2009-10 record 11–20 (2–14 SEC) Assistant coach Donny Guerinoni Assistant coach Brent Scott | Assistant coach Keith Richard | |
Conference | ||
The 2009–10 LSU Tigers men's basketball team represented the Louisiana State University in the 2009–10 college basketball season. The Head Coach was Trent Johnson who was in his second season at LSU. The team played its home games in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 11–20, 2–14 in SEC play and lost in the first round of the 2010 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament.
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Previous season
Trent Johnson completed his first season as head coach of the Tiger men's basketball team in 2009. His first season was very successful as the Tigers won SEC West division title and the overall SEC regular season title which earned them the #1 seed in the 2009 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament. As a result of earning the top seed, the Tigers received a first round bye. The Tigers defeated the Kentucky Wildcats in the second round 67-58. However, Mississippi St. proved to be too much in the semi-finals eliminating the Tigers 57-67.
After the SEC Tournament, the Tigers fate was in the hands of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. The Tigers were awarded the #8 seed in the South bracket for the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. This was the first time the Tigers had made the NCAA tournament since making it to the 2006 Final Four. The Tigers had to travel to Greensboro, North Carolina to play the first two rounds of the tournament.
In the opening round of the tournament, LSU squared off against the #9 seed Butler, who finished the regular season 26-5. The Tigers seemed to be in control of the game leading by as much as 13, and by a score of 35-29 at the half. However, Butler continued to fight their way back using the size of Matt Howard who finished the game with 22. In the end though, the Tigers were able to prevail 75-71 behind Marcus Thornton's 30 points.
The 2008-09 squad compiled and overall record of 27-8, including a 13-3 mark in SEC play.
Preseason
The 2009–10 Tigers men's basketball team had a much different look than the team that competed the previous season. The Tigers replaced the following seniors from 2008–09:
However, Tasmin Mitchell decided to withdraw his name from the 2009 NBA draft and return to LSU for his red-shirt senior season. He joined junior Bo Spencer as the only two starters returning from last year.
Honors
Senior forward Tasmin Mitchell is the only Tiger thus far to receive any preseason accolades. Mitchell was recently named to watchlist for the 2009–10 Naismith Award, as well as being rated the #4 small forward in college basketball by Rivals.com. During SEC media days prior to the season, Mitchell was named a unanimous First Team All-SEC selection by the SEC coaches.