JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There were plenty of distractions to draw LSU’s attention away from its task at hand in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament — beating underdog Yale at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and advancing.
The elephant in the room for the past couple of weeks has been the indefinite suspension of LSU head coach Will Wade amid an FBI wiretap report alleging he discussed an offer for a recruit with a convicted middleman.
Then there was Yale, a seasoned 22-7 squad that was riding high off an Ivy League title and a team with dangerous outside shooting.
LSU junior forward Skylar Mays sensed the tension in the Tigers’ locker room and spoke up before the game.
“He’s a great leader,” LSU freshman guard Javonte Smart said of Mays. “Before the game, he gave a speech. He wanted us to come out with a lot of energy and play for each other. He told us to stay attacking, it’s a pain game, don’t settle for 3s and get in the paint.”
Mays’ teammates followed his pregame orders and, in the end, overpowered Yale with their size and athleticism 79-74 to advance to Saturday’s second-round matchup against Maryland, which defeated Belmont, 79-77.
“We’re together as a team, regardless of what’s going outside of the program or behind closed doors,’’ LSU senior big man Kavell Bigby-Williams said. “We’re showing we are able to overcome and I feel if we prepare the right way, we can make a long run in this tournament.”
Mays did his part, scoring 19 points. Bigby-Williams was a force for LSU whom Yale simply could not handle, scoring 10 points and adding 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
“I feel like my defensive presence definitely made a difference,’’ Bigby-Williams said. “Coach [interim Tony Benford] told us the majority of the [Yale] guys can shoot. We knew it was going to be that kind of game.”
LSU, which outrebounded Yale 46-38, took a 45-29 halftime lead thanks in part to Yale’s dismal outside shooting. Yale was 3-of-17 from 3-point range in the first half and finished 8-of-37.
Yale mounted a second-half comeback and shaved the LSU lead to five points — at 65-60 with 2:43 remaining in the game and then 70-65 with 44 seconds and finally 73-68 with 29 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs could get no closer, though, and their season was soon over.
Yale forward Jordan Bruner, who had 16 points and nine rebounds, said the Bulldogs simply “just woke up’’ in the second half. They were helped by Alex Copeland’s game-high 24 points.
“[Yale] was a pretty tough, hard-nosed team that didn’t let up,’’ said LSU forward Naz Reid, an Asbury Park, N.J., native who had 14 points.
“At halftime, we were down 16 and you realize everything is slipping away,’’ Bruner said. “We didn’t want it to be like that. We came out with a different type of fight and we clawed and scratched our way back into the game.”
It wasn’t enough. So LSU (27-6) moves on as it continues to deflect the distractions and will face Maryland (23-10) with a Sweet 16 berth on the line.
“We’re not going to worry about the outside noise,” Benford said. “We’ve got good-character kids. We’re going to control what we can control, and that’s getting better every day, getting ready to prepare for our next opponent.”
