After the Tigers remarkable run in 1986 that led them all the way to the Final Four, no one expected them to be able to do it again. Two starters graduated, star John Williams turned pro, and Ricky Blanton was lost to a knee injury. Another big question mark was how much often academically ineligible big man Nikita Franciscus Wilson would be able to play.

The Tigers stumbled through the regular season and a 38-point late season thrashing by Auburn made their chances of making the NCAA Tournament slim. But a run in the SEC Tournament including a close game with an Alabama squad that was 25-4 during the regular season got them a bid as a 10 seed.

En route to the Elite Eight, the Tigers knocked off #7 seed Georgia Tech, #3 seed Temple, and #2 seed DePaul. While LSU getting to the Elite Eight as a 10 seed is impressive, what was not impressive was how they blew their chance to reach a second straight Final Four. Leading 75-66 with 4:38 left, they didn’t hit a single field goal and were outscored 11-1 to lose by one point to the eventual champion, Indiana Hoosiers.