went on to win the National Championship. LSU's 1986 team is remembered as the first 11-seed to reach the Final Four, and the only team to beat the top three seeds to get there. The 1986–1987 season was almost a carbon copy of the previous season, except that Brown finished just seconds away from taking LSU to another Final Four. The Tigers lost Don Redden and Derrick Taylor to graduation, Williams went pro, and Blanton was lost for the season with knee surgery. The Tigers were forced to rely on role players and overachievers. The team lost 14 games during the season, but reached the 1987 NCAA tournament as a #10 seed. LSU won the first game of the tournament in an upset over #7 seed Georgia Tech. Next, LSU beat #3 seed Temple and #2 seed DePaul. That set up a showdown with top-seed Indiana in the Elite 8. LSU was in control for most of the game, and had a 9-point lead with five minutes remaining, but Indiana mounted a furious comeback, and defeated LSU 77–76 in the last six seconds. The Hoosiers won the National Championship; it was the fifth time in nine years that Brown's Tigers were eliminated by the eventual national champion. The 1987 season saw LSU give Kentucky its worst defeat ever in Rupp Arena, 76–41. From 1978–1992, the Tigers had great success against the Wildcats, defeating them 17 times in this 15-year span. LSU struggled again during the 1987–1988 regular season. The Tigers entered the 1988 NCAA tournament with a 16–13 record, barely making the field again, this time as a #9-seed. By now, many LSU fans were not concerned about the poor regular season, as they now just figured that Brown would easily engineer another Cinderella run. But the Tigers lost to Georgetown in the first round 66–63 on a last-second shot. In spite of the disappointment in 1988, Brown had already established his reputation as the "Master Motivator"; he was now considered a coach who could get the best out of his less-talented teams through inspiration, sheer will, and the "Freak Defense". Superstar era: 1989–1993 Brown reached the Final Four with a talented, veteran team in 1981. He then made it again with a team of mostly overachievers in 1986. Now, he had the opportunity to see what he could do with bona fide superstars. Unfortunately for Brown, these years arguably