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Michigan Basketball: Who are the LSU Tigers?

By Jared Dettmer

Mar 20, 2021; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Louisiana State Tigers bench celebrates the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2021; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Louisiana State Tigers bench celebrates the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Michigan Basketball team pushed through a relatively uneventful first-round matchup against Texas Southern 82-66. Uneventful is exactly what Juwan Howard wanted on what was otherwise a crazy opening round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Now the Wolverines are set to face the eighth-seeded LSU Tigers.

The Wolverines avoided being on the wrong side of making history on Saturday as they defeated 16th seeded Texas Southern. While it was not their best game of the season, the mantra of March is “survive and advance” and Michigan did just that.

A much more daunting foe lies ahead in the Round of 32 — LSU. While it is the Wolverines second consecutive matchup against a team nicknamed the Tigers, this edition of the Tigers could not be more different than the last.

LSU comes in at fifth, nationally, in offensive efficiency, according to Kenpom.com, while Texas Southern ranked a meager 225. Texas Southern also shot about 27 percent from the 3-point line whereas LSU shoots it at a 34.9 percent clip on the season.

The offense that Michigan faces will undoubtedly be one of the toughest they have seen all season. The only teams Michigan has played this season with a higher offensive efficiency rating are Iowa (2nd) and Ohio State (4th), while Illinois comes in slightly behind LSU at 8th in the country.

The defensive end is where LSU becomes vulnerable. Their defensive efficiency rating of 99.5 is 123rd in the country. They don’t force a lot of turnovers, they give up a lot of offensive rebounds, and they aren’t very good at keeping opponents from scoring inside the 3-point arc.

One thing they do very well defensively is contesting shots from deep. The Tigers rank 14th nationally, limiting opponents to just 29.6 percent from the 3-point line. They also force steals on 10.8 percent of their defensive possessions which ranks 56th nationally.

Let’s get into the players Michigan will need to keep particularly close tabs on if they want to make another Sweet 16 appearance.

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