re: Wait until a few road games before judging the mens Basketball team

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in 19-20 they held their first 3 opponents to 32%, 41%, 39% shooting. They forced an average of 15 turnovers per game. And for a little bit of direct comparison, that team beat a Liberty team that went 30-4 that season. In that game LSU held Liberty to 57 points on 41% shooting. That LSU team also ended up being one of the worst defensive teams in the country among power conference programs.

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This is all very true, but we gave up 79 to Bowling Green and 84 to VCU in those first three games. We even gave up 65 to lowly Nicholls State. But do you know what was really killing us in those games, why we gave up so many points despite holding our opponents to low FG%’s? Offensive rebounding and fouls. Against BGSU we have up 14 offensive and let them shoot 21 FTs, against VCU they grabbed 13 OREBS and shot 29 FTs, Nicholls came away with 11 OREBS but only shot 11 FTs. By comparison ULM had 6 OREBS and shot 17 FTs, TSU had 8 OREBS and shot 18 FTs, and Liberty had 8 OREBS and shot 17 FTs. As I’ve said before Wade’s teams don’t struggle with first shot defense or forcing turnovers. What we’ve been abysmal at is defending the glass, finishing possessions, and not fouling due to being late in rotation or other wise being lazy on D. So far through three games we appear to have a much better handle on these issues than we did in the past. Will that hold up as we play teams with better athletes? I don’t know. But I can’t help but be encouraged by what I’ve seen so far.

Think we’re a typical Wade 8-9 seed team which isn’t bad when you consider the roster turnover, who returned and losing Miller

Gonna probably be a few frustrating nights but I’ll be happy to be back in the tournament and hopefully win a game or 2

I think 7 seed is ceiling but I think 8/9 is the wheelhouse

the first game looked really well. second one seemed a lot like last year in terms of rebounds.

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Maybe. Past history says LSU will win at least 20. But while the first three games have been very good, LSU has gotten off to good starts before, particularly on defense, only for it to be proven as the season went along they were really just a bad defensive team

in 19-20 they held their first 3 opponents to 32%, 41%, 39% shooting. They forced an average of 15 turnovers per game. And for a little bit of direct comparison, that team beat a Liberty team that went 30-4 that season. In that game LSU held Liberty to 57 points on 41% shooting. That LSU team also ended up being one of the worst defensive teams in the country among power conference programs.

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There's some context missing in showing those shooting percentages. LSU got beat inside, routinely, in recent years, and as someone pointed out already, that led to a lot of free throws for the other team. And I know we live in an age where the eye test is poo pooed in favor of zero-context analytics, but if you just watch the way this team gets after the ball, you can see that what they are doing isn't fluky. Past LSU teams would have a "good" defensive game, once in a while, and myself and others would be on here talking about how the opponent was simply missing open shots, and that the score wasn't indicative of how they actually played. And, sure enough, the next game would prove that they hadn't improved, defensively.

But when I watch this team play defense, there is an effort that I haven't seen in a long time, and everything around the rim is challenged. You can't just walk in and score or get fouled, nearly every time down the court.

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This year they've held their first 3 opponents to 28%, 40%, 38%, shooting, while forcing (almost) 18 turnovers per game. Better? Yes. But, IMO, not enough to definitively say right now they are a good defensive team. The early season vs. overmatched opponents can be misleading....and often times it has been.

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Everything is relative. I'm not saying we're going to give up under 60 points per game on average, all year. But the fact is that we've seen this team against "over-matched" opponents many times before, and we were often giving up anywhere from 75 to 90 points. There is no such thing as over-matching anyone on defense, if you aren't engaged on that end. Your talent cannot cover up your lack of effort on that end.

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I 100% hope you are right. But that was the best team (from a regular season perspective) LSU had in almost 40 years. Not only did they go 16-2 in SEC play, but a remarkable 9-0 on the ROAD in conf. play. It would be a VERY tough task to repeat that level of success.

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I recognize all of this, and considering it was only 3 years ago, trust me, I remember how good that team was. I also remember that the conference was very top heavy, and didn't have much balance. So even if we don't go 16-2 in league, that doesn't mean it's not a better team, if they are as good as I believe they are, and will be by mid-season, especially. Think back to '09 when LSU went 14-2, but was an 8 seed. Comparing teams just on record is not how I judge this. It's about how well I think they can compete against the elite teams, and I put this team right up there with '18-'19, and yes, I think will end up being even better. I like our depth inside much more than that team, and I believe the improved defense will take a lot of pressure off guys from having to play out of their minds on the offensive end.

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Who in the SEC scheduling office did the General piss off.

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Probably all of them?