LSU vs Butler Pick and Preview

LSU Tigers (25-6) vs Butler Bulldogs (25-5) – South Region, Memphis

In a balanced season in the Southeastern Conference, where nine teams finished between 7-9 and 10-6, Louisiana State was an exception, posting a 13-3 SEC record, which clinched the regular-season league title by a margin of three games. After opening SEC play with a loss, the Tigers won 13 straight conference games, but they lost their last two games of the regular season, including a home loss to Vanderbilt, to create some doubt about their NCAA Tournament seed. Marcus Thornton, a 6-4 senior, leads the Tigers in scoring at 20.9 points per game. Tasmin Mitchell, a 6-7 junior, adds 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. LSU has played only six games against teams in the Top 50 in the RPI, going 3-3. The Tigers also have a loss against a team outside the Top 100 of the RPI, a 65-59 loss at Alabama. Outside the SEC, LSU lost at Utah, 91-61, lost against Xavier, 80-70, and lost against Texas A&M, 72-61. The best non-conference win for LSU was a 64-52 win at home against the Pac 10's seventh-place team, Washington State. Such mediocre non-conference results for the runaway SEC champion is one reason why many people have called this SEC field one of the weakest in recent memory. LSU has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2006, when it advanced to the Final Four. BEST WINS: 79-73 at Tennessee; 85-68 vs. South Carolina; 81-75 vs. Florida. WORST LOSSES: 75-67 vs. Vanderbilt; 69-53 at Auburn; 65-59 at Alabama.

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