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LSU didn’t finish the regular season as strongly as it began it.
Nor did the Tigers finish it as poorly as things looked during a midseason slide.
All in all, it was a good but not a great regular season — 21-10 overall, 9-9 in the SEC.
LSU was mostly an exceptional defensive team, though mostly an average offensive team.
It overcame a midseason knee injury to floor leader Xavier Pinson, who missed 5 games, struggled initially in his return and mostly looked as he had early in the season during the stretch run.
He was limping after a collision late in the Tigers’ 80-77 overtime victory against Alabama on Saturday, so his condition is worth monitoring as the SEC Tournament approaches this week in Tampa.
Tari Eason, a transfer from Cincinnati, emerged as the team’s leading scorer. He scored 20 against the Tide, a tad more than his 16.9 average.
Preseason All-SEC forward Darius Days was very good, but not the SEC Player of the Year contender that the most optimistic projections for him suggested.
Freshman center Efton Reid was OK (6.2 ppg, 4.5 rebounds), but didn’t have as big of an impact as his status as a 5-star recruit might have promised.
But now a new season is beginning. Regardless of what happens this week in Tampa, the Tigers are headed to the NCAA Tournament, but not as high a seed as they dreamed of when they were ranked as high as No. 12 in the AP poll.
LSU is capable of making a run in the SEC Tournament this weekend to build momentum for an NCAA push.
Here are 5 things the 5th-seeded Tigers, who play Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 12 Missouri and No. 13 Ole Miss, need to do to advance in and potentially win the SEC Tournament:
1. Defend, defend, defend
In coach Will Wade’s previous 4 seasons, LSU generally has counted on an explosive offense to overcome average defense.
This year has been different.
This team’s success is based on its ability to defend at an elite level. When the defense, which leads the country in steals, has been at its best it has provided a boost to the offense and allowed the Tigers to start 12-1 and beat Kentucky and Tennessee.
When it has not been at its best, the offensive limitations have been glaring and limited the team to mediocre play.
2. Share the ball
The offense has periodically been good enough for LSU to play at a very high level. But this requires a high degree of unselfishness that hasn’t been seen consistently enough.
The Tigers are 12th in the SEC and 211th in the country in assists. They need to make the extra pass, or 2, or 3, necessary to create high-percentage shots.
3. Crash the offensive boards
LSU doesn’t have great shooters or great 1-on-1 scorers. But it can overcome that by creating an inordinate number of multiple-shot possessions.
The Tigers have shown an ability to do this by ranking 4th in the SEC in offensive rebounding. They had 11 Saturday against the Tide.
Second-chance points are worth as much as first-chance points.
4. Take care of the basketball
LSU ranks 12th in the SEC and 310th nationally in turnovers committed.
Pinson’s absence didn’t help in that regard, but as good as he has been at getting the Tigers into their offense he has also been prone to giving the ball away himself.
Just as the Tigers need to find ways to overcome offensive limitations, so too do their opponents have to find ways to overcome offensive difficulties created by LSU’s swarming defense.
If LSU can minimize opponents’ ability to get extra possessions and easy scoring opportunities via turnovers, it will be difficult for them to generate consistent offense against the Tigers’ oppressive defense.
5. Stay out of foul trouble
LSU is last in the SEC and 329th nationally with an average if 19.6 fouls committed per game.
Even though Eason comes off the bench, the Tigers’ depth isn’t great overall and any time Eason or a starter has to sit because of fouls, that requires additional minutes from the bench.
This is a tricky proposition because LSU’s aggressiveness on defense is vital to the team’s success, so a few extra fouls are inevitable and even acceptable.
But it’s the sloppy fouls that lead to reduced minutes by key players that must be kept to a minimum
This is especially true for Eason, who fouled out of 3 of the last 4 regular-season games, averaging just 17 minutes in the games in which he was disqualified.
LSU’s starting lineup is very good. Its depth is adequate.
If the Tigers’ best players are able to play the same number of minutes as their opponents’ best players, they will be tough to beat.
But LSU has the second-most disqualifications in the country (22).
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
