One national CBB thing
If you predicted LSU basketball would be ranked 13th in the country with a chance on Saturday to take over the top spot in the SEC, you either legitimately bleed purple and gold, or you’re a liar.
Through 26 games, the fighting Tigers are 21-5 and 11-2 in SEC play.
Most analysts projected LSU to make the NCAA tournament before the season started. After all, they did pull in the No. 4 recruiting class in the country and are led by a quartet of talented freshman who make up the lion’s share of offensive production.
LSU shoots only 32 percent from three as a team and gives up the second most points per game in the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers have willed their way to a top-15 national ranking with elite athleticism and length. They lead the SEC in scoring, offensive rebounding, steals and free throws made and attempted: all hustle statistics.
With a potentially program-altering matchup at home versus Tennessee on Saturday, LSU has the opportunity to catapult itself from the fringes of stardom into the national spotlight.
Three Ole Miss things
1) Rebounding. Rebounding. Rebounding. It’s Ole Miss’s greatest weakness, and makes Achilles’s heel seem like a non-issue. They’ve been out-rebounded by opponents in five of their last six matchups and are a -33 on the glass in those six games. They’re a -21 on the offensive glass over their last six and have lost the offensive rebounding battle in three of 13 SEC games. Missed defensive rebounds lead to second-chance points, which lead to momentum swings, which lead to losses, which lead to first-round exits in the SEC tournament and NIT berths. Moral of the story: Against quality competition, Ole Miss must corral loose shots to win.
2) Tuesday night’s loss against South Carolina most likely cemented the top-4 seeds for the SEC tournament, and Ole Miss won’t be one of them. Grabbing a top-4 seed ensures a double-bye and, essentially, a guaranteed NCAA tournament slot as well. It was a game Ole Miss badly needed to win, and they performed poorly. They shot 22 percent from three, 68 percent from the foul line and only turned South Carolina over 10 times.
3) It’s too late in the season to make a lineup change, but Kermit Davis could benefit from going small when opponents take their bigs off the floor. Neither Olejniczak nor Stevens is a particularly skilled scorer in the low post, and they inhibit the defense’s ability to either switch on pick and rolls or employ a more athletic wing at the top of the 1-3-1 zone.
In the seven minutes that neither Olejniczak nor Stevens was on the floor against South Carolina, Ole Miss was only up three points but forced four turnovers and was even on the offensive glass over that span.
One look ahead
While the loss to South Carolina does likely knock any chance of Ole Miss attaining a top-4 seed in the SEC tournament and the double-bye that accompanies it, fans shouldn’t fret. The SEC has sent at least five teams to the NCAA tournament in three of the last four years, including last season when the conference sent eight teams.
Ole Miss is still ranked inside of the top-40 in the NET rankings, and with top-5 matchups versus Tennessee and Kentucky looming, they still have opportunity to rise. Even losses in those games wouldn’t harm their ranking. Because both schools are in the top-6 in the NET, just bouncing the ball on the same court as them helps boost the Rebels’ resume.
