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LOUISIANA STATE TIGERS
 Coach: John Brady |  Record: 27-8

 
 
How they got to Indy: After pounding Iona in the second half to win 80-64, they needed a 3-point shot from Darrell Mitchell in the final seconds to overcome Texas A & M 58-57. Their interior players totally dominated Duke and Texas in Atlanta, but needed overtime to get to the Final Four. Similar to UCLA, LSU is here because they defended as well as anyone in the tournament.

Did You Know: Their opponents in the NCAA Tournament shot a combined 84-248 from the field for a 34% field goal percentage

On Offense: They run a high-low and look to clear out for Davis. The will also spread it and let Mitchell go one-on-one. He can knock down the three. They are very good in the halfcourt. The loss of Tack Minor was a blessing. He was often selfish on the offensive end.

On Defense: Mostly man-to-man, with Davis and Thomas protecting the tin. They do a nice job with the halfcourt defense and will press fullcourt.

Keys to Beating UCLA: Their guards will need to handle the pressure of UCLA’s perimeter defenders. I am sure UCLA will try to push the guards away from the basket and disrupt their ability to get the ball in the post. They must continue to let the other players play off Glen Davis inside, but they will need to find another scoring threat. Thomas hitting shots on the baseline against Texas was huge in their win.

Who Will Win The Game: Everyone will predict a low scoring game and an ugly game, but do not be surprised if the Final Four adrenaline kicks in early and both teams play a little faster than people expect. There are a lot of young players on the floor and both coaches know that they will have to get out the jitters. UCLA was very tight against Gonzaga at the beginning of the game and Coach Howland will try to stop that from happening again. The last ten minutes though will become a slow-down game with each team trying to grind out a basket. The winner of the game will be the team that gets the ugly baskets down the stretch – a loose ball rebound, a wacky tip-in or a steal that leads to an easy basket. I think LSU’s size and athleticism will get them enough easy baskets to prevail 60-56.

 
2005-06 Schedule
DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME
11/18 Southern W 84-56
11/21 Nicholls St W 104-57
11/26 at #13 W Virginia W 71-68
11/29 Houston L 84-83
12/10 McNeese St W 90-70
12/13 New Orleans W 94-53
12/17 La Lafayette W 81-62
12/19 N Iowa L 54-50
12/22 ArkMont W 75-48
12/23 at Cincy L 75-72
12/31 at #20 Ohio St L 78-76
01/03 Tulane W 75-58
01/07 at #2 UConn L 67-66
01/11 at Arkansas W 63-58
01/14 Tennessee W 88-74
01/18 at Miss St W 71-57
01/21 Alabama W 68-57
01/25 Georgia W 81-52
01/28 at Ole Miss W 79-73
02/01 Auburn W 84-69
02/04 at Alabama L 67-62
02/08 Arkansas W 78-77
02/11 at #6 Florida L 71-62
02/15 Miss St W 72-59
02/18 at Auburn W 65-61
02/22 at Vanderbilt W 77-66
02/25 Kentucky W 71-67
02/28 at S Carolina W 64-61
03/04 Ole Miss W 55-52
03/10 Vanderbilt W 92-73
03/11 #10 Florida L 81-65
03/16 vs Iona W 80-64
03/18 vs Texas A&M W 58-57
03/23 vs #1 Duke W 62-54
03/25 vs #9 Texas W 70-60
04/01 vs #8 UCLA 8:47 PM

 

  
Louisiana State Tigers Team Roster Stats (per game)
NO PLAYER POS HT WT YR GP MIN PTS REB AST
0 Glen Davis F 6-9 310 So. 35 31.8 18.7 9.8 1.4
22 Darrel Mitchell G 511 178 Sr. 35 36.7 17.0 3.8 4.5
12 Tyrus Thomas F 6-9 215 Fr. 31 26.2 12.6 9.3 1.3
1 Tasmin Mitchell F 6-7 230 Fr. 35 34.4 11.4 5.6 2.8
35 Darnell Lazare F 6-8 240 Jr. 35 19.0 6.8 3.4 0.6
14 Garrett Temple G 6-5 180 Fr. 35 33.4 5.2 2.7 2.8
15 Magnum Rolle F 610 215 Fr. 32 8.6 2.2 2.3 0.2
21 Chris Johnson C 611 190 Fr. 10 4.3 1.3 0.7 0.3
4 Ben Voogd G 6-1 175 Fr. 35 12.3 1.1 0.8 1.8
10 David Fleshman G 6-0 184 So. 8 1.6 0.0 0.3 0.0