Welcome everyone to another edition of #3OT! In the previous edition, we broke down the Cajuns heading into conference play. So I’ll go ahead and break down the LSU Tigers non-conference slate and how they will fare heading into conference play.
1st OT: Two out of Three Ain’t Bad
Heading into the 2015-16 LSU Basketball season, there was a lot of hype surrounding Ben Simmons, Antonio Blakeney, and Brandon Sampson. Simmons has performed to the level that we all expected him to, averaging a double-double through 12 games. Blakeney has perfomed slightly below expectations, but he’s not far off the preseason expectations. But Sampson has performed well below the expectations some people had him. But with Keith Hornsby returning from injury and Craig Victor becoming eligible, perhaps LSU may not need Sampson to perform well.
2nd OT: Inexcusable Losses Spell Trouble Heading to SEC play
The Tigers have had very poor losses against teams like College of Charleston, NC State, and Houston. This could spell disaster for LSU Basketball. With a 7-5 record heading into conference play, the margin for error is next to zero. And the road to take this team to March Madness is a rocky road to start taking on teams like Kentucky and Florida in the first two weeks. If they want to make it into the big dance, they need to be nearly perfect. Team chemistry has been a problem, and needs to be fixed ASAP.
3rd OT: Johnny Jones Coaching For His Job
Heading into this season, it seemed like a virtual lock for LSU to be headed to the big dance with a potential dream team coming into the PMAC. If the Tigers can’t right the ship during conference play and keep their losses to a minimum, head coach Johnny Jones could be shown the door. If you have the talent, but can’t develop these players, there’s a big problem. This should be a team that is headed into 2016 with either one or zero losses. If Johnny Jones can’t get this team to March Madness, Johnny Jones will not be coaching the Tigers next season.
-Clint Domingue