LSU Basketball's Depth, Culture On Full Display In Dominant SEC Opening Win Over Texas A&M

Coming off a near two week layoff from the basketball court, LSU looked pretty flawless in its SEC opener against Texas A&M on Wednesday. The Tigers received contributions across the board in the 77-54 win over a well coached Buzz Williams team, strongly hinting at what's to come during the next 17 games of SEC play.

Keep in mind, LSU's only had a handful of practices as a team since the practice facility opened back up late last week, after the COVID-19 contact tracing protocol affected three non-conference games. To get such a crisp performance from this group after knocking off the rust against Nicholls State was a telling sign.

LSU controlled the glass, took efficient shots and most importantly, shared the ball with 16 assists on 30 made shots. With Javonte Smart and Trendon Watford both struggling with putting the ball in the basket, the performance put the team's depth on full display as Darius Days and Cam Thomas combined for 50 points to lead the way.

"We have a lot of scorers and when it's not your night, you find other people to step up," Days said. "I kind of stepped up tonight and when Trendon and Javonte aren't going, our other young guys stepped up. Even though they're young guys, they play well beyond their years."

In past seasons, a 3-for-17 night from Watford and Smart would've almost certainly led to a loss as the lack of depth was a noticeable issue. But this season, LSU is seeing early contributions from Mwani Wilkinson, Jalen Cook, Charles Manning and Josh Leblanc. Even Shareef O'Neal, who is set to miss the next 7-10 days with an ankle injury, has proven to be an elite rebounder off the bench.

What really sticks out to Will Wade is the poise some of these younger players on the roster are playing with and how solid the veteran leadership has been from day one, something he's talked about even in the early days of training camp.

"It helps when we've got those veterans out there and I think we've got some guys that have done it at a very high level for a sustained period of time and hopefully we can keep that trait," Wade said. "We had a very spirited film session on Sunday and that led to some good practices and that's probably the first time all year I've kind of flown off the handle. It's been pretty smooth sailing with this group because we've got some internal leadership, some guys that wanna be great."

The point Wade was trying to tell his team in that "spirited" film session after a less than stellar effort against Nicholls State was to not waste what they've got. This is a team that has deep NCAA tournament aspirations and after a performance like Tuesday's against the Aggies, the Tigers are well on their way to achieving the goals they've laid out.

"Our guys like each other, we've got a good group, we've got the right mix, we haven't had a lot of issues," Wade said. "We've been really connected and a lot smoother and I think that shows they enjoy playing together. I think that shows up."