Bracketology: Where LSU stands going into the SEC Tournament

The regular season officially ended last weekend for LSU, capped off by a thrilling 80-77 win over Alabama on senior day. It’s time to take a look at the latest Bracketology for the Tigers heading into the SEC Tournament.

Significance of the Alabama win for Bracketology

That win was a huge boost for the Tigers in NCAA Tournament seeding, knocking off a quad one SEC opponent at home. The win all but ensured that LSU would stay out of the dreaded eight/nine game. That now has LSU projected as high a a five-seed. This is a huge jump for the Tigers as it helps them avoid the situation they faced last season. The Tigers were an eight-seed, forced to match up with a one-seed in the second round, ending their tournament run. The win against Alabama gave LSU its sixth quad one win of the year. The Tigers finish the regular season ranked No. 16 in the NET.

As of March 8, ESPN’s bracketology projects LSU as a six-seed, matching up with Michigan in the first round of the West Region. CBS projects LSU as a five-seed matching up with Iona in Buffalo in the Midwest Region. Both projections are realistic for LSU at this point in the season, with the ceiling likely being a five-seed. Two wins in the SEC Tournament is likely the magic number to get LSU to that five line. One of those wins could be a tough quad one win over Arkansas. The floor for LSU is likely a seven. If the Tigers lose their first game of the SEC Tournament, that would be a quad three loss. That would not look good on LSU’s resume just a few days before Selection Sunday.

How LSU’s seeding affects matchups

Matchup wise, it’s hard to get a good read on who LSU might play. The double digit seeds have so much room to change during championship week. In ESPN’s bracketology, LSU projects to play 11-seed Michigan, but with the Wolverines very much on the bubble, that is subject to change rapidly throughout the week. In CBS’s bracketology LSU projects to face 12-seed Iona, but Iona needs to win the MAAC Tournament this week. What’s given more attention matchup wise at this point is who LSU could potentially face in the second round. As a five seed, LSU would in all likelihood face the four seed from its region in the second round and the current projected four-seeds from CBS are Arkansas, Providence, UCLA and Texas Tech. The four-seed projected to be in LSU’s region is Providence. That’d present a very tough, but winnable matchup, especially compared to having to face a one-seed like last season.

In ESPN’s bracketology, where LSU is a projected six-seed, the Tigers face a three-seed in the second round. The projected three-seeds are Texas Tech, Tennessee, Villanova and Purdue. LSU projects in the same region as Texas Tech which presents the Tigers with another tough game, but a winnable one. Looking at these teams on the two and three seed lines shows how important positioning is for LSU. The Tigers have one more chance to improve their positioning. That will without a doubt be the message that Head Coach Will Wade will preach to his team going into the SEC Tournament.