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LSU Basketball: 3 reasons why the Tigers can win the SEC in 2018-19

By Brian Rauf

BATON ROUGE, LA - JANUARY 28: Fans of the LSU Tigers celebrate following a victory over the Kentucky Wildcats at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on January 28, 2014 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU won the game 87-82. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA - JANUARY 28: Fans of the LSU Tigers celebrate following a victory over the Kentucky Wildcats at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on January 28, 2014 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU won the game 87-82. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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LEXINGTON, KY – FEBRUARY 07: Wayde Sims #44 of the LSU Tigers looks to the basket against Wenyen Gabriel #32 of the Kentucky Wildcats in the first half of the game at Rupp Arena on February 7, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky defeated LSU 92-85. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY – FEBRUARY 07: Wayde Sims #44 of the LSU Tigers looks to the basket against Wenyen Gabriel #32 of the Kentucky Wildcats in the first half of the game at Rupp Arena on February 7, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky defeated LSU 92-85. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

3) Favorable SEC schedule

Scheduling played a major factor in Auburn’s championship campaign last season, and LSU’s schedule sets up the same way in 2019.

Head coach Bruce Pearl’s squad only played Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida – the other top teams in the conference – one time each last year. Obviously, Auburn was also very good, but avoiding top teams (and getting two of those three at home) helped bloat their win total a bit.

This year, LSU only has to face that trio of preseason top-10 teams – Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee – one time each. And, only one of those three games (Kentucky) comes on the road.

They will also have a chance to sweep several of the teams they’ll see twice. Texas A&M and Arkansas have to replace a majority of last season’s NCAA Tournament rosters, and no one knows exactly how Alabama is going to look in the post-Collin Sexton era.

Preseason SEC Rankings for 2018-19. dark. Next

LSU went 8-10 in the SEC last year but, with an influx of talent and an easier schedule, there’s no reason to think the Tigers can’t raise that win total to 12 or 13…or more. Expect the Tigers to be more competitive at the top of the conference than you think.

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