Will Wade was quite candid with the LSU fans in attendance at his monthly “Tip-Off” luncheon about how the team performed in non-conference play.

“I’d say we played average to about what we expected,” Wade said. “I think if we had one extra win, we’d be in great shape but overall I thought we navigated a tough schedule about as well as we could.”

LSU currently stands at 10-3 with some impressive wins on its resume as well as some heartbreaking close losses to ranked opponents. What the Tigers have going for them is that they were up by double digits in the second half of both losses to No. 9 Florida State and No. 14 Houston before losing closely in the final minutes of both of those games.

Houston came in undefeated on the season and it took an epic second half scoring drought from LSU to fall to the Cougars in early December, a team that has remained undefeated since and climbed into the top-15.

Since the Houston loss, LSU has rattled off three straight wins in convincing fashion including Saint Mary’s and handing Furman its first loss of the season. The three game stretch, Wade said is the best ball the team has played all season and it couldn’t come at a better time with SEC play now less than a week away.

“I think we really came together after that Houston game,” sophomore guard Skylar Mays said. “We talked and things went up from there. We’re confident in the way we’re playing and we think that will translate to even more wins in conference.”

The 13 teams LSU faced in non-conference play had the sixth most wins in the country for a team’s schedule. In other words, only five other schedules in the country, including Kansas and Oklahoma, produced more wins than the Tigers, leaving LSU 19th in RPI and 27th in the NET ratings.

None of that matters to the players of course, who know if they don’t take care of business in the SEC, starting with Alabama on Jan. 8, those rankings won’t mean a thing. The general consensus among the players of how the team played was “alright.”

Alabama is currently sitting at 9-3 with a matchup against No. 13 Kentucky on Saturday followed by the LSU game Tuesday. The Crimson Tide are lead by freshman point guard Kira Lewis, who’s averaging 15 points per game and senior big man Donta Hall who grabs eight boards a game to go along with 11 points per game.

The team has continued to address rebounding issues over the last week of practice, which Wade insisted is technique based and not an issue of effort. With Alabama currently in the top half of SEC teams in rebounding at a little over 39 per game, Wade said freshmen Emmitt Williams and Darius Days will need to continue to step up.

Williams is among the country’s best in offensive rebounding efficiency and is something he prides himself on. Days is a 6-foot-7 forward whose role has increased in the last five games because of his willingness to attack the glass.

“Rebounding means a lot to me,” Williams said. “That’s why I’m here, to rebound and bring a ton of energy to the team. As you can see Darius and I go at it all day, everyday to get the most rebounds because that’s what makes us better.”

With 10 days rest between the ULM win and Alabama, sophomore point guard Tremont Waters said the extra rest was much needed with three games over the next week.

“It gives us a long period of time to rest and sharpen our tools,” Waters said. “Obviously we have Bama on Tuesday so it’s a time to go in and put up shots and work on what we have to work on.”

With four freshmen commanding a heavy amount of minutes, Mays believes it will be an easy transition, harking back on his own freshman SEC debut.

Mays’ first crack at SEC play came against Vanderbilt in a 96-89 losing effort to the Commodores in Baton Rouge. The then freshman finished with 11 points on the night while his lifelong friend and teammate Wayde Sims poured in four three pointers.

“That was the game where Wayde had like four threes in a row,” Mays said. “I was actually laughing with Mrs. Fay [Sims] a couple days ago when I went to go visit her. We didn’t win the game but that’s what I remember.”

“These aren’t average freshmen so I think they’ll adjust very well,” Mays continued. “They play hard and play to win so that’s all you can ask for.”