John Brady's milestone of 300 games coached at LSU couldn't help the Tigers snap a losing streak, one they extended to five today with a loss at Mississippi State, 85-78.
You can say all you want about Tyrus Thomas' departure, overexpectations on this young Tigers team or Tack Minor's distractions, but it's the Tigers who are killing themselves at the end of the ballgame. In the second half against Alabama the Tigers stormed out to widen a lead over the Crimson Tide and played incredibly fast-paced basketball, scoring twice in a row and forcing a turnover on the third possession, all within a matter of seconds and to the utter delight of the Maravich Maniacs and myself, who was in attendance. The full-press and efficient coverage of the LSU defense kept Alabama away from the three-point line for a good while and kept momentum in the Tigers' favor.
The Tide put together a run of their own to take the lead for good in the final two minutes of the ballgame and that can be attributed to the lack of awareness on the part of some young Tigers. An inbounds pass deflected off one's back and nearly cost the Tigers a possession, and they failed to foul the Bama ballcarrier down by one with ten seconds to go.
It was a 10-2 run by the men from Starkville (a beautiful campus but dreadfully boring town) at the end of the game that sunk the Tigers today, along with the Bulldogs' 13 three-pointers. I'm pleased to see that Magnum Rolle only played four minutes today; he is very tall, yes, but seems to play either eternally nervous or eternally without a clue. Note he missed his only shot and had two turnovers to go with his two rebounds. In all the Tigers committed 19 turnovers, a recipe for defeat. Teams who win despite giving up this many turnovers (including the Tigers at one point last season) don't talk about their successes in the post-game but rather the luck with which they won by. You cannot compete if you turn the ball over.
If the Tigers can play with the fire and speed they play with like they did in shining moments against Bama, they could even beat Florida. Yes, I said it. They simply need to harness this and spread it out throughout the ballgame. It may be fatigue, it may be youth, it may be anxiety. Nobody knows. Glen Davis continues to be the only public bright spot for this team, a factor which may play a role in his decision to leave early for the NBA draft or not.
In other LSU-related news:
- Tack Minor officially ends his tenure with LSU as an athlete and a student. The University always wishes the best for its former students and Minor will be no exception. I feel Minor, John Brady and the entire team publicly dealt with the situation quite well. Tack Minor will not be selected in the NBA draft, however.
- John Brady is 180-120 in his ten-year career as LSU's head coach. That's a .600 winning percentage. Not bad.
- A public apology on my part to not attend the last LSU women's home basketball game like I urged you to do. Schoolwork comes first and I was not as ahead as I would have liked to have been. I'm working on this for the near future.
- Great effort by the Tigers Gymnastics team against No. 1 Georgia on Friday. And props to the nearly 4,000 fans who showed up.
- Will Harris of The Daily Reveille does great by publicly calling out the religion of Scientology. Sorry to any readers who may believe in it, but it's the most dangerous BS I've ever heard in my life, and it shows all the classic signs of cult development. Beware the traps they lay. I know it's not sports-related but I thought it was wonderful.
- Dwayne Bowe's NFL draft stock is rising according to Mel Kiper, Jr. and Scouts Inc. Articles available to ESPN.com Insider subscribers. LSU has Bowe, JaMarcus Russell, Laron Landry and Glenn Dorsey as projected first-round picks.
- Let's hope Peyton Manning wins the big one tomorrow. I'll take Indianapolis 34-28 over the Chicago Bears. I'm also angry at Chicago fans for making rude comments about Hurricane Katrina. I'll elaborate later.
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