point guard Bo Spencer …
“We missed ball movement and the threat that (Bo Spencer) was shooting 45-46percent from the field. Also, the threat that you have to stretch out and guard him which opens up paths and lanes for Tasmin (Mitchell) and guys like Chris (Johnson). Now, when you take Bo out of the equation, with (the percentages) of Garrett (Temple) shooting the ball and Terry Martin shooting the ball are what they are, so teams are a little more reluctant to run at them and more reluctant to sag off on Tasmin or Marcus (Thornton). Guys will have opportunities against the zone and if they man us to make shots. Hopefully, we will come through.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
On LSU being ranked …
“It is an honor to be ranked and shows how hard this team is working as well as the preparation the coaches have given us. Buying into what Coach (Trent) Johnson is preaching, you see it working for us. Now that we are ranked, we have a target on our backs. We are the hunted. We just have to compete for 40 minutes of every possession, the same way we did it when we weren’t ranked.”
On knocking down jump shots …
“I remember Coach Johnson telling me to run a baseline, be athletic and have energy. It worked out. I just followed through on the jump shot and it went in.”
On how his shooting has improved …
“I just want to stay within the team concept. I listened to what Coach Johnson said and worked. That just shows that if you listen to the coaching staff, they won’t lead you astray.”
On if offense was tougher playing without Bo Spencer …
“It is not just one guy. That also showed in the way Chris Bass came in and gave energy and Alex (Farrer) came in and defended. We just played as a team. It was all 13 guys, not just one.”
On how he feels about having Garrett Temple at point guard in Bo Spencer‘s absence …
“Garrett (Temple) has a lot of experience and played point guard the Final Four year and the years beyond that. You can also trust Garrett at all times because he gives it his all in everything he does. Defensively and offensively, he’s a leader out there. I have a high comfort zone with Garrett. “
On if it was hard waiting to make an impact …
“Hard? Maybe. But, it was about time that I took advantage of my opportunity to play. I’ve struggled earlier in the year. I can’t say I’ve necessarily deserved it. I’m just happy I could help out the team in any way possible. It’s about time I carried my part. Marcus (Thornton) and Chris (Johnson) and everyone else are doing their jobs.”
On guarding Mississippi State’s No. 33 David Huertas …
“It is difficult to explain, but if you do a good job defensively and the (opponent) makes a shot, no one really remembers the fact that you might have done a good job defensively. I think maybe it was a combination. Maybe I did a good job, but he did miss a few shots. Not too much recognition should come my way from that. I just tried to hustle.”
On LSU making an appearance in the rankings …
“Ranked is another way of saying, ?Now we expect more from you.’ It is just a process. Me personally, I don’t care. It is different now. We are going to get everyone’s best shot. I remember when we weren’t ranked and we saw someone that was, we were more excited to play against them, and maybe put forth a little more effort. It really doesn’t matter though. We have to keep playing. The ultimate success is to win the NCAA tournament so we can be No. 1 all year.”
Associated Press Top 25
Top 25
RANK TEAM RECORD PTS LAST
1 Connecticut (66) 24-1 1794 1
2 Oklahoma (4) 25-1 1709 2
3 North Carolina (2) 23-2 1676 3
4 Pittsburgh 23-2 1589 4
5 Memphis 22-3 1465 8
6 Michigan St. 20-4 1443 9
7 Louisville 19-5 1280 5
8 Wake Forest 19-4 1217 7
9 Duke 20-5 1048 6
10 Marquette 21-4 1045 10
11 Missouri 22-4 1041 17
12 Villanova 20-5 983 13
13 Clemson 20-4 939 12
14 Arizona St. 20-5 830 18
15 Kansas 20-5 651 16
16 Xavier 21-4 646 14
17 Gonzaga 19-5 599 19
18 Illinois 21-5 589 22
19 Purdue 19-6 582 20
20 UCLA 19-6 473 11
21 Butler 22-3 373 15
22 Washington 19-6 334 NR
23 LSU 21-4 294 NR
24 Syracuse 19-7 207 23
25 Dayton 23-3 194 NR
Others receiving votes: Texas 83, Utah St. 72, Ohio St. 45, Arizona 38, California 34, Utah 34, West Virginia 26, Florida St. 18, Davidson 15, South Carolina 10, Minnesota 6, Boston College 5, Kentucky 5, Miami 2, Tennessee 2, Wisconsin 2, BYU 1, Robert Morris 1.
First-place votes in parentheses
USA TODAY/ESPN TOP 25 COACHES’ POLL
Feb, 16, 2009
The Top 25 men’s basketball coaches poll, with team’s records through Sunday in parentheses, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last week’s poll and first-place votes received:
Rank School (record), Points, Previous Rank, First-Place Votes
1. Connecticut (24-1) 774 1 30
2. Oklahoma (25-1) 739 2 1
3. North Carolina (23-2) 711 3 0
4. Pittsburgh (23-2) 689 4 0
5. Michigan State (20-4) 634 9 0
6. Memphis (22-3) 618 10 0
7. Louisville (19-5) 508 7 0
8. Wake Forest (19-4) 489 8 0
9. Duke (20-5) 468 5 0
10. Missouri (22-4) 429 19 0
11. (tie) Marquette (21-4) 409 12 0
11. (tie) Arizona State (20-5) 409 18 0
13. Clemson (20-4) 393 11 0
14. Villanova (20-5) 377 13 0
15. UCLA (19-6) 324 6 0
16. Illinois (21-5) 294 20 0
17. Xavier (21-4) 278 14 0
18. Kansas (20-5) 268 16 0
19. Washington (19-6) 224 24 0
20. Gonzaga (19-5) 191 21 0
21. Purdue (19-6) 176 23 0
22. Butler (22-3) 162 15 0
23. Utah State (24-2) 121 17 0
24. LSU (21-4) 114 not ranked 0
25. Syracuse (19-7) 74 22 0
Dropped out: No. 25 Florida State.
Others receiving votes: Dayton (23-3) 69; Texas (17-7) 22; Florida State (19-6) 20; California (19-6) 16; South Carolina (18-5) 14; Arizona (18-8) 13; Brigham Young (19-5) 13; Ohio State (17-6) 12; Utah (18-7) 11; Davidson (22-4) 5; Saint Mary’s (20-5) 3; Miami (Fla.) (15-9) 2; Penn State (18-8) 1; Tennessee (16-8) 1.
The USA TODAY/ESPN Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.