Weekend Recap: Men lose to Xavier, Spring Game on April 18, Big Recruiting Weekend

The LSU Men's Basketball team lost to No. 13 Xavier, 80-70, on Saturday night. TD.com Hoops expert "Stromile Swift" had the following to say about the game:

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I thought LSU would be able to pull this one out at home, but unfortunately I was wrong. It wasn't hard to tell that Xavier was the more battle tested team, and that they had more talent 1-9. Despite going approximately nine minutes without scoring, it was nice to see LSU battle back within 5 points in the last couple of minutes. During the second half, LSU had 5-6 shots that rimmed out. After the last one, me and a former LSU player looked at each other and just kind of chuckled. It was just one of those nights, and those types of shots have been falling over the past three games. As far as the officiating is concerned, they let a lot of contact go around the basket. I felt that LSU was trying too hard to draw the foul at times and that this hurt them. Xavier is a very physical team, and this style of officiating was to their benefit. Having said that, Xavier earned this victory, and the refs aren't to blame.

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You can read his entire assessment in this thread on the Tiger Rant.

The Tigers (15-4) return to action Wednesday in Knoxville against Tennessee. Tip-off in Thompson-Boling Arena is at 7pm CT.

In LSU Football news, it was announced on Friday that the LSU Football Spring Game will be played on April 18. The time was still to be determined. According to LSUsports.net:

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Other sporting events scheduled for April 18 on the LSU campus include a baseball game against Tennessee at the new Alex Box Stadium at 3 p.m.; softball hosting Florida in a doubleheader at the new Tiger Park starting at 1 p.m.; men’s tennis hosting Arkansas at Robinson Tennis Stadium at 1 p.m. and the track and field team playing host all day to the LSU Alumni Gold Relays at Bernie Moore Stadium.

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The LSU Football team will begin spring drills on March 12.

In LSU Recruiting news, there is not much to report. LSU hosted a slew of star recruits this past weekend, including RB Trent Richardson and WR Rueben Randle, who was profiled in this article.

The buzz is that Richardson, who had already committed to Alabama, enjoyed his trip to Baton Rouge. Richardson was recruited to Alabama by assistant coach Lance Thompson, who has since left the Tide to join Lane Kiffen at Tennessee. Richardson was quoted as being "disappointed" by Thompson's departure. Despite his verbal commitment to Alabama, some observers say that LSU and Tennessee still have a chance to land Richardson.

National Signing Day is February 4.

There is a pretty good article in the Times-Picayune about the current economy and how it could affect LSU moving forward. Some items of note from the article:

- The deadline for season ticket holders to make the "Tradition Fund" payment is March 31. It will be interesting to see how many fans do not renew their season tickets. With the face value of a ticket now being $45+ (not factoring in the Tradition Fund donation), some fans might decide they are better off watching LSU games from the comfort of their own homes.

- Due to the current economy, staff salaries have been frozen and several projects have been delayed, including a face-lift for the area surrounding Tiger Stadium and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

From reading the article, it sounds like LSU is in great shape financially.