With Darius Days Out, Who Does LSU Basketball Turn To?

As if blowing a seven point lead over the final 66 seconds wasn't bad enough, LSU will be without forward Darius Days for multiple weeks after the star forward went down with a knee injury in the second half of the Tigers' 76-71 loss to No. 10 Texas Tech.

Coach Will Wade said after the game that there is no structural damage to Days' knee and that he'd be out a while but didn't give specifics on the significance of the injury. The junior forward was having a great afternoon of 11 points and nine rebounds and whose play would've been critical down the stretch of the game against the Red Raiders.

So with Days out a few weeks at minimum, where does LSU turn to in the starting lineup. The two most likely candidates for increased minutes are Josh Leblanc and Shareef O'Neal. Both have been stuck on the bench but have been asked to be versatile defenders and rebounders but haven't delivered as much of a scoring punch.

That will need to change if LSU hopes to steady the course even without Days in the rotation. Leblanc hasn't scored more than six points in any outing but is averaging close to four rebounds a contest and just over a steal in 11 appearances this season.

O'Neal was working his way back from a foot injury for the last few games and played a season high 21 minutes against the Red Raiders on Saturday, recording just two points with six rebounds. Whichever direction the Tigers go to, they'll need to provide more of a scoring threat.

The team can't hope that Javonte Smart, Trendon Watford and Cam Thomas can continue to carry the entre offensive load. LSU went just eight deep against Texas Tech and only had two points from its three bench players (O'Neal, Leblanc and Eric Gaines).

There simply needs to be more production on offense from some of the role players. Coach Will Wade could elect to go smaller by inserting Aundre Hyatt or Gaines into the starting lineup and playing Watford at the five but that would likely be more of a matchup basis.

Anyway the Tigers split up the minutes, the loss of Days is a devastating loss. Not only is he one of three consistent perimeter threats but he also is hands down the team's best rebounder, a category LSU has struggled mightily with this season.

When Days went down in the final 11 minutes of the game, the Red Raiders grabbed eight offensive rebounds down the stretch that helped them immensely on offense. The Tigers have a lot to work on over the next few days with a rematch against Alabama now just days away and not having one of their veteran players available will complicate the gameplan.