Busting Brackets
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March Madness: Top takeaways from the first day of the 2019 NCAA Tournament

By Brian Rauf

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - MARCH 21: Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers celebrates scoring at the end of the first half during the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Marquette Golden Eagles at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - MARCH 21: Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers celebrates scoring at the end of the first half during the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Marquette Golden Eagles at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – MARCH 21: Emmitt Williams #24 of the LSU Tigers makes the slam dunk against the Yale Bulldogs during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at VyStar Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on March 21, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – MARCH 21: Emmitt Williams #24 of the LSU Tigers makes the slam dunk against the Yale Bulldogs during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at VyStar Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on March 21, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

3) LSU‘s not going away

Yale was a popular upset pick over LSU and, while the Tigers only won by five, the game wasn’t that close as LSU controlled the game from start to finish. It was easy to doubt the Tigers as they’re without head coach Will Wade and many saw their loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals as a sign they were trending in the wrong direction (and not because Florida played them well all season long).

They put all of those questions to bed with their win over the Bulldogs.

LSU was still dominant on the glass and bothered Yale with their length on the perimeter as the Bulldogs only shot 37.5 percent from the field. To be fair, Yale missed a number of shots they usually make, but LSU’s defense played a major factor in getting them out of rhythm.

Six players scored at least eight points, showing this team’s balance is still intact, and still played their usual style of basketball with similar efficiency.

It’s ignorant to think that Wade’s absence has no impact on the Tigers but any concern about their premature demise has been overblown. They still look like the second-weekend team they looked like during the regular season.

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