2018–19 LSU Tigers basketball team

The 2018–19 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Will Wade, in his second season at LSU. Tony Benford also served as interim head coach for the last regular season game, 2019 SEC men's basketball tournament and 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They played their home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 28-7, 16-2 in SEC Play to finish as SEC regular season champions.. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament to Florida. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Yale and Maryland to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Michigan State.

2018–19 LSU Tigers basketball
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 12
Record28–7 (16–2 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaPete Maravich Assembly Center
Seasons
2018–19 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 15 LSU 16 2   .889 28 7   .800
No. 10 Tennessee 15 3   .833 31 6   .838
No. 7 Kentucky 15 3   .833 30 7   .811
No. 5 Auburn 11 7   .611 30 10   .750
South Carolina 11 7   .611 16 16   .500
Mississippi State 10 8   .556 23 11   .676
Ole Miss 10 8   .556 20 13   .606
Florida 9 9   .500 20 16   .556
Alabama 8 10   .444 18 16   .529
Arkansas 8 10   .444 18 16   .529
Texas A&M 6 12   .333 14 18   .438
Missouri 5 13   .278 15 17   .469
Georgia 2 16   .111 11 21   .344
Vanderbilt 0 18   .000 9 23   .281
2019 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

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The Tigers finished the 2017–18 season 18–15, 8–10 in SEC play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They lost in the second round of the SEC tournament to Mississippi State. The Tigers received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Louisiana before losing in to Utah in the second round.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Brandon Sampson 0 G 6'5" 184 Junior Baton Rouge, LA Declared for the 2018 NBA draft
Duop Reath 1 F 6'11" 244 Senior Perth, Australia Graduated
Brandon Rachal 2 G 6'5" 215 Freshman Natchitoches, LA Transferred to Pearl River CC
Galen Alexander 10 F 6'6" 210 Freshman Breaux Bridge, LA Dismissed from the team[1]
Jeremy Combs 13 F 6'7" 215 Senior Dallas, TX Graduated
Randy Onwausor 14 G 6'3" 210 RS Senior Inglewood, CA Graduated
Reed Vial 15 G 6'3" 190 Junior Baton Rouge, LA Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Aaron Epps 21 F 6'10" 214 Senior Ball, LA Graduated
Mayan Kiir 35 F 6'9" 217 Sophomore Bradenton, FL Dismissed from the team[1]
Wayde Sims 44 F 6'6" 217 Sophomore Baton Rouge, LA Deceased[2]

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Marlon Taylor 14 F 6'6" Junior Mount Vernon, NY Panola College
Danya Kingsby 20 G 6'1" 165 Junior Milwaukee, WI College of Southern Idaho
Courtese Cooper 21 F 6'9" 205 Sophomore Elgin, IL Triton College

2018 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Naz Reid
#3 PF
Asbury Park, NJ Roselle Catholic High School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Sep 12, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Emmitt Williams
#7 PF
Lehigh Acres, FL Oak Ridge High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jan 26, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Javonte Smart
#9 PG
Baton Rouge, LA Scotlandville Magnet High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jun 30, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Darius Days
#14 PF
Williston, FL The Rock School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Oct 20, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Aundre Hyatt
#51 PF
Chalottesville, VA The Miller School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Aug 6, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "LSU 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  • "2018 LSU Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.

Roster

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2018–19 LSU Tigers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Naz Reid 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Roselle Catholic High School Asbury Park, New Jersey
G 1 Javonte Smart 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Scotlandville Magnet High School Baton Rouge, Louisiana
G 3 Tremont Waters 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 167 lb (76 kg) So Notre Dame High School New Haven, Connecticut
G 4 Skylar Mays 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Findlay Prep Baton Rouge, Louisiana
G 5 Daryl Edwards 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Northwest Florida State Fresno, California
G 10 Noah Thomas (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Cy-Fair High School Cypress, Texas
F 11 Kavell Bigby-Williams 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Oregon London, England
G 12 Marshall Graves (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Louisiana State University Laboratory School Ponchatoula, Louisiana
G 13 Will Reese (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Anacoco High School Leesville, Louisiana
G 14 Marlon Taylor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Panola College Mount Vernon, New York
F 15 Aundre Hyatt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Miller School Bronx, New York
G 20 Danya Kingsby 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Southern Idaho Milwaukee, Wisconsin
F 21 Courtese Cooper 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Triton College Elgin, Illinois
F 22 Darius Days 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Fr IMG Academy Raleigh, Florida
F 24 Emmitt Williams 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Oak Ridge High School Fort Myers, Florida
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2018*
7:30 pm, SECN+
No. 23 Southeastern Louisiana W 93–64  1–0
 17  Reid   10  Williams   2  Tied  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (10,513)
Baton Rouge, LA
November 9, 2018*
7:00 pm, SECN+
No. 23 UNC Greensboro W 97–91  2–0
 29  Reid   7  Reid   10  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,613)
Baton Rouge, LA
November 13, 2018*
6:00 pm, SECN
No. 22 Memphis
AdvoCare Invitational non-bracket game
W 85–76  3–0
 19  Mays   10  Williams   8  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (9,295)
Baton Rouge, LA
November 16, 2018*
7:00 pm, SECN+
No. 22 Louisiana Tech W 74–67  4–0
 16  Smart   7  Williams   5  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (9,557)
Baton Rouge, LA
November 22, 2018*
6:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 19 vs. College of Charleston
AdvoCare Invitational quarterfinals
W 67–55  5–0
 14  Williams   9  Williams   11  Waters  HP Field House (N/A)
Orlando, FL
November 23, 2018*
4:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 19 vs. No. 14 Florida State
AdvoCare Invitational semifinals
L 76–79 OT 5–1
 19  Mays   6  Days   8  Smart  HP Field House (N/A)
Orlando, FL
November 25, 2018*
3:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 19 vs. Oklahoma State
AdvoCare Invitational 3rd place game
L 77–90  5–2
 20  Mays   7  Bigby-Williams   5  Waters  HP Field House (N/A)
Orlando, FL
December 1, 2018*
4:00 pm, SECN+
Grambling State W 78–57  6–2
 15  Waters   9  Days   5  Tied   Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,474)
Baton Rouge, LA
December 9, 2018*
1:00 pm, SECN
Incarnate Word W 91–50  7–2
 16  Tied    10  Bigby-Williams   6  Mays  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (9,098)
Baton Rouge, LA
December 12, 2018*
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 24 Houston L 76–82  7–3
 18  Smart   6  Williams   2  Tied   Fertitta Center (7,039)
Houston, TX
December 15, 2018*
10:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Saint Mary's
Neon Hoops Showcase
W 78–74  8–3
 18  Waters   6  Williams   3  Tied  T-Mobile Arena (5,107)
Paradise, NV
December 21, 2018*
7:00 pm, SECN+
No. 24 Furman W 75–57  9–3
 20  Waters   10  Tied   7  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (9,765)
Baton Rouge, LA
December 28, 2018*
7:00 pm, SECN+
Louisiana–Monroe W 81–69  10–3
 19  Reid   12  Reid   10  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (10,028)
Baton Rouge, LA
SEC regular season
January 8, 2019
8:00 pm, SECN
Alabama W 88–79  11–3
(1–0)
 19  Waters   13  Bigby-Williams   7  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (9,718)
Baton Rouge, LA
January 12, 2019
5:00 pm, SECN
at Arkansas W 94–88 OT 12–3
(2–0)
 27  Reid   10  Williams   11  Waters  Bud Walton Arena (17,361)
Fayetteville, AR
January 15, 2019
8:00 pm, SECN
at No. 18 Ole Miss W 83–69  13–3
(3–0)
 20  Waters   10  Bigby-Williams   9  Waters  The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
Oxford, MS
January 19, 2019
5:00 pm, SECN
South Carolina W 89–67  14–3
(4–0)
 15  Tied   13  Williams   6  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (11,607)
Baton Rouge, LA
January 23, 2019
6:00 pm, SECN
No. 25 Georgia W 92–82  15–3
(5–0)
 26  Waters   7  Reid   4  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (9,416)
Baton Rouge, LA
January 26, 2019
5:00 pm, SECN
No. 25 at Missouri W 86–80 OT 16–3
(6–0)
 24  Mays   8  Reid   9  Waters  Mizzou Arena (11,513)
Columbia, MO
January 30, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 19 at Texas A&M W 72–57  17–3
(7–0)
 36  Waters   11  Bigby-Williams   4  Mays  Reed Arena (6,554)
College Station, TX
February 2, 2019
5:00 pm, SECN
No. 19 Arkansas L 89–90  17–4
(7–1)
 19  Reid   10  Reid   6  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,311)
Baton Rouge, LA
February 6, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 21 at Mississippi State W 92–88 OT 18–4
(8–1)
 29  Reid   13  Bigby-Williams   5  Waters  Humphrey Coliseum (7,456)
Starkville, MS
February 9, 2019
1:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 21 Auburn W 83–78  19–4
(9–1)
 20  Mays   11  Bigby-Williams   10  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (12,004)
Baton Rouge, LA
February 12, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN
No. 19 at No. 5 Kentucky W 73–71  20–4
(10–1)
 15  Waters   7  Reid   5  Tied  Rupp Arena (23,490)
Lexington, KY
February 16, 2019
5:00 pm, SECN
No. 19 at Georgia W 83–79  21–4
(11–1)
 20  Waters   8  Bigby-Williams   5  Waters  Stegeman Coliseum (10,298)
Athens, GA
February 20, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 13 Florida L 77–82 OT 21–5
(11–2)
 18  Mays   15  Reid   4  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (10,976)
Baton Rouge, LA
February 23, 2019
11:00 am, ESPN
No. 13 No. 5 Tennessee W 82–80 OT 22–5
(12–2)
 29  Smart   10  Bigby-Williams   5  Smart  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,581)
Baton Rouge, LA
February 26, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 13 Texas A&M W 66–55  23–5
(13–2)
 18  Reid   11  Tied   5  Mays  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (9,614)
Baton Rouge, LA
March 2, 2019
11:00 am, ESPN
No. 13 at Alabama W 74–69  24–5
(14–2)
 20  Mays   13  Reid   4  Smart  Coleman Coliseum (11,570)
Tuscaloosa, AL
March 6, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 10 at Florida W 79–78 OT 25–5
(15–2)
 19  Waters   14  Williams   6  Waters  Exactech Arena (9,550)
Gainesville, FL
March 9, 2019
7:30 pm, SECN
No. 10 Vanderbilt W 80–59  26–5
(16–2)
 15  Days   11  Bigby-Williams   8  Waters  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,546)
Baton Rouge, LA
SEC Tournament
March 15, 2019
12:00 pm, ESPN
(1) No. 9 vs. (8) Florida
Quarterfinals
L 73–76  26–6
 26  Reid   14  Reid   7  Waters  Bridgestone Arena (16,490)
Nashville, TN
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2019*
11:40 am, truTV
(3 E) No. 12 vs. (14 E) Yale
First Round
W 79–74  27–6
 19  Mays   10  Reid   7  Waters  VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (12,429)
Jacksonville, FL
March 24, 2019*
11:10 am, CBS
(3 E) No. 12 vs. (6 E) Maryland
Second Round
W 69–67  28–6
 16  Mays   8  Bigby-Williams   5  Waters  VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (14,250)
Jacksonville, FL
March 29, 2019*
6:09 pm, CBS
(3 E) No. 12 vs. (2 E) No. 5 Michigan State
Sweet Sixteen
L 63–80  28–7
 23  Waters   9  Reid   9  Tied  Capital One Arena (20,728)
Washington, D.C.
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP232219RVRV25192119131310912Not released
CoachesRVRV^21RVRVRV19222115141091215

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

References

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  1. ^ a b "4 LSU basketball players suspended — 2 for season". SEC Country. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "LSU's Wayde Sims killed in shooting". ESPN.com.