Men’s College Basketball 2021-2022 Season Preview: LSU Tigers

The SEC is loaded this year as most teams used the transfer portal to their advantage and shored up their talent as well as their depth. Teams like Kentucky, Tennessee and Auburn built elite freshman classes while LSU, Arkansas (as usual) and Florida made key additions via the portal.

SEC slates are going to be high scoring and mega exciting all year long. For DFS players this is the conference that will command your attention, so keep that at the top of your mind as we go team-by-team through the SEC to preview the coming season.

In this one, LSU.

(Check out our full college basketball season preview!)

LSU 2021-2022 Season Preview

2020-2021 record: 19-10 (11-6 SEC), third in SEC
Postseason: Lost in NCAA Tournament second round

Key Departures | LSU Tigers

• Cameron Thomas (NBA draftee)
• Trendon Watford (playing professionally)
• Aundre Hyatt (transferred to Rutgers)
• Josh LeBlanc (transferred to UAB)
• Javonte Smart (playing professionally)

Key Additions | LSU Tigers

• Xavier Pinson (transferred from Missouri)
• Adam Miller (transferred from Illinois)
• Tari Eason (transferred from Cincy)
• Efton Reid (top 30 recruit)
• Justice Williams (top 60 recruit)
• Brandon Murray (top 85 recruit)

Returners | LSU Tigers

• Darius Days (11.6 PPG/7.8 RPG/1.1 SPG)
• Mwani Wilkinson (3.6 PPG/2.7 RPG)
• Shareef O’Neal (2.8 PPG/4.4 RPG)
• Eric Gaines (2.5 PPG/1.4 APG/1.2 APG)

LSU Tigers Outlook for 2021-2022

LSU lost three members of their starting five but still were able to bring in enough talent to be competitive yet again. While it’s sad we will lose my guy Cam Thomas to the pro ranks, we must move on and find our next low-owned slate-breaking brand play. Will Wade dipped into the transfer portal to find replacements and did a fairly good job reupping this roster. Unfortunately, Adam Miller suffered a season ending injury earlier this month, which is damaging because many of us expected him to be a serious playmaker in Year 2. But alas, that must wait until next year. Xavier Pinson’s strengths play right into Will Wade’s system and should operate as the primary ball handler for the Tigers. Pinson can be a bit streaky with his shooting but should benefit with more dynamic athletes around him, which is something he didn’t have enough of at Missouri. Tari Eason showed flashes of being a special player while at Cincinnati. He averaged over 7 rebounds and 2 steals per game during the last month of the season. He frequently racked up fantasy points via peripheral stats and could become a household name if he figures out how to be a consistent scorer.

Darius Days has been voted to the preseason All-SEC first team and made the wise decision to return to college instead of jump to the pro level. This team is now in Days’ hands, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see him average a double-double this season. Days is the rare player that made 40% from distance last year while also being a bruising force down low that averaged over 7 boards per game. He had a top-25 offensive rating last year and should see his usage spike quite a bit from the 17.6% it was at in 2020. Keep a close eye on Mwani Wilkinson as he represents a sneaky breakout candidate that is drawing rave reviews during training camp. Wilkinson was a bit raw last year but was a solid finisher at the rim and should be much better in his second season.

With Adam Miller out for this season the team will turn to some youngsters to fill that void. Wade and his staff have commented numerous times that Brandon Murray has adapted quickly to this level and should be in line for bigger minutes than initially thought. Teammates have also said he treats practices like they’re an overtime game of the final four. Sign me up for that kind of intensity any day. Justice Williams should be in the mix as well, but we are likely to see him come off the bench initially.

Lastly, we have to talk about the seven-footer Efton Reid. He possesses a soft touch for a player his size but also won’t shy away from banging down low. He profiles as an instant double-double guy that can punish one on one coverage down low the way Isaiah Stewart used to do in his lone season at Washington.

(Check out our rankings of the top 100 teams and top 100 players for men’s college basketball in 2021-2022.)

Summary

While the team has suffered a minor setback with Adam Miller being lost for the season due to injury, there is still plenty of talent on this roster to make some noise in real life and in the fantasy world. Darius Days and Efton Reid are going to be players we are talking about a lot in our content this year. It’ll be interesting to follow the guard rotation to see who ultimately rises to the top next to Xavier Pinson. Tari Eason has superstar written all over him and it might be sooner than we think. In a recent scrimmage against Nicholls he went ballistic to the tune of 22 points and 15 boards. This squad is legit, and the rotation should be nice and tight, which is great for fantasy purposes.