GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU does not start the Southeastern Conference schedule until Jan. 4 against Vanderbilt at home, but it needs to treat tonight’s home game (8 p.m., SEC Network) against Florida State (7-1) as if it is one.
As good as the Tigers (6-1) have looked at times this season, the SEC may be in the early stages of one of its greatest seasons in history after a November to remember like few others. No less than seven SEC teams were ranked in the Associated Press top 25 Monday – No. 2 Auburn (7-0), No. 3 Tennessee (7-0), No. 4 Kentucky (7-0), No. 10 Alabama (6-2), No. 13 Florida (8-0). No. 22 Texas A&M (6-2) and No. 23 Ole Miss (6-1). Another four received votes – Arkansas (5-2), Texas (6-1), Mississippi State (6-1) and Georgia (7-1).
LSU will play five of the above next month – at Ole Miss on Jan. 11, Arkansas on Jan. 14, at Texas A&M on Jan. 18, at Alabama on Jan. 25 and Auburn on Jan. 29.
SEC BASKETBALL BETTER THAN SEC FOOTBALL?
“At last, there’s room for debate on the football field as to whether the SEC is actually the dominant conference this season,” wrote Alex Weber of On3.com. “However, on the basketball court, in the month of November, the SEC just put its foot down to leave zero doubt that they are head and shoulders above the rest.”
The SEC played 44 games against other power conferences such as the Big Ten, Big 12, Atlantic Coast and Big East and went 31-13 for a .700 winning percentage in November. LSU had two of those Big 12 wins at Kansas State (now 6-2) and Central Florida (now 6-2) at a neutral site. Both are potential Quadrant 1 wins for LSU come NCAA Tournament time, if those two go on to have good seasons. Central Florida would need to finish in the top 50 of the NCAA’s NET rankings with Kansas State in the top 75. UCF is No. 84 at the moment with K-State at No. 94.
LSU is No. 50. Florida State is No. 67 and would need to finish in the top 30 to be a Quad 1 home win for the Tigers, should they get by the Seminoles in this SEC/ACC challenge game.
“These are huge opportunities,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said Monday. “When you get these opportunities – the two Big 12 wins, and now we have Florida State. That’s a really good team. Then we have SMU coming up.”
The Tigers play at SMU (6-2, No. 64 in NET) in nearby Frisco, Texas, on Dec. 14 (3 p.m., ESPNU).
“You have to take advantage of those opportunities,” he said. “We’ve gotten off to a good start there, but we have to put all of our focus on FSU.”
LSU has Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 8 before SMU, then Stetson, New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State as final non-conference games going into the SEC murderer’s row.
“It’s like every SEC game is a going to be a Quad 1 game,” McMahon said. “It’s a loaded league.”
And LSU can’t just get hot in the second half in those games as it did in wins over Central Florida (three overtimes) and Northwestern State over the past week.
“So, we’re working on our consistency and getting off to a better start offensively,” McMahon said.
LSU’s 77-53 win over Northwestern State Friday marked its third largest margin of victory in a game in which it trailed at the half (26-25) since the 1964-65 season.
“We played to our own pace and sped them up in the second half,” LSU point guard Jordan Sears said after scoring 18 points with 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. “You can see the result of what happens when we do our own thing.”
Those results will continue to be good for LSU if that thing is done for the whole game.
“When you look at how good the SEC is this year,” McMahon said, “you have to play for 40 minutes.”
Be the first to comment