LS-who?

Gomez here...

LSU has a long tradition of pretty good basketball. Occasionally great, but usually just pretty good. They've had some great college players, like Pistol Pete, Chris Jackson, Stanley Roberts, Shaquille O'neal and Glen Davis, just to name a few; and a legendary coach in Dale Brown, who built the LSU program from the ground up in his 25 year era in Baton Rouge. However, LSU is usually just a decent team year in-year out, with the occasional Final Four run or Sweet 16 appearance here and there.

However, things haven't been so good lately. Trent Johnson had a great first year in the Bayou, finishing 27-8 overall and 14-4 in the SEC and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Because of that, there was an understandable amount of optimism coming into the new basketball season. However, the Tigers have struggled in the SEC, and that's putting it nicely. Right now, their overall record is a lowly 9-13 and a dismal 0-8 in the SEC.

Ouch.

LSU almost pulled off a much-needed upset last night over Tennessee, but a late Vol run helped the Fighting Pearls escape with a victory. If anything, maybe last night's game showed the Tigers that they can compete with not only the best teams in the league but some of the best teams in the country. With that said, they'll be a heavy underdog against the Cats tomorrow.

The only thing that concerns me is the potential of overlooking this game, but hopefully the South Carolina fiasco (as Fancy Feline likes to call it) taught our boys a lesson. Kentucky will have to slow down Tasmin Mitchell, an atheltic forward who averages 17.6 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He can be a beast, but with little to no help from his teammates, the Kentucky defense should be able to contain him. I expect at least a double-digit victory tomorrow, but you just never know folks.

Anyway, to get ready for tomorrow's game, I've dug through our video vault for an all-time favorite UK victory, but its not the one you're expecting. This is the game in 1996, where the eventual NCAA champs put up 86 big points on the Tigers... in the first half.

ENJOY! (and stay tuned for more news and views later)