LSU Soars Up AP Top-25 Rankings Following Wins Over Kentucky, Tennessee

Wins over Wildcats, Volunteers help Tigers find some momentum before tough road stretch

LSU just capped off one of its most successful regular season weeks on the hardwood in program history and the Tigers can now reap the rewards in the standings. 

Following top 25 wins over Kentucky and Tennessee in the PMAC, the Tigers came in at No. 12 in the latest AP Top-25. The purple and gold also held steady in the latest NET rankings, up one spot to No. 4 over the last week. 

The two wins over the Wildcats and Volunteers marked just the fourth time in LSU basketball history the Tigers beat two top-25 teams in the same week, the last coming in 2000 with wins over Auburn and Kentucky. LSU was finally able to get its offense off the ground with a rather efficient night Saturday to pull out a win over a high level defense like Tennessee.

"I thought we took great threes, great shots, did a good job of getting to the rim. Our offense has looked as good it has in a long time," Wade said. "We're capable of that. To put 79 on the second best defensive team in the country, we're capable of that."

The Tigers did watch senior guard Xavier Pinson go down with a knee injury but all indications are he'll miss anywhere from a few days to a week. It was incredibly important for this team to gain some momentum heading into a difficult road stretch of its SEC schedule.

LSU plays at Florida Wednesday before coming back to the PMAC for a home matchup with Arkansas. The going will get really tough with a pair of road games next week at No. 24 Alabama and Tennessee. Having three of the next four games on the road won't be easy for this team as winning on the road in the SEC is one of the most difficult missions to accomplish. 

"You've gotta be great at home which we were the last two games. Now we gotta be able to do it in a hostile environment, gotta be able to stay together, stay connected," Wade said. "We've got some positive momentum but now we've gotta dig out a tough road game."