# 2014–15 LSU Tigers basketball team

The 2014–15 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Johnny Jones, who was in his third season at LSU. They played their home games at Pete Maravich Assembly Center as members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 22–11, 11–7 in SEC play to finish in a four-way tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament to Auburn. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the second round to NC State.

## Previous season and offseason

LSU completed the 2013–14 season with an overall record of 20–14 and a 9–9 record in Southeastern Conference play. After receiving a bye for the first round of the SEC tournament, the Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in the second round. They were eliminated by the Kentucky Wildcats in the quarterfinals. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated San Francisco in the first round. They were eliminated by SMU in the second round.
The Tigers lost several key players following the end of the season. Andre Stringer, the team's leading three-point shooter, completed his senior season. Junior forward Johnny O'Bryant III, the team leader in scoring and rebounding, elected to forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NBA draft, where he was selected in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks. In a somewhat surprising move, LSU chose not to renew the scholarship of point guard Anthony Hickey, who led the team in assists and steals, for the 2014–15 season. Hickey transferred to Oklahoma State, where he received a waiver from the NCAA to allow him to play immediately.
Keith Hornsby, who transferred to LSU from UNC Asheville and was required to sit out the prior season, will be eligible to play beginning with the 2014–15 season. The Tigers also signed a strong recruiting class, which included Elbert Robinson, one of the top-rated centers in the country, and Josh Gray, a junior college transfer at guard who led the NJCAA in scoring in 2013-2014 with 34.7 points per game.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Anthony Hickey | 1 | G | 5'11" | 182 | Junior | Hopkinsville, KY | Transferred to Oklahoma State |
| Johnny O'Bryant III | 2 | F | 6'9" | 256 | Junior | Cleveland, MS | 2nd round (36th overall) draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks |
| Shavon Coleman | 5 | F | 6'5" | 195 | Senior | Thibodaux, LA | Graduated |
| Andre Stringer | 10 | F | 5'10" | 190 | Senior | Jackson, MS | Graduated |
| Shane Hammink | 11 | F | 6'7" | 217 | Sophomore | Millingen aan de Rijn, Netherlands | Transferred to Valparaiso |
| Malik Morgan | 24 | G | 6'4" | 199 | Sophomore | River Ridge, LA | Transferred to Tulane |

## Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Elbert Robinson C | Garland, Texas | Lakeview Centennial High School | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | Oct 8, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Aaron Epps C | Tioga, Louisiana | Tioga High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Sep 23, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jalyn Patterson PG | Alpharetta, Georgia | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Oct 13, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Josh Gray PG | Lake Charles, Louisiana | Odessa College | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Nov 20, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Rivals: Not Ranked ESPN: 35th ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "LSU 2014 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014. "2014 LSU Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| 11/07/2014* 7:00 pm | | Morehouse | W 71–47 | | 22 – Martin | 11 – Mickey | 3 – Tied | Maravich Center (3,631) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| 11/15/2014* 12:00 pm | | Gardner–Webb | W 93–82 | 1–0 | 21 – Tied | 11 – Martin | 6 – Mickey | Maravich Center (6,745) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 11/18/2014* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | | Texas Tech ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon | W 69–64 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | 18 – Mickey | 14 – Mickey | 4 – Tied | Maravich Center (8,010) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 11/21/2014* 5:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Old Dominion Paradise Jam first round | L 61–70 | 2–1 | 17 – Martin | 11 – Martin | 4 – Gray | Sports and Fitness Center (1,910) St. Thomas, VI |
| 11/22/2014* 4:00 pm | | vs. Weber State Paradise Jam second round | W 72–58 | 3–1 | 27 – Mickey | 14 – Mickey | 4 – Tied | Sports and Fitness Center (1,968) St. Thomas, VI |
| 11/24/2014* 3:00 pm | | vs. Clemson Paradise Jam fifth place game | L 61–64 | 3–2 | 18 – Mickey | 10 – Mickey | 5 – Gray | Sports and Fitness Center (1,342) St. Thomas, VI |
| 11/29/2014* 7:00 pm | | McNeese State | W 83–72 | 4–2 | 26 – Martin | 10 – Martin | 7 – Gray | Maravich Center (7,034) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 12/02/2014* 6:00 pm, SECN | | Massachusetts | W 82–60 | 5–2 | 25 – Gray | 10 – Mickey | 5 – Gray | Maravich Center (6,962) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 12/04/2014* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 16 West Virginia Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 74–73 | 6–2 | 21 – Quarterman | 14 – Martin | 7 – Gray | WVU Coliseum (10,802) Morgantown, WV |
| 12/13/2014* 6:00 pm, SECN | | Sam Houston State | W 76–67 | 7–2 | 21 – Mickey | 15 – Mickey | 4 – Quarterman | Maravich Center (7,295) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 12/18/2014* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at UAB | W 79–70 | 8–2 | 25 – Martin | 8 – Mickey | 8 – Quarterman | Bartow Arena (6,054) Birmingham, AL |
| 12/22/2014* 8:00 pm, SECN | | College of Charleston | W 71–47 | 9–2 | 18 – Martin | 10 – Mickey | 4 – Patterson | Maravich Center (7,808) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 12/29/2014* 6:00 pm, SECN | | Southern Miss | W 87–67 | 10–2 | 24 – Martin | 14 – Quarterman | 6 – Quarterman | Maravich Center (9,089) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 01/03/2015* 6:00 pm, SECN | | Savannah State | W 75–59 | 11–2 | 26 – Martin | 14 – Mickey | 8 – Gray | Maravich Center (7,647) Baton Rouge, LA |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| 01/08/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Missouri | L 67–74 $^{OT}$ | 11–3 (0–1) | 19 – Quarterman | 17 – Mickey | 3 – Tied | Mizzou Arena (7,509) Columbia, MO |
| 01/10/2015 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Georgia | W 87–84 $^{2OT}$ | 12–3 (1–1) | 27 – Quarterman | 8 – Mickey | 6 – Gray | Maravich Center (9,217) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 01/14/2015 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | W 75–71 | 13–3 (2–1) | 23 – Hornsby | 14 – Martin | 10 – Gray | Tad Smith Coliseum (7,030) Oxford, MS |
| 01/17/2015 11:00 am, ESPN2 | | Texas A&M | L 64–67 | 13–4 (2–2) | 17 – Mickey | 8 – Tied | 5 – Gray | Maravich Center (10,278) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 01/20/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at Florida | W 79–61 | 14–4 (3–2) | 22 – Martin | 14 – Mickey | 8 – Quarterman | O'Connell Center (10,160) Gainesville, FL |
| 01/24/2015 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Vanderbilt | W 79–75 $^{OT}$ | 15–4 (4–2) | 25 – Mickey | 12 – Martin | 3 – Tied | Memorial Gymnasium (9,392) Nashville, TN |
| 01/28/2015 6:00 pm, SECN | | South Carolina | W 64–58 | 16–4 (5–2) | 16 – Quarterman | 11 – Martin | 3 – Tied | Maravich Center (9,518) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 01/31/2015 1:00 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | L 67–73 | 16–5 (5–3) | 25 – Mickey | 20 – Mickey | 3 – Tied | Humphrey Coliseum (6,657) Starkville, MS |
| 02/05/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Auburn | L 77–81 | 16–6 (5–4) | 23 – Mickey | 16 – Martin | 6 – Gray | Maravich Center (8,672) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 02/07/2015 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Alabama | W 71–60 | 17–6 (6–4) | 24 – Mickey | 12 – Mickey | 4 – Patterson | Maravich Center (10,355) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 02/10/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 1 Kentucky | L 69–71 | 17–7 (6–5) | 21 – Martin | 11 – Martin | 7 – Quarterman | Maravich Center (13,111) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 02/14/2015 3:00 pm, SECN | | at Tennessee | W 73–55 | 18–7 (7–5) | 20 – Mickey | 11 – Mickey | 7 – Hornsby | Thompson–Boling Arena (16,051) Knoxville, TN |
| 02/17/2015 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Texas A&M | L 62–68 | 18–8 (7–6) | 13 – Martin | 6 – Tied | 8 – Quarterman | Reed Arena (6,701) College Station, TX |
| 02/21/2015 12:00 pm, CBS | | Florida | W 70–63 | 19–8 (8–6) | 28 – Martin | 13 – Martin | 3 – Tied | Maravich Center (9,203) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 02/24/2015 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Auburn | W 84–61 | 20–8 (9–6) | 25 – Martin | 12 – Martin | 7 – Patterson | Auburn Arena (6,651) Auburn, AL |
| 02/28/2015 1:00 pm, FSN | | Ole Miss | W 73–63 | 21–8 (10–6) | 18 – Tied | 12 – Martin | 10 – Quarterman | Maravich Center (10,683) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 03/04/2015 6:00 pm, SECN | | Tennessee | L 63–78 | 21–9 (10–7) | 25 – Hornsby | 8 – Mickey | 7 – Quarterman | Maravich Center (8,736) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 03/07/2015 1:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 18 Arkansas | W 81–78 | 22–9 (11–7) | 27 – Martin | 8 – Martin | 6 – Gray | Bud Walton Arena (18,966) Fayetteville, AR |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| 03/13/2015 2:30 pm, SECN | (4) | vs. (13) Auburn Quarterfinals | L 70–73 $^{OT}$ | 22–10 | 24 – Hornsby | 16 – Martin | 3 – Tied | Bridgestone Arena (18,205) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| 03/19/2015* 8:20 pm, TBS | (9 E) | vs. (8 E) NC State Second round | L 65–66 | 22–11 | 17 – Quarterman | 14 – Mickey | 7 – Quarterman | Consol Energy Center (16,170) Pittsburgh, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region E=East. |||||||||
Source: