Teams › SEC · Compare LSU with another team
LSU
LSU returns 4% of last season's minutes and rates #45 on offense and #29 on defense of 365 teams. 80% range: +6.3 to +20.8.
Why we have them here
LSU's preseason projection of +13.6 (No. 39 of 365) starts from the roster: its players' ratings, weighted by projected minutes, add up to a roll-up worth +8.9, about the +8.7 typical of teams ranked near it. Last season's rating (No. 72 at the end of 2025-26) adds +1.7, less than its neighbours' +2.5; the program's level two and three seasons back and the roster's experience and shape add +3.7. A stretch at the top of the scale adds +0.6, because a straight-line calibration shrinks elite teams. It returns 4% of last season's minutes, less than teams ranked near it (33%). The projection leans most on Donovan Dent (+5.0), Skyy Clark (+3.9) and Mouhamed Dioubate (+3.7); the newcomer who matters most is Donovan Dent, a transfer from UCLA, at +5.0. Its 80% range, +6.3 to +20.8, is about as wide as that of teams ranked near it.
Generated from the published projection's own terms, not written by hand. "Teams ranked near it" are the thirty nearest in the preseason order. Preseason projection frozen 2026-10-23; how the projection is built.
Roster
Returning 4% · Transfer 61% · Other newcomer 33%
| Rank | Player | Pos | Ht | D1 yrs | Group | From | MPG | Rating | Contrib. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | Donovan Dent | G | 6-2 | 4 | Transfer | UCLA | 28 | +7.0 | +5.0 |
| 105 | Mouhamed Dioubate | F | 6-7 | 3 | Transfer | Kentucky | 20 | +7.3 | +3.7 |
| 125 | Skyy Clark | G | 6-3 | 4 | Transfer | UCLA | 25 | +6.2 | +3.9 |
| 344 | Saliou Niang | F | 6-8 | 0 | Other newcomer | 23 | +4.3 | +2.4 | |
| 592 | Brice Dessert | C | 6-11 | 0 | Other newcomer | 18 | +3.2 | +1.4 | |
| 645 | Michael Ruzic | C | 7-0 | 0 | Other newcomer | 18 | +3.0 | +1.3 | |
| 774 | Abdi Bashir Jr. | G | 6-7 | 3 | Transfer | Kansas State | 18 | +2.4 | +1.1 |
| 1061 | Divine Ugochukwu | G | 6-3 | 2 | Transfer | Michigan State | 13 | +1.6 | +0.5 |
| 1550 | Gilad Levy | C | 7-3 | 0 | Other newcomer | 3 | +0.3 | +0.0 | |
| 1596 | Ron Zipper | G | 6-5 | 1 | Returning | LSU | 5 | +0.1 | +0.0 |
| 2262 | Jaden Bobbett | G | 6-1 | 1 | Returning | LSU | 4 | -1.3 | -0.1 |
| 2273 | Marcus Vaughn | F | 6-8 | 0 | Other newcomer | 4 | -1.2 | -0.1 | |
| 5157 | Austin Nunez | G | 6-2 | 4 | Transfer | UTSA | 17 | -4.4 | -1.9 |
A player's rating is points per 100 possessions better than an average Division I player while he is on the floor. Contribution weights it by the share of a rotation slot he is projected to play, so a star on the bench and a role player who never sits both read right. Rank is among all 5,249 rated players. MPG is the projected share of a rotation slot times 40. "From" is last season's team. The bars are contribution, the player's rating times his projected share; their sum is the roll-up the projection starts from.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Proj. margin | Win prob. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Nov 03 | vs |  New Orleans #303 | +20.5 | 95% | |
| Fri Nov 06 | vs |  Texas Southern #331 | +21.9 | 96% | |
| Mon Nov 09 | vs |  Louisiana Tech #269 | +17.9 | 93% | |
| Sat Nov 14 | at |  Gonzaga #14 | -11.3 | 18% | |
| Wed Nov 18 | vs |  UL Monroe #359 | +25.9 | 98% | |
| Sat Nov 21 | vs |  Queens University #142 | +14.5 | 88% | |
| Wed Nov 25 | N |  Arizona State #52 | +1.2 | 54% | |
| Thu Nov 26 | N |  SMU #53 | +1.3 | 54% | |
| Tue Dec 01 | vs |  Wake Forest #76 | +9.6 | 78% | |
| Sat Dec 05 | vs |  Hofstra #124 | +12.8 | 85% | |
| Sun Dec 13 | N |  Houston #8 | -5.7 | 32% | |
| Fri Dec 18 | vs |  High Point #40 | +5.9 | 68% | |
| Tue Dec 22 | vs |  Louisiana #294 | +18.6 | 94% | |
| Mon Dec 28 | vs |  Washington State #162 | +14.9 | 89% | |
| Sat Jan 02 | vs |  South Carolina #98 | conf | +8.1 | 75% |
| Tue Jan 05 | at |  Alabama #17 | conf | -8.2 | 26% |
| Sat Jan 09 | vs |  Tennessee #13 | conf | -2.2 | 43% |
| Wed Jan 13 | at |  Kentucky #22 | conf | -7.3 | 28% |
| Sat Jan 16 | at |  Texas A&M #31 | conf | -4.4 | 36% |
| Tue Jan 19 | vs |  Texas #20 | conf | -0.9 | 47% |
| Sat Jan 23 | vs |  Auburn #16 | conf | -1.7 | 44% |
| Tue Jan 26 | at |  Arkansas #25 | conf | -6.4 | 30% |
| Sat Jan 30 | at |  Georgia #32 | conf | -4.7 | 35% |
| Tue Feb 02 | vs |  Vanderbilt #26 | conf | +0.9 | 53% |
| Sat Feb 06 | vs |  Ole Miss #61 | conf | +4.9 | 66% |
| Sat Feb 13 | at |  Oklahoma #30 | conf | -4.7 | 35% |
| Wed Feb 17 | vs |  Florida #1 | conf | -9.8 | 22% |
| Sat Feb 20 | at |  Mississippi State #78 | conf | +1.3 | 54% |
| Wed Feb 24 | at | Auburn #16 | conf | -7.9 | 26% |
| Sat Feb 27 | vs | Texas A&M #31 | conf | +1.7 | 56% |
| Tue Mar 02 | vs | Arkansas #25 | conf | -0.2 | 49% |
| Sat Mar 06 | at |  Missouri #43 | conf | -2.6 | 42% |
Projected margin is from LSU's side, with home court where the game is not neutral (N). Games are the schedule as posted; tournaments and late additions appear as they are listed. Predictions are as of 2026-10-26 and reflect the roster as the model has it on that date.