TIGERS WILL PACK IMPRESSIVE RESUME

Gary Garner sure does know how to work up a crowd.

Southeast Missouri State's coach knows that fourth-seeded Louisiana State University 00 ranked 10th nationally by the Associated Press and 11th in the USA Today/ESPN Coach's poll -- is a force to be reckoned with.

But, Garner explained to the 450 fans in attendance at the selection party, so is Big Nasty.

LSU (26-5) brings a lot of talent into the tournament, including 6-foot-11 center Jabari Smith.

"They've got a kid who is seven foot tall," said Garner, who has seen LSU play on television. "But we've got a 6-foot-8 kid we've named the Big Nasty' in Brian Bunche. Brian may give up four inches, but when it comes to his heart ..."

Garner went on to mention all of his players, confident that his group -- seeded 13th -- could play with No. 4 LSU at Salt Lake City on Thursday.

Then, he added, "We're not just going there to play. We're going there to win."

That confidence spilled over to the team.

"Yeah, LSU is a great team, but if we go out and play our game, I think we can beat them," said Southeast forward Roderick Johnson, the team's leading scorer.

Said Southeast point guard Michael Stokes, "We're just going to come out ready to play."

The Tigers, who took first place in the Southeastern Conference West Division ahead of Auburn and Arkansas, are led by first-team All-SEC forward Stromile Swift.

Swift averages 16.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest. LSU has five players averaging double figures, including Smith who gets 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest.

LSU's 6-4 guard Torris Bright (10 points, 4.5 assists per game) was named co-SEC Freshman of the Year.

The Tigers, led by SEC Coach of the Year John Brady, won their first 13 games of the season before losing three straight contests to No. 8 Tennessee, No. 11 Florida and Vanderbilt. The Tigers suffered a loss to Mississippi State on Feb. 2 then ran off 10 wins in a row before losing to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament.

"They're a very big basketball team and very athletic," said Garner. "But we've played some teams that are much bigger than us. But if you read the Bible, there's something in there about David slaying Goliath."

LSU beat every team in the SEC this year except Tennessee and Florida. Some of its impressive non-conference wins include Arizona -- the No. 1 seed in the West -- Oklahoma State and Fresno State.

Southeast and LSU do have one common opponent -- Tennessee-Martin. The Tigers whipped the OVC team 73-45, while Southeast went 2-1. The Indians lost 75-66 at Martin, but beat UTM 80-68 at home and 76-74 in the OVC Tournament.

"As long as we play our game and play," said Bunche, "we can get an upset."

While Southeast is making its first trip to the "Big Dance", LSU is making its first NCAA appearance since 1993.