Men's bracketology dreams fade as LSU struggles. Meanwhile, the Women's team dominates, reclaiming a coveted NCAA Tournament seed.
The LSU Tigers basketball teams both hit a rough patch as SEC play started. One has recovered, but one has not.
ESPN's Charlie Kreme and Joe Lunardi have put together "Bracketology" forecasts for both Men's and Women's basketball. For the first time in a while, both teams were represented and tracking to compete in the NCAA tournament. That is no longer the case.
Matt McMahon's Men's squad has once again fallen apart in conference play. The Tigers are now down to 13-6 and just 1-5 against SEC teams. This is similar to last year, where they were 11-3 in non-conference games and then went 3-15 for the rest of the season.
LSU isn't completely out of the picture, though, as they are in the first eight teams out of the cut, but something miraculous would have to happen for them to take a step back into March.
DJ Thomas came back in a bench role against the Florida Gators in their latest game, which is great. The team has seemed lost without their point guard. He didn't have a great return, but that's not really a worthy.
This team will be better when Thomas gets back into his rhythm, but it doesn't seem like that will be enough to win games against SEC teams.
McMahon's unit is constantly bullied on the boards and can't shoot well. Those are two things crucial to winning and aren't fixed by having someone running the offense a little bit smoother.
There is a chance that they turn things around over the final month and a half, but there's not much evidence to suggest that. If things continue down this path, LSU will be looking for a new Men's basketball coach.
Kim Mulkey has the Women's team moving in the opposite direction. They came out of the gates of SEC play weak, like the Men's team, losing their first two games and worrying their fanbase.
The Tigers have quickly proven that was just a bump in the road, though, with three straight wins and two of them very impressive victories over the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners.
After those two losses, LSU dropped from a projected No.2 seed in the tournament to a No. 3 seed. They are back up to the two spot, though, as they look to host the first round for the fifth-straight season.
It looks like once again, Tigers fans will be invested in the Women's tournament, while wishing their team was competing for the Men's as well.