I'm impressed by the box score but didn't watch it. Did they play a lot of inside-out? I keep looking for a sign that cjj isn't actually coaching them to play the horrible style o that they've been doing.
Tremendous game, Tigers! I said it above... put it all together, and good things will happen. The summary of the game according to the Advocate: http://theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/5021189-123/lsu-jumps-to-big-lead What I saw from highlights is much more fluid offense, moving the ball around more quickly and crisply and breaking down the occasional zone from Mizzou. We also had balance--Johnny O'Bryant had a productive, if unspectacular, game getting their big men in foul trouble early (and only 3 TOs to go with 3 Assts). Add to that Hickey and Stringer having good shooting nights, with good overall support from Coleman, Carmouche and Morgan, and you've got a very competitive LSU team. What you can say with this win is that actually for once--the offense won the game... Tigers shoot a high percentage in both 2s and 3s, and outscore Mizzou--Mizzou actually outrebounded LSU considerably down low. With Pressey as their point, I'm not sure if we pressed all that much (I wouldn't have thought so), so this was more of a "traditional" win from a tempo/pace perspective. If LSU prevents the rebound disparity, this would have been a much less close win. I still think that we're another big man and another big guard/wing away from blowing up, but I'm going to enjoy this win... it is a signature win, in that it's a ranked team, at home, and it's a resume building win. Every season with a glimmer of hope for the post season needs that. A close loss to UK and Marquette transitions mid-season to a close win against Missouri. The line between winning and losing is often times very slight, and just this little step forward translates into a big step in the minds of the kids and coaching grades for CJJ. I will quick comment on the fans tho'. 8800 in attendance, for a ranked team at home? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given the years of "dormancy", but hopefully this win will start to change that. LSU's 2014 recruits will want to start to see real passion for hoops in the fanbase, and the rest of the SEC schedule as stated above, makes or breaks this season. The Tigers need all the help they can get, so fans should start respresenting.
I think this was the best crowd since 2006. I don't know about paid attendance, but it looked like the most people in the PMAC since I got season tickets in 2008. There weren't as many people in the PMAC cheering for M Thornton during that 2009 run I promise you that. The bottom line is this team is developing an identity, and with the additions already onboard for next year we should be a tournament team. Hopefully coach Jones can sustain it.
I think there were some higher numbers since 2006... in the late SEC season during Trent's first year, there were some 9Ks and 10Ks for sure. Regardless, this has always been a beef for me, considering the 80s and 90s. That said, I agree it takes time. And we can probably track attendance averages in the early Brady and early Trent years and see similar numbers and time to develop. I am also cognizant that what you want is sustained success/support not just a flash in the pan, and CJJ is doing the foundational things (i.e., recruiting, recruiting and coaching) to build that. That said, we've always debated whether style of play, competitiveness, etc. make a difference to fans in Tigertown. Now, you have that, a fun team to watch, an up tempo game, with more scoring, breaking and full court defense. We have the prospect of recruits in the stands (I understand several high school teams were there in attendance last night) and three top 50-75 kids coming in next year. Tickets are dirt cheap compared to other teams' prices in the SEC.... FANS need to Wake up and go to these SEC games! It does make a difference...
I was at the LSU-Xavier game in 2009 and that was a packed house. I think paid attendance of 13K and never seen such a long line to get into an LSU basketball game. I am actually impressed by the 8,800 and hope it starts to trend up. However, for a football school like LSU, the basketball team will have to start winning big games before they get better fan support. This def counts as one
