The LSU men’s basketball team is a six-seed in the NCAA Tournament, but Will Wade will not bring them into the Big Dance. Wade was fired on Saturday for allegedly committing major recruiting violations that finally became public after a lengthy NCAA investigation. Assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry has been named interim head coach.
“I feel confident this staff can lead these young men even in these challenging times to where they want to be, they’ve had a great year, these guys have earned the right to be here,” said Nickelberry.
The Tigers are 20-12 and they’ll play 11th seeded Iowa State on Friday night (6:20 PM on TBS) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nickelberry says the players were heartbroken when they learned of Wade’s firing, but they’ll be ready to play in the NCAA Tournament.
“Adversity will bring us together, bring us closer, we’ll play together, we’ll play for LSU, we’ll play for their families and more important we’ll play with integrity and character,” said Nickelberry.
Nickelberry says it’s a unique situation, but a special opportunity.
“Not a lot of teams get to go dancing, not a lot of teams get to go to the NCAA Tournament, so you got some guys who get a chance to go play in the NCAA Tournament and get a chance to go play a really talented Iowa State team,” said Nickelberry.
LSU has now advanced to three straight NCAA Tournaments, but the future of the program is cloudy as it could face severe NCAA sanctions and needs a new head coach.
Meanwhile, the LSU Lady Tigers are a three-seed in the Spokane Regional and they’ll play 14th seeded Jackson State in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. If Coach Kim Mulkey’s team advances, LSU will face either Ohio State, Florida State or Missouri State. Florida State and Missouri State will square off in a play-in game on Thursday at the PMAC.
The Lady Tigers are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
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