Busting Brackets
Fansided

March Madness 2019: Buy or Sell Texas Tech, LSU, Purdue and Houston?

By TJ Miller

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 19: Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates after the 48-46 win over the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on February 19, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 19: Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates after the 48-46 win over the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on February 19, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
BATON ROUGE , LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 26: Naz Reid #0 of the LSU Tigers goes for a dunk during the second half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on February 26, 2019 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE , LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 26: Naz Reid #0 of the LSU Tigers goes for a dunk during the second half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on February 26, 2019 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

SELL: LSU (Midwest)

If you’ve missed just a little then you’ve probably missed a lot when it comes to LSU. The Tigers managed to win the regular season SEC title amid the lingering controversy surrounding Coach Will Wade. It looked like Wade would be able to see out the season, but that all changed after LSU suspended Wade indefinitely when a report published March 7th cast an even darker shadow on the already questionable situation.

So while Wade won’t be coaching in the tournament or possibly ever again for LSU, interim coach Tony Benford is left with quite the team. Guards Tremont Waters, Skylar Mays, and Javonte Smart all have the ability to score in bunches and the trio is a big reason why LSU is one of the most dynamic offenses in the country.

The Tigers also are a phenomenal offensive rebounding team with Naz Reid and Kavell Bigby-Williams leading the way up front. And it’s not like LSU just benefitted from beating up on lower-level SEC teams. They defeated both Tennessee and Kentucky back in February.

So with plenty going for the Tigers, why should you be hesitant to buy this team? Well, with  the timing of the Will Wade suspension, it brings up an important question. Just how valuable was Wade in terms of the Tigers regular season success? LSU is 1-1 without him and the reality is it’s hard to say how much of an impact his absence will have. LSU had 7 overtime games this season and while it went 5-2 with Wade, can the Tigers win without him if a game comes down to the wire in the NCAA Tourney?

The other reason for caution comes in LSU’s inconsistent defensive performances. Oklahoma State scored a season high 90 points on its way to beating LSU. And while LSU held on for a 97-91 win over UNCG and a 92-82 W vs. Georgia, neither of these results inspire huge amounts of confidence in LSU’s defense. Ken Pomeroy has LSU ranked 62nd in defensive efficiency. And teams ranked outside the top 50 in defensive haven’t faired particularly well recently in the NCAA Tournament. Last year 4 seeds Arizona (83rd in Adj. D) and Wichita State (111th in Adj. D) both were upset in the round of 64 and 2 seed Xavier (57th in Adj. D) lost in the round of 32.

Yale over LSU seems to be gaining traction as a popular first round upset. Honestly, this seems to be selling the Tigers awfully short as LSU is undoubtedly more talented. However, the combination of Will Wade being gone and the defensive shakiness hint at a potential exit around the Sweet Sixteen.

Home/March Madness