"LSU's run in the SEC is another example. The Tigers got beat up with a 1-6 start in the SEC. But they didn't wilt and play their way out of the tournament. Instead, the Tigers are actually better because of the tough stretch in the SEC, and were a harder team to play the last few weeks of the SEC season and into the conference tournament. LSU finished 8-8, beat Florida, and then gave Mississippi State a game in the SEC semifinals. Now, the the eighth-seeded Tigers enter the field as a sleeper team to knock off a No. 1 seed. They'll first have to get past No. 9 Purdue (another Big Ten-SEC litmus test). Beat the Boilermakers and LSU would be a dangerous foe for Big 12-tested Texas. Despite five more losses, the Tigers (21-10) won't fear the Longhorns (22-6). LSU has faced teams just as tough in their league (see: respectable 68-57 loss at Kentucky) and beaten the likes of No. 2 seed Florida and No. 5 Mississippi State. "If you can go through this league and survive, and do well and win a game or two on the road, then you can play against the best in the country," LSU coach John Brady said. "You have to be tough to rebound in this league, and if you can do that in this league, then you can do it in the tournament." http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney03/columnist?id=1525225&name=katz_andy
