GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
At first blush, the motivation to make fun of LSU senior guard Jordan Sears’ comment was just too easy.
“Just continue to be LSU,” he said when asked about the Southeastern Conference Tournament after the Tigers lost their fifth straight on Saturday to Texas A&M to fall to 14-17 overall and 3-15 in the league for second to last.
Well, then, that would mean continue to lose, right? The 15 seed Tigers play No. 10 seed Mississippi State (20-11, 8-10 SEC) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the SEC Tournament at 20,000-seat Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on the SEC Network. The winner plays No. 7 seed and 21st-ranked Missouri (21-10, 10-8) at 6 p.m. Thursday on the SEC Network. LSU lost at Mississippi State, 81-69, on March 1.
But what Sears meant was all he and his teammates and coach Matt McMahon can do is keep on keeping on.
“Just continue to build,” he said. “Just continue to keep working despite whatever else is going on.”
LSU is clearly not a good basketball team, but despite a three-game losing streak to start the SEC season, followed by a win, then a seven-game losing skid, two straight wins and the present 0-for-5, LSU only looked like it was mailing it in twice. That was in a 89-58 home loss to unranked Texas on Feb. 1 and a 95-64 loss at No. 19 Kentucky last week.
LSU has been slowed by injuries to starting freshman guard Vyctoriius Miller and starting redshirt freshman forward Corey Chest in recent games, and both are questionable for Wednesday night. It has desperately missed junior forward Jalen Reed, who missed all but eight games this season with a knee injury.
LSU could’ve been just playing out the string in every game since February, but it has played hard in most games. In fact, it led or was tied in nine SEC games at halftime, but won just two.
“I have great respect for Matt McMahon and his entire staff,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after his 65-59 win on Feb. 25 at LSU dropped the Tigers to 14-14 and 3-12. “When you lose players like he did early in the year, he continues to find a way to keep his guys in games.”
They will try one more time Wednesday.
“Just continue to do the details, do the right things and keep playing for each other,” Sears said.
That’s all they can do, and that’s nothing to laugh at.
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