Oh, what to make of the LSU Tigers, who won their first SEC regular season championship in a decade, but enter the NCAA Tournament in a chaotic world of uncertainty? For starters, coach Will Wade was suspended on March 8 for comments reportedly made on a wiretapped phone call as part of the FBI's investigation into college basketball.
Guard Javonte Smart did return from suspension and score 13 points in 31 minutes in the Tigers' 76-73 loss to Florida in the SEC quarterfinals. Can the Tigers ignore the distractions and make a push toward Minneapolis?
ESPN+ has your answers, as Joe Lunardi has enlisted a team of bracketologists to compile advanced metrics, key scouting intel and best- and worst-case tournament scenarios for all 68 teams to help you make smart picks in your bracket.
TOURNEY PROFILE
Best wins: at Kentucky, vs. Tennessee, vs. St. Mary's, vs. Auburn
Worst losses: vs. Arkansas, vs. Oklahoma State
Regular season conference finish: First, SEC
Polls and metrics: BPI ranked the Tigers at No. 22 while the other metrics hold the squad in higher regard. KenPom has LSU at No. 16 as of March 13, while NCAA's new NET ranking had LSU at No. 14 in its most recent release.
All-time tourney record: 24-24 (four Final Fours)
Coach (tourney record): Tony Benford (0-0)
PERSONNEL
(Note: Player statistics are through games of March 12.)
Starting lineup
F Kavell Bigby-Williams (7.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG)
F Naz Reid (13.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG)
F Marlon Taylor (7.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG)
G Skylar Mays (13.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG)
G Tremont Waters (15.3 PPG, 5.9 APG)
Key bench players
F Emmitt Williams (7.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG)
F Darius Days (5.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG)
G Javonte Smart (11.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG)
Biggest strength: A balanced offense featuring a strong backcourt alongside a physical, athletic frontcourt producing points around the basket and on the free throw line. LSU had the SEC's second-best offense because it feasted on point blank field goal attempts (1,090 shots inside restricted area) and drew fouls, scoring 22 percent of its 81.6 points per game at the line. Waters is an elite playmaker -- he led the conference in assist rate -- who is unafraid to have the ball late in the shot clock or game.
Biggest weakness: Defensive rebounding. As good as the Tigers are on the offensive glass (fourth in nation), they are equally bad on the other end (271st), allowing teams to snag 30.6 percent of their missed shots. The plethora of easy opportunities enabled LSU's opponents to make nearly half of their 2-point attempts and was a deciding factor in three of the Tigers' losses.
Best player: Waters is the dynamic floor leader who every coach covets in March. He finished the season on a tear, scoring in double figures in 19 of 20 games. In the final week of the season, he drove 94 feet in the closing seconds to score the tying bucket against Florida and send the game, which LSU eventually won, into overtime. Waters is a dangerous shooter when he spots up and a strong finisher around the rim.
X factor: Emmitt Williams. The Tigers' freshman forward can deliver instant offense. He's a superb athlete who tries to dunk whatever he can in the paint. He rose to the occasion in big games against Kentucky and Florida, and LSU was 8-0 when he scored in double figures. Williams made 61 percent of 2s and led the SEC in offensive rebounding percentage in conference action.
SCOUTING REPORT
How they beat you: Sometimes the Tigers' best offense is a missed shot and a drawn foul. They routinely practice keeping the ball alive on the backboard and that drill paid off with a last-second bucket to win at Kentucky. Leading scorer Mays struggled to find his perimeter touch this season (31 percent), but he's one of seven Tigers to attempt at least 79 free throws. On the season, LSU outscored its opponents 554-428 at the line. LSU defended well against pick-and-roll heavy offenses.
How you beat them: Pack the defense around the paint and match the Tigers' fight on the backboards. LSU was a below-average offensive team when it faced zone defenses this season. It scored only 25.2 percent of its points beyond the arc (325th in nation) and while Waters led the team with 50 3-pointers, he connected on only 33 percent.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
(Note: All statistics in this section are courtesy of kenpom.com and are accurate through games of March 12.)
NATIONAL RANKS
Offensive efficiency, 10th (118.3)
Defensive efficiency, 57th (97.2)
3-point percentage, 276th (32.3)
3-point percentage D, 179th (34.3)
Free throw rate, 44th (38.3)
Free throw rate D, 207th (33.9)
TO percentage, 153rd (18.2)
TO percentage D, 50th (20.9)
HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?
Best-case scenario: Final Four
These things can go one of two ways. Perhaps the Tigers unite through the adversity, take an "us-against-the-world" mentality and their battering-ram style of play and grind out close wins all the way to the final weekend. They were 5-2 in overtime affairs and 5-0 in regulation-length games decided by five points or less. Then again, all of those results came with their sharp leader Wade calling the shots in the huddle.
Worst-case scenario: One and done
Or maybe it's all too much for the Tigers to handle. The players and interim coach Tony Benford will be peppered with questions about the investigation and suspension. Perhaps the cumulative effect takes its toll on a team that has five freshmen and sophomores in its rotation. LSU didn't excel at 2-point or 3-point field goal defense this season, so a hot-shooting opponent could equal the end of a wild ride in Baton Rouge.