I've been a little bored this morning, so I started to go back through LSU's losses. Since we barely have any, It isn't difficult to do.

I believe the way LSU plays currently, the only chance to really beat LSU is to hit 3's. However, early in the season that was NOT the case. It is truly amazing how this team has grown and what Will Wade has done. Below are some key notes:

76-79 Loss vs Florida State:

-LSU allowed 22 offensive rebounds vs FSU
-LSU only got 4 offensive rebounds vs FSU
-Daryl Edwards played 16 minutes (played decently, actually)
-KBW played 9 minutes in a game that went to Overtime
-Tre Waters had 6 turnovers and 3 assists
-Marlon Taylor played 9 minutes with no stats and 3 fouls
-Darius Days led the team in rebounds with 6 in 16 minutes
-Naz Reid had 2 rebounds in 41 minutes

77-90 Loss vs Oklahoma State:

-LSU allowed Okie State to shoot 58.5%
-The combination of Reid/Smart/Waters/Edwards shot 8 for 37 or 21.6%

76-82 Loss at Houston:

-LSU was outrebounded 48 to 35
-KBW only played 6 minutes while we got worked on the boards
-Darius Days was a fixture in our lineup of playing upper teen minutes at this point
-Tre Waters had 5 turnovers on 3 assists while shooting 3 for 13
-Naz Reid vs Okie State and Houston only played around 20 minutes

What Our Past Losses Tell Us

So above are just some random facts and stats. Moving forward, I think some extremely key things happened to allow this team to get to where they are:

-Personally, I think Daryl Edwards leaving the rotation was huge for this team. He is a great guy, great leader, solid shooter, solid defender...but his minutes have been dispersed more between Smart and Taylor. This has given our guards much much more length and we've gone from having average athletic guards to elite athletic guards. Again, not saying AT ALL that Edwards is the reason we lost, but I think we became better athletically which helped on the boards and allowed Taylor to bring an energy to this team. LSU is 13-1 since Edwards's injury.

-The emergence of KBW. In OOC play, KBW was a role player who came off the bench. He is very limited, and our team did not know how to share the ball or play together. A scenario such as that made KBW barely relevant. Hell, in our losses vs FSU and Houston he average 7.5 minutes. Darius Days and Emmitt were starting over KBW and he couldn't find where he fit into this team. He's now a huge part of our defense and a main reason this team can bully people on the boards.

-Naz Reid. Beginning of the year, many many people were not happy with his performance. He seemed uninterested, sloppy with the ball, careless, not energetic. His style of play on offense can still leave people upset because he's so massive (I personally love his style of play), but it's the way he's playing defense and getting dirty on the boards. He is able to contest shots with ease on defense, and helps clean up any loose rebounds. He is now leading our team in rebounding.

Moving Forward:

I think national pundits and fans and anyone one else looking at this team should be breaking the season into 2 parts. The team that lost to Houston, FSU, and Okie State is not CLOSE to the same team. Our rotation is much different, our starting lineup has changed, our minutes have changed, out attitude has changed. We still struggle at times giving up too many open shots, but recently we have done a better job of not getting into large holes or going through long droughts. I think the way Wade has brought this team along, especially with how the season got started after Wayde's tragedy, is nothing short of spectacular.

If LSU continues this style of play, this style of toughness, this style of aggressiveness, LSU can and WILL compete and be able to beat ANYONE...yes, ANYONE. I predicted Elite 8 prior to the season, and I still think that is absolutely a possibility, but I'm starting to think this has potential to be even more special.

Anyone else make hotel reservations in Minneapolis?

This post was edited on 2/18/19 at 11:48 am