LSU Out In SEC Basketball Tournament
If the LSU Tigers are going to play postseason basketball it will have to be in an "also ran" tournament. The Tigers were one and done in the SEC Basketball tourney after losing their opening round game to Mississippi State by a score of 80-77.
There is optimism that the Tigers could receive an invitation to play in the NIT. That's the tournament that teams that don't qualify for the real division one tournament play in. Yeah, I'm kind of harsh on the NIT and other tournaments that aren't the Big Dance.
The Tigers currently have a record of 17 wins against 14 losses. In my humble opinion that's a record that is just good enough to head back to Baton Rouge and start practicing for next year. I am not besmirching the Tigers, the team or the coach, I'm just being honest.
I am sure everyone associated with LSU Basketball would say a NIT bid versus a NCAA bid is like the difference between the Bahamas Bowl and the Sugar Bowl in football. One is simply a lot better than the other.
Regardless we will find out if the LSU basketball season will continue in a few days when the NCAA pairings are announced. Then will come the NIT bids for teams that didn't qualify for the Big Dance from the Power 5 Conferences or should have qualified but couldn't because the NCAA deems their conference unworthy.
At least with the NIT many deserving programs will have a chance to play in the postseason. For a lot of schools, that aren't LSU, it is a reward for a well-played season. However, I must admit, I really feel bad for those NIT schools that won't be given the chance to make sports' poster child for hypocrisy, the NCAA, billions of dollars.