LSU 76, Missouri 89 - Recap & SEC tournament seeding info

LSU (17-10,8-8) was defeated by Missouri (21-8,10-6) Saturday night 89-76. The win moved Missouri to 16-0 at home this year. In the first half, LSU built a 13 point lead on the back of incredible three point shooting from Charles Carmouche and Anthony Hickey, but for every shot LSU made, Missouri made one as well. Missouri finished the half strong and went into the locker room up four. LSU wanted to keep it close enough to make a run at the end of the game, problem was, making a run would require some defensive stops.

Missouri scored at will. They had 52 points in the paint and 24 second chance points. LSU only had 24 points in the paint and 13 second chance points. Missouri shot 67% from two point range. While LSU had more offensive rebounds than Missouri (14-13) Missouri's offensive boards always ended with points. That being said, LSU played well offensively.

For the third time this year, LSU's three point percentage was higher than their two point percentage. LSU shot 41.2% from inside and 42.9% from deep. Add the 75% from the free throw line, and LSU shot relatively well, but it didn't compare to Missouri's potent offense. LSU was led by Anthony Hickey with 22 pioints, Charles Carmouche with 21 points, and Johnny O'Bryant with 18 points. Carmouche has scored over 20 points in four of his last five games. Anthony Hickey has his first zero assist game of the season. Charles Carmouche had 5 assists and 0 turnovers. As a team, LSU had 11 assists but only had 10 turnovers.



Charles Carmouche played the entire 40 minutes, while Hickey played 39. Both O'Bryant and Stringer played 36 minutes. The Tigers fought hard, but were overpowered by Missouri's big men. Both Laurence Bowers and Alex Oriakhi had double doubles. Missouri had 5 players score in double figures. At this point it's probably best to put this game behind us. LSU still has two games remaining with strong SEC tournament implications.



SEC TOURNAMENT SEEDING INFO




SEC Weekend Scores:

LSU 76, Missouri 89
Arkansas 73, UK 60
Florida 64, Bama 52
UGA 78, Tenn 68
aTm 74, S Car 56
Miss St 73, Ole Miss 67
Vandy 62, Aub 55

The SEC bubble teams did themselves no favors this weekend. Kentucky lost at Arkansas, Bama lost at Florida, Tennessee lost at Georgia, and Ole Miss lost at Mississippi State. While LSU dropped to 8th, LSU still sits only 1 game behind 6th place. Tennessee still plays at Auburn and against Missouri. Arkansas plays at Missouri and against Texas A&M. Both teams If Arkansas loses one, LSU can overtake them holding the tie breaker (head to head). Even more interesting than Arkansas, if Ole Miss loses to Alabama on Tuesday, LSU could pass them up with wins at Texas A&M on Wednesday and then the home finale against the Rebels.

The likelihood of passing up Tennessee isn't very high with the Volunteers holding the head to head advantage, but LSU could pass up Ole Miss and Arkansas to get to the 6 seed. Getting the 7 seed wouldn't be bad either still being on the opposite side of the bracket from Florida. LSU does want to stay out of the 8 or 9 seed that caries a quarterfinal matchup with Florida. LSU will likely have to win both of their remaining games to end up in the 6 seed spot.

BEST CASE SCENARIO:
Currently LSU sits in the 9 seed spot. The Tigers really need to play well at Texas A&M Wednesday night to position themselves. The most important non-LSU game left for our hopes of getting the 6 seed is the Alabama @ Ole Miss game Tuesday, March 5th. If Ole Miss loses, LSU will have the opportunity to pass Ole Miss if they win their last two. Arkansas plays at Missouri on Tuesday night as well. It could be a very good night for LSU. Arkansas only has 1 win away from home this year, and Missouri has 0 losses at home. That one should be in the bag. LSU holds the tie breaker against them.

There is a very interesting possibility of a 10-8 record log jam. If LSU is able to win their last two and have Arkansas and Tennessee each only win 1 of their final 2 (Both still play Missouri), coupled with a Bama win over Ole Miss on Tuesday, Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU and Ole Miss would end the season at 10-8. If that is the case, Ole Miss would receive the 5 seed, LSU the 6 seed, Arkansas the 7 seed, and Tennessee the 8 seed. This is the best case scenario for LSU. LSU can also get the 6 seed if Tennessee wins both of their remaining games, Arkansas loses one of their remaining games, and Ole Miss loses out. In that scenario the seeds would be: 5 Tenn, 6 LSU, 7 Ole Miss, 8 Arkansas.

WORST CASE SCENARIO:
If LSU loses their remaining two games, LSU could end up in the 10 seed. You would think that is the worst case scenario, but it would actually keep LSU in the same position that being 7th would, which is our second best match. What would be the worst, would be ending up in the 8th or 9th seed. That is where LSU currently sits. Winning one of the remaining two games will likely leave LSU in one of these spots. I do however feel like losing our last three games would be too bad of a momentum swing to want that to happen.

While the seeding would be better going 0-2, I would be worried about the team's attitude going into the game. Florida has shown they aren't unbeatable dropping three SEC contests away from home. While going 0-2 the remainder of the season would keep LSU on the side away from Florida, I think the confidence from beating and Ole Miss or another true road victory would be more beneficial. Either way, LSU still has a shot at being top 6 in the SEC and having a very legitimate shot at an SEC Tournament run if they win out and have Ole Miss lose to Bama Tuesday night.