LSU is the team to watch as regular season winds down

In the aftermath of LSU’s buzzer-beating win over No. 17 Kentucky on Wednesday, the focus has — naturally — been on John Calipari and the Wildcats.

It comes with the territory. Anytime Kentucky falls, it's a story. Plus, Calipari’s brag session after his team’s Saturday road win at then-No. 13 Auburn makes this an easy chance to get on the Wildcats.

But what about the team that actually won the game? Sure, the win moved the Tigers to a mere 14-12 (6-7 in the SEC) on the season. However, a glance at the future reveals that it could be the start of a late-season rally for LSU.

The Tigers’ next two games, against Mississippi State and Georgia, are at home. The former (ranked 33rd at KenPom) is currently a No. 10 seed in ESPN’s latest bracketology projections, while the latter (ranked 83rd) knocked off visiting LSU on Jan. 24. So, if you’re keeping score, that’s a chance for a resume-boosting win and an opportunity for revenge.
Then, LSU has matchups against the three cellar-dwellers of the SEC. First, a road date with 13th-place Vanderbilt on Mar. 2. Then, another road trip to 12th-place Arkansas on March 6. And finally, the Tigers close out the regular season at home against last-place Missouri, a group that is winless in conference play.   

Five games, five winnable opportunities. If LSU dives into that stretch and gets the job done in all five, it would head into the SEC Tournament in Nashville at 19-12 (11-7), and certainly higher than its current positions of 75th at KenPom, 71st at Bart Torvik and 85th in the NET Rankings.

With the Tigers already boasting four wins over Quadrant 1 opponents — Wednesday against Kentucky, a neutral-site win over Wake Forest and road wins over Texas A&M and South Carolina — a solid showing at Bridgestone Arena would give the selection committee a compelling case to put LSU in the field of 68.

Based on their win over the Wildcats, the Tigers are certainly capable of such a run. LSU went 9-of-20 from three and outrebounded Kentucky 38-30. Oh, and they won despite leading scorer Jalen Cook being out due to a hamstring injury.

If they get Cook back soon, a possibility based on the fact that he was questionable for the matchup against the Wildcats, then this team could keep it going. Could it be enough to get them back into the dance after a one-year absence?