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SEC Basketball: Key takeaways from LSU’s last-second win over Kentucky

By Tristan Freeman

LEXINGTON, KY - FEBRUARY 12: Marlon Taylor #14 of the LSU Tigers dunks the ball during an alley-oop against the Kentucky Wildcats in the first half at Rupp Arena on February 12, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - FEBRUARY 12: Marlon Taylor #14 of the LSU Tigers dunks the ball during an alley-oop against the Kentucky Wildcats in the first half at Rupp Arena on February 12, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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LEXINGTON, KY – FEBRUARY 12: Ja’vonte Smart #1 of the LSU Tigers and Tyler Herro #14 of the Kentucky Wildcats chase down a loose ball during the game at Rupp Arena on February 12, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY – FEBRUARY 12: Ja’vonte Smart #1 of the LSU Tigers and Tyler Herro #14 of the Kentucky Wildcats chase down a loose ball during the game at Rupp Arena on February 12, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. LSU has clear path for SEC title

In the preseason, there were three teams viewed as the top contenders for the 2019 SEC Regular Season title. They were Tennessee, Kentucky, and Auburn who was a consensus top-10 team when the season began. Those Tigers have fell off a bit since the start of conference play.

LSU was put in the second-tier of the SEC along with Mississippi State and Florida. And their performances in the non-conference seemed to solidify that placement, giving up 90 points in a loss to Oklahoma State, and losing games to Florida State and Houston.

But since the start of SEC play, the Tigers have been on a winning roll, starting out 7-0 and in now 10-1. LSU is now a 1/2 game behind Tennessee at the top, with the same number of wins (10). But it took this win at Kentucky before people truly viewed them as a legit contender to finish No. 1 in the SEC.

The remaining schedule for the Tigers looks very friendly as well. They don’t play Kentucky again and only has one game against Tennessee on the schedule, a home bout on February 23. And besides the Vols, none of the teams left on the schedule are anything higher than a bubble team, including two against Florida.

Meanwhile, both Tennessee and Kentucky still have to play one another twice, including this Saturday. They each have games left against the likes of Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State, foes that LSU doesn’t have to worry about. With a much more advantageous schedule, the SEC title may now go through Baton Rouge.

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