College Basketball: LSU Tigers 2016 Season Preview

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

 

LSU Tigers Profile

Conference: Southeastern Conference

2015-2016 Record: 19-14, 11-7

Head Coach: Johnny Jones

Postseason: None

Overview

Last season was the year of Ben Simmons. The freshman from Australia was supposed to make the Tigers program relevant again. Unfortunately LSU barely finished above .500 and failed to make the postseason. After the season the Tigers, who averaged 78.8 points a game, would end up losing 43.5 percent of their scoring. Simmons would go No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft taken by the Philadelphia 76ers. Two other key departures includes Tim Quarterman, who left school early but was not drafted, and Keith Hornsby, who graduated.

This year’s team has four juniors and one senior along with a handful of sophomores and freshmen to pick up the pieces from a disappointing 2015-16 season. If the Tigers can take the experience they gained last year and play at the level which gave them success at the end of last season, they can make some noise in the SEC and potentially reach the postseason.

LSU Tigers Schedule Overview

The season opens for LSU on Nov. 12 against Wofford in Baton Rouge. On Nov. 23-25, the Tigers will play in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas with Wichita State, Louisville and Old Dominion. Other notable non-conference games includes hosting Houston on Nov. 29, traveling to Wake Forest on Dec. 22 and taking on Texas Tech in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in Lubbock (TX) on Jan. 28.

The SEC Conference portion of the schedule starts with back-to-back road games as the Tigers travel to Vanderbilt on Dec. 29 and then to Missouri on Jan. 4. Other notable conference games will be the two games against Texas A&M on Jan. 11 and Feb. 4, then traveling to Lexington take on Kentucky on Feb. 7 and hosting Florida on Jan. 25.

Frontcourt

Now that Simmons has left, the leader of the big men will be 6’9” junior forward Craig Victor. Victor scored 11.9 PPG and grabbed 5.6 RPG but averaged almost four fouls a game. He’ll need to bring that down in order to have another solid season for the Tigers. Another junior who should play significant minutes this season will be 7’1” center Elbert Robinson III who averaged just 2.4 PPG while appearing in just 23 games. Two more big men who will provide depth will 6’9” junior forward Aaron Epps and 6’10” sophomore center Duop Reath, a junior college transfer.

Backcourt

Antonio Blakeney, a 6’4” sophomore guard from Sarasota (FL), is the leading returning scorer from last season with 12.6 PPG. He also grabbed 3.4 RPG and shot 33.5 percent from behind the three point line. Blakeney is the best player on the court for the Tigers and will look to put even bigger numbers this year.

Another sophomore who will provide minutes for LSU will 6’5” guard Brandon Sampson from Baton Rouge. Sampson can play at both guard positions and has worked hard in the offseason to improve on his 4.0 PPG last season. Two other guards who can provide depth and athleticism will be 6’1” junior Jalyn Patterson, who had 4.7 PPG and shot 33 percent from behind the arc last season, and 6’6” freshman Wayde Sims, who can be used at both the guard and small forward positions.

Photo credit: wwl.com; No. 2 Antonio Blakeney.