The Tigers must win it all to keep the 2008 season going. LSU will play the first game of the SEC Tournament on Thursday against South Carolina, a team the Tigers beat by seven points in Columbia only 13 days ago.
LSU earned a four seed, in the Western Division of the SEC, by winning four of their last five games.
The season started off promising whil playing against inferior opponents, but took a turn for the worse at the Maui Invitational, where the Tigers lost two of three. Their lone win coming against the hosting team (Division II) Chaminade Silverswords. The Tigers blew big leads in both games against Oklahoma State and Arizona State. The Tigers tied the Sundevils with a three at the buzzer, but lost in overtime 87-84.
The Tigers blew a 21-point lead to Villanova three games later, but the Tigers would hit rock bottom after losing to in-state rival, Tulane for the first time in more than 25 years. That game would be part of an eight game losing streak for the Tigers, ultimately leading to the firing of Head Coach John Brady mid-way through his 12th season.
Assistant Head Coach Butch Pierre took over for the Tigers after losing seven of their last 13 games. With the help of freshman sensation Anthony Randolph, the Tigers were able to win five of their remaining nine conference games. Three of those four losses were by less than 10 points, including a heartbreaking two point loss against Tennessee in Pierre’s head coaching debut.
The Tigers go into Thursday’s contest lead by three coaches all-SEC team players. Marcus Thorton leads the Tigers in scoring with 19.7 points per game (second in the SEC); Freshman Anthony Randolph averages 15.4 points per game for the Tigers; along with 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per contest and one of the league’s best defensive players in Garrett Temple.
The Tigers held the Gamecock’s leading scorer Devan Downey to a season low six points in their previous meeting. Zam Fredrick led South Carolina with 21 points, but the Tigers out rebounded the Gamecocks 44-28. The Gamecocks must see a bigger outing from Downey if they hope to extend their season past Thursday.
The Tigers should be able to control the tempo of the game if they can be as effective on defense as they were in their previous matchup. Look for the Tigers to earn the right to take on No.1 seeded Tennessee winning another close one. Tigers by six.
Comments (10) Add a comment »
from 2 months ago
I think somehow both of these teams will find a way to lose. And yes, I know they are playing each other. They are both plain awful.
from 2 months ago
I could not agree more. Should get interesting when both teams heat up the coaching search.
from 2 months ago
I would think both would be after Anthony Grant. If VCU misses the tourney, which seems likely, somebody could be a happy program very soon.
from 2 months ago
Yeah, it looks like a small war may break out for Grant. His name is popular around LSU fans.
from 2 months ago
He would be my first choice now that Tim Floyd has taken his name out of the race
from 2 months ago
Indeed.
It's good to be Anthony Grant right now. Dude is about to get paid.
Is Gottfried (Bama) going to get fired or what? If so, that would make 3 SEC spots open for the former SEC assistant.
from 2 months ago
Gottfried is on the bubble as far as getting fired after the Vandy game. IMO, he has a one game try out to keep his job against Florida on Thursday. If he wins, he will probably stay. If he loses, he might be the second basketball coach at Alabama to be fired this week with Stephanie Smith being fired after going 4-41 in the SEC in 3 seasons at Alabama. Alabama fans really want Grant bad, but my realistic second choice would be Keno Davis of Drake.
from 2 months ago
4-41? Yikes.
Not sure what beating FL would really accomplish; it's clear the guy can't produce consistent teams. Cut your ties now and get the best name you can.
Let the bidding war begin...
from 2 months ago
I agree about letting him go, but the powers that be aren't so ready to get rid of him. He's an Alabama guy which probably has something to do with it, but a loss to Vandy and a one and done in ATL would have no doubt made the noise so loud from alumni that he would have to be let go or the program would lose ticket money. After beating Vandy, he gave the athletic department an excuse to use to keep him, but one game wont cover up a second sub par season. If he can win two straight against the vastly superior division this season, the athletic department may have enough of an excuse to keep him, but they will still lose that money.
from 2 months ago
I know alot of people outside Baton Rouge didn't understand the firing of John Brady, but it is very similar to what you just said about Gottfried. Brady always seemed to pull off something to make it hard to fire him. I am not saying Brady and Gottfried are alike, just in the sense that both seemed to do bad enough things to piss off the fan base, but good enough things to make the administration keep him around. I was glad LSU canned Brady during the season, that kept him from going on a little win streak to save his job and have us sit through another year of Brady Ball.
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