Fifteen games into a 14-1 season for LSU’s 21st ranked basketball team, it’s obvious things happen in a blink for the Tigers.

They can get scoring spurts like they had in their 79-67 SEC victory over Tennessee Saturday in the PMAC – 7-0 in 50 seconds, 11-0 in 90 seconds and finally 4-0 in 35 seconds to begin an 8-1 closing sprint in the last 1:56 to seal a win.

LSU wins stat categories that are derived from sheer hustle to overcome its scoring droughts filled with turnovers, missed free throws and being whistled for a ridiculous amount of fouls.

“We’re hard workers, we get after it in practice,” said LSU sophomore forward Tari Eason, who had game-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds. “We’re always diving on floors, even before the season back in July when guys like (Darius) Days were diving on the floor.”

Like against the Vols when LSU outscored Tennessee in points from turnovers (23-13), second chance points (18-5) and fast break points (14-5).

All those things are an absolute must for the Tigers, who played through their 16 turnovers, a season-high 26 fouls (eight more than UT) and 10 missed free throws.

In other words, put an obstacle in front of Will Wade’s team even if it's self-made and the Tigers often find a way to overcome it.

“Our guys are used to difficult circumstances,” Wade said.

So, where does this team’s toughness come from?

Well, from an extremely unlikely source.

“We don’t even have frickin’ hot water (in LSU's dressing room showers), the hot water heater is broken over here,” Wade said. “We have to move practice because the damned roof leaks (in LSU’s practice facility) when it rains like the other day. We put trash cans down (to catch the dripping water) and we move to the second side of the floor.

“Our guys are used to it. The tougher the situations, the better we do.”

Such as LSU’s SEC schedule, starting off for the first time in history with three ranked teams – a 70-55 loss at then-No. 10 Auburn on Dec. 29, a 65-60 home win Tuesday over No. 16 Kentucky and Saturday’s 12-point win over 18th ranked Tennessee after the Tigers led by as much as 20 points in the second half.

It doesn’t get easier for LSU who will be without starting senior point guard Xavier Pinson who sustained a sprained knee (according to Wade) in the second half vs. the Vols.

The Tigers have league games at Florida (where LSU is 3-10 since 2000 with four losses in its last five trips to Gainesville) on Wednesday, Arkansas at home Saturday, at Alabama (the Tide have won 8 of the last 11 vs. LSU including four straight) on Jan. 19 and a return game at Tennessee on Jan. 22.

By that time, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes may figure out how not to let the Tigers limit them to 38.8 percent from the field, 25 percent from 3-point range and cause 15 turnovers that led to almost 30 percent of LSU’s points on Saturday.

“If you had told me that we were going to get to the free throw line 37 times (10 more than LSU), I would have told you we were going to win by 10,” Barnes said.

“Do I want to see us be more effective on offense? Yes. Do I want to see us be smarter as a group? Yes. The thing that bothered me today was as much time as we talked about taking care of the ball, it was the same guys that normally don’t that didn’t today and it hurt us at different times.

“You have to give credit to LSU because that’s what they do, but it was the decisions where we did it and how we did it that hurt. I think we have got to get tougher. In terms of understanding how hard it is to take care of the basketball and how hard it is to run a really good offense, I don’t think we’re there yet.”

Neither is LSU’s offense. And the way the Tigers play, they may never have a textbook offense running at peak efficiency. They have the ability to play through horrific periods of ineffectiveness that seem to beg for Wade to call time out to reel them back in.

“There’s a lot of ebbs and flows to the game,” Wade said. “With a young team, I like to save all my time outs to the end of the game. If we couldn’t get the ball inbounds or we were trapped, I could call those timeouts in the last two minutes.”

As it turned out, the last two minutes belonged to LSU after Tennessee cut the Tigers’ lead to 71-65 with three minutes left.

A blocked shot and steal by LSU guard Eric Gaines led to a Brandon Murray layup with 1:56 left, followed by a Tari Eason dunk on a two-pass fast break with 1:21 remaining for 75-66 LSU advantage that the Tigers extended with four straight Gaines free throws to close out the win.

It made Wade a bit more satisfied than usual except. . .

“Y’all tweet about the broken water heater and the leaky roof,” Wade said as he exited his postgame press conference. “That’s the only way we get some maintenance done around here.”