Just as they sniffed NCAA Tournament, Tigers fall to Vols
BATON ROUGE
Hold off on those NCAA Tournament travel plans just yet, Tiger fans.
They say Omaha is beautiful in March. So is Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Seattle, Charlotte, Portland and even Columbus, Ohio, when you have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2009.
Right now, LSU better concentrate on Nashville, though, and the Southeastern Conference Tournament from March 11-15, considering its unacceptable, 78-63 loss to No. 105 Tennessee on Wednesday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Unacceptable to the NCAA Tournament selection committee that is at the moment. LSU is still 21-9 overall and 10-7 in the SEC with a No. 47 spot in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). But Tennessee (15-14, 7-10 SEC) is 105 in the RPI.
"So disappointed right now," LSU guard Keith Hornsby said after scoring a career-high 25 points on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. Other LSU players were not on their game. Forward Jordan Mickey was just 3-of-7 from the field for nine points. The Tigers seemed to lack zip.
"It's hard to really dive into it," Hornsby said. "They just came in and played the better game."
And shot 69.2 percent in the second half, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range for 62.5 percent. It was raining 3s from Rocky Top. Five Tennessee players hit at least one trey.
"You have to play every game like it's your last game," said LSU guard Tim Quarterman, who hit just 4 of 12 shots for 10 points. "Very disappointing loss on our home floor in front of our home crowd."
LSU returned to its previous ways — losing to bad teams like over-100 RPI outfits Mississippi State (12-17, 5-11 SEC for 12th place entering its game Wednesday) and Auburn (12-19, 4-13 SEC for 13th place) several weeks ago. The Tigers had seemingly finally moved past that and were going after their fourth straight victory and longest SEC winning streak this season. They were also shooting for a top four finish in the SEC and the double bye in the league tournament. Then it fell to a team that had lost five straight and seven of its last eight just like it lost to Auburn at home after it came to LSU having lost four in a row.
Tennessee played like it was its last game, and LSU played like it was saving itself. The Volunteers' 78 points were their most of the season.
"I guess so, by the second half they played," Quarterman said.
Tennessee outscored LSU 45-30 in the second half.
"We just couldn't get defensive stops," Quarterman said.
What a great night for Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall, an assistant on former LSU coach John Brady's first staff from 1997-2001 who coached his first game in the Assembly Center since those days.
"We weren't afraid to make plays," Tyndall said. "We weren't hesitant after we had the lead."
No, his team played like the one headed to the NCAA Tournament.
LSU could erase this one with a win at No. 18 Arkansas Saturday in the regular season finale, but that is not likely to happen. It may take one or two wins at the SEC Tournament now.