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NCAA Tournament 2019: Top takeaways from 1st half of Round of 32 games

By Brian Rauf

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - MARCH 23: Tremont Waters #3 of the LSU Tigers goes up for a shot against Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins during the second half of the game in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vystar Memorial Arena on March 23, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - MARCH 23: Tremont Waters #3 of the LSU Tigers goes up for a shot against Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins during the second half of the game in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vystar Memorial Arena on March 23, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – MARCH 23: Interim head coach Tony Benford of the LSU Tigers talks with players as they take on the Maryland Terrapins during the second half of the game in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vystar Memorial Arena on March 23, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – MARCH 23: Interim head coach Tony Benford of the LSU Tigers talks with players as they take on the Maryland Terrapins during the second half of the game in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vystar Memorial Arena on March 23, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

1) LSU will go as far as Tremont Waters takes them

LSU’s rebounding has been their bread and butter all season long, but Saturday’s win over Maryland revealed the resounding truth about this Tigers team – they will go as far as Tremont Waters takes them.

You hear about how important guard play is every March so it’s not necessarily a surprise that Waters’ play is important, but rather the impact he has on both ends of the floor.

Yes, he’s clutch…

…but Waters is also an elite defender who is excellent at coming up with steals and is one of the best playmakers in the country, routinely setting up teammates with otherworldly passes.

Waters has been everything you want in a starting point guard in the NCAA Tournament and has an even more important role due to head coach Will Wade’s suspension. He has responded by repeatedly steadying LSU whenever the score gets close and leading them through two tough matchups.

It would have been easy for LSU to give up considering all the off-court happenings they could be distracted by, but Waters hasn’t let that happen. If he continues to play at this level, LSU could find themselves in the Elite Eight – and potentially the Final Four.

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