Video: LSU coach Will Wade did not hold back on comments after NIT win over ULL

LSU head coach Will Wade used his press conference after Wednesday night’s NIT win over ULL to address Ragin’ Cajuns coach Bob Marlin’s comments about the Tigers, seeding of the two teams and more leading up the contest.

Late in the game, Wade called a timeout that clearly upset Marlin and resulted in technical fouls for both head coaches. Further tulmult ensued on the floor immediately following the game (see video).

National Invitation Tournament First Round
LSU Basketball vs. UL-Lafayette
March 14, 2018

Will Wade
Opening statement …
“Obviously, it was a good win. It’s good to advance. I thought the difference was in the paint. We dominated in the paint. Duop (Reath) was phenomenal with 26 (points) and 11 (rebounds). Skylar (Mays) really changed the game when Tre (Tremont Waters) got in foul trouble in the first half. I thought he really changed the course of the game when he came in with his dunks and attacking the rim. I am proud of our guys. It was a good win. It was good to advance. We are about action not talk here.”

On the pregame talk from UL-Lafayette …
“It is what it is. I take exception when people take shots at your program. Our guys take exception to that. To be honest, before Sunday, ULL wasn’t even a thought in my mind. I had no idea what they were doing, but after the last couple of days, it’s been something else. I’ve never seen anything like it. I was glad that we were able to win for our fans because I can only imagine having to listen to all of that stuff. It’s a win over a team. We are moving forward in the NIT, and we’ve come a long way. We’ve made some progress. I think it was a good win. I was proud of our guys. I thought we made some good plays. I thought (Brandon) Sampson made some good plays. I thought Duop (Reath) played really well. Our guys responded to their challenges leading up to the game.”

On what ULL said prior to tonight’s contest …
“Have you been under a rock? Specific talking about how they should be playing at home. Listen. Do you think they should have been playing at home? Let me explain this to you. There’s this thing called the NCAA nitty gritty sheet. Their RPI is higher than ours. They also played the 213th strength of schedule; we had the 54th-ranked strength of schedule. You say, ‘Oh, well we play in the SEC. The SEC stacks that up.’ We had the 122nd strength of schedule out of conference; they had the 172nd strength of schedule out of conference. Alright? We have nine quadrant one-and-two wins. They have one. Twenty-four of their 25 wins were against quadrants three and four, including an 18-point loss in Ole Miss who came in last place in our league. I know they like to talk about their 27 wins and their RPI, but the RPI does not factor in. They’re big on beating all of the Louisiana schools. Unfortunately for the RPI, you cannot count your wins against Louisiana College and Xavier New Orleans. It’s not the way it works. They have a better RPI, yes, but you have to look at the sheet. If you look at the teams that got into the NCAA tournament, it’s the teams that beat other tournament teams. We went 7-7 against NCAA tournament teams. I was surprised it wasn’t a two-seven game instead of a three-six game. I was a little disappointed and thought it would be a two-seven type matchup instead of a three-six-type matchup. They take shots at that. They take shots at our gym. By the way, we have an arena, not a gym. They take shots at our arena and all of that sort of stuff. That’s just not right. We aren’t scared of anybody. We are not scared of anybody. Point blank. Period. My guys aren’t scared of anybody … The SEC has a rule that you have to play teams with a three-year rolling RPI. Who in here knows what ULL’s three-year rolling RPI is? 138. I’ll save you the research. It was 138 going into this year. We have a home-and-home series scheduled with Houston who was 127, better than ULL. We have home and homes scheduled with Memphis, 114, better than ULL. We have a home and home series coming up with VCU, 25, better than ULL. To talk about us being scared to start home-and-home series and playing against people is crazy. It’s crazy. We schedule better teams than them based on the SEC scheduling formula. The one thing that I do agree he said was that he needs to run his program and I need to run my program, and we will do what sees fit.”

On the final timeout …
“Well, since they don’t get to play us very often, I thought they should sit there and enjoy the opportunity to play us.”