Will-ing it: NIT pit stop to Big Dance

Published 6:23 pm Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Will Wade

LSU basketball coach 

Joshua L. Jones/Athens Banner-Herald via AP

LSU coach Will Wade promises not to make a habit of it.

He has bigger things in mind for his basketball program than the National Invitation Tournament.

But, for now …

“We’re thrilled to be in it this year,” he said of tonight’s first-round matchup against Louisiana-Lafayette. “It’s great, but in the future, we won’t get thrilled about this.

“It (NIT) is not our goal moving forward. But for this group, this year, it’s a good step for us. We’re thrilled to be in it this year.”

The Tigers (17-14) are seeded No. 3 in their quadrant of the 32-team event while the Ragin’ Cajuns (27-6) are the No. 6 seed.

{{tncms-inline alignment=”left” content=”<p><strong>Louisiana-Lafayette at LSU 6 p.m.</strong></p> <hr /> ” id=”76dce270-dfa8-4f68-8879-97219fcfc836″ style-type=”quote” title=”Game time” type=”relcontent”}}NIT logo

Tonight’s winner advances to play the winner of the quadrant’s No. 2 seed, Utah (19-11), and No. 7 seed Cal Davis (22-10).

It takes three wins to get the basketball mecca of Madison Square Garden in New York City for semifinals and finals.

Wade and the Tigers will worry about ULL first. The Cajuns are a team, Wade said, like many that have given the Tigers the most trouble — experienced and physical with a strong rebounding presence.

Wade sees the NIT as a fitting reward — this year, at least — for a team that made strides in his first year as coach after finishing 10-21 last year.

ULL, on the other hand, had its sights set on the NCAA Tournament after winning the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title and setting a single-season school record with 27 victories. But the Cajuns had to settle for a road NIT game after losing to Texas-Arlington in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament.

But there should be plenty of motivation for both teams.

{{tncms-inline alignment=”left” content=”<p>The NIT will be played using four experimental rules changes:</p> <ul> <li>The 3-point line will be extended by 20 inches (to 22 feet 1.75 inches), the same distance used for international competition such as the Olympics.</li> <li>The free-throw lane will be widened from 12 feet to 16 feet as it is in the NBA.</li> <li>Games will be divided into four 10-minute quarters as opposed to two 20-minute halves. Teams will shoot two free throws beginning with the fifth foul of each quarter.</li> <li>The shot clock will reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound instead of the full 30 seconds.</li> </ul> <p>The NCAA said it will review the impact of the changes to see if they “reduce physicality and create more driving opportunities,” and increase “the pace and flow of the game.”</p>” id=”39bddb82-57fc-49a8-8887-d0aba4e11dff” style-type=”info” title=”NEW RULES” type=”relcontent”}}

It’s the first meeting between the two since 2009 and the sixth since they took a 56-year hiatus between 1945-2001.

“LSU is going to be excited to play,” ULL coach Bob Marlin said. “A lot of times you get into the NIT, and the SEC teams that finished tied for ninth are not very interested in playing at this stage of the year.

“But they’ll be interested, because it’s a big step for them. They’ve not been very good. We’ve had a better RPI and team than them the last couple of years in the state.”

Marlin lamented that LSU got the better seed — and the home game ­— but it might not be all bad for his Cajuns, who have won their last 18 games against in-state opponents since December of 2015.

The Tigers have won their last six home games, but all-time are 0-3 when playing at home in the NIT — two of the losses to in-state schools (Tulane, 1982; New Orleans, 1983).

This year LSU generally goes as far as freshman point guard Tremont Waters can take them.

He leads the team averaging 16 points per game — many from long, long range — and led the Southeastern Conference with two steals per game and was second 5.9 assists.

The Cajuns, who start transfers from South Carolina, Brigham Young, Southern Cal and Missouri, are a much more veteran team.

“Their physicality stuck out to me,” Wade said. “I thought they were very physical on tape. A lot of guys who are 6-4 or 6-6 who are thick and they can switch. They are versatile in that way.”

“If you take the emotion out of the game, they’ve got a very good team that’s highly motivated,” he said. “We need to turn the page quickly and lift our level for postseason play.”

NOTES: ULL is 6-6 all-time in the NIT and is making its first appearance since 2003. The Cajuns have lost three straight and six of their last seven in the NIT. The Cajuns made the NIT Final Four in 1984. … LSU leads the series 36-10, including 31-7 in Baton Rouge. The Tigers have won the last seven meetings. LSU, which is 4-8 in the NIT and has four of its last five games, is making its first appearance since 2014.

The NIT will be played using four experimental rules changes:

• The 3-point line will be extended by 20 inches (to 22 feet 1.75 inches), the same distance used for international competition such as the Olympics.
• The free-throw lane will be widened from 12 feet to 16 feet as it is in the NBA.
• Games will be divided into four 10-minute quarters as opposed to two 20-minute halves. Teams will shoot two free throws beginning with the fifth foul of each quarter.
• The shot clock will reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound instead of the full 30 seconds.

The NCAA said it will review the impact of the changes to see if they “reduce physicality and create more driving opportunities,” and increase “the pace and flow of the game.”

Louisiana-Lafayette at LSU 6 p.m.