Heading into a clash with Michigan State Friday night in the Sweet 16, LSU has one thing on its mind.
"The attitude of the team is 'kill,'" freshman forward Emmitt Williams said Thursday afternoon. "As you can see, a lot of people are doubting us, but we're trying to go further and further and try to win it."
Don't be fooled. The Tigers aren't a group of unheralded players on some out-of-nowhere run. They spent the final nine weeks of the season in the AP Top 25 and they're a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Their 2018 recruiting class was one of the best in the country, with four top-100 players. Williams is one of them.
Still, they seem to have assumed a chip on their shoulder, surely due to the fact they've played the last three weeks without their head coach. Will Wade has been suspended since March 8 amid an FBI investigation into illegal recruiting.
That's led to lots of outside noise around the program, and the players haven't missed it.
"We see it and hear it and just laugh about it. It’s crazy to see that we are a young group of men and guys are just hating on us," Williams said. "A group of grown men just wishing us bad. It's kind of funny."
The Tigers have adopted a 'Why Not Us?' mantra in the Tournament. Freshman center Naz Reid said it comes from the desire to prove their critics wrong.
"Just being counted out and playing against teams we’ve beaten before that a lot people didn’t think we’d beat," said Reid, who ranks second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding. "Playing how we played and being counted out."
2-seed Michigan State opened as a 5.5 point favorite against LSU, who needed a buzzer beater from sophomore star Tremont Waters to dispatch Maryland in the second round. The role of underdog will suit the Tigers just fine.
When they tip it off Friday night, the pace will likely be frenetic. Both teams can get up and down. For Michigan State, it will feel similar to its first-round matchup against Bradley.
"They're a team that can go," said Reid. "They play quick. They play fast, kind of like us. Their bigs are tough, physical. Their guards get in the lane. They can score the ball, shoot the ball. They can do a lot of things we can do. They're a great team. They're one of the best teams in the country, I would say.
"And we're just looking to go after them."
The marquee matchup will be Waters versus Cassius Winston, two of the best point guards in the country. Both of them deflected questions on Thursday about the individual showdown. But they're the engines of their respective teams, and one will have to get the better of the other on Friday.
As far as LSU interim head coach Tony Benford is concerned, "It's going to be a game of wills."
Make that 'kills' if the Tigers win.