Louisiana continues to underwhelm when March Madness comes around

I watched the NCAA men’s basketball selections Sunday night, but not with the intensity of many years past.

Grambling made the field of 68 for the first time ever. McNeese won the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championship. The Cowboys are in the big dance for the first time since 2002.

Both had automatic bids.

For the rest of the state of Louisiana, it is time to move on from hoops quickly.

LSU hasn’t played in the tournament since 2022. Louisiana-Lafayette last appeared in 2023.

The University of New Orleans last appeared in 2017. Southern University, who made the NCAA’s four times under head coach Ben Jobe, haven’t appeared since 2016. Southeastern made the tournament in 2005 for the only time under head coach Billy Kennedy. It seems like yesterday, but 20 seasons have passed.

Northwestern State last appeared in 2013. The Demons’ upset of third seed Iowa was a classic NCAA moment but that was 18 years ago.

Louisiana Tech appeared five times in the NCAA’s from 1984 to 1991 but none since. Nicholls hasn’t appeared since 1998 under head coach Ricky Broussard. Louisiana-Monroe hasn’t made it since 1996.

Tulane’s last of three NCAA tournament appearances was in 1995.

A good bit of the lack of success for Louisiana teams comes from a decline in high school basketball in the state. It wasn’t always that way.

The top six scorers on LSU’s 2006 Final Four team hailed from Louisiana. Four of those – Darnell Lazare, Darrel Mitchell, Garrett Temple and Tyrus Thomas – hailed from Baton Rouge area high schools. Tasmin Mitchell played at nearby Denham Springs and Darrel Mitchell played at St. Martinville, about an hour’s drive from the LSU campus.

In the 1980’s head coach Dale Brown built one of the best programs in the nation recruiting Louisiana players. Howard “Hi C” Carter and Derrick Taylor hailed from Redemptorist. In DeRidder, Louisiana, Johnny Jones was legend. So was Nikita Wilson at Leesville. Ethan Martin played his high school basketball at McKinley. Leonard Mitchell hailed from St. Martinville.

The 1986 LSU Final Four team included Anthony Wilson (Plain Dealing) and Don Redden (Ouachita).

Those days are long gone.

One of the items that has hurt Louisiana basketball is out migration. The population of Louisianians heading to live in Texas only exacerbated after Hurricane Katrina.

So, at about 6 p.m. Sunday, I turned off the tube and started to write. Of course, my alarm was set to the women’s NCAA selection show an hour later. LSU is the third seed in the same region with Iowa.

Now that’s exciting.

A possible rematch of the NCAA championship game, in a regional final.

Louisiana is vested in the women’s game.

Other than in Grambling and Lake Charles, Louisiana’s lack of participation in the men’s Big Dance continues. Sadly.