BATON ROUGE ? The scores have been closer, but for the most part the results have been the same for the LSU basketball team. With another loss tonight at Arkansas, the Tigers (9-15, 2-8 Southeastern Conference) will guarantee themselves a losing overall record and a losing SEC record for the first time since the 2000-01 season when they finished 13-16 and 2-14. Interim coach Butch Pierre is 1-2 with a four-point loss at home to Kentucky Saturday and a two-point loss to No. 7 Tennessee at home on Feb. 9. In between, LSU upset Florida by 12. In three of former coach John Brady's last four games, the Tigers lost by 16 at Vanderbilt, by 16 at home against Arkansas and by nine at Alabama around a win at Auburn. "Our team is making some progress," Pierre said. But LSU is still last overall in the 12-team SEC at 2-8. "We had a hard-fought battle against Kentucky," Pierre said. "We were in a position to win the game at the end. We didn't make a few plays that we needed to, but we are continuing to improve. We have some confidence within ourselves. If we can keep the score manageable, we will be in good position to try to win this game." Arkansas is 17-7 under first-year coach John Pelphrey and is in second in the SEC West at 6-4 behind 8-2 Mississippi State. But the Hogs have lost two straight. "We're in desperate need of playing well," Pelphrey said. "Their team is close. They had some adversity and with coach Brady not there, that has brought them closer. I thought they were close when we played them before. They are much better than they are in the standings. LSU is fighting, scratching and clawing, and I'm not surprised by that." Link To Original Article
