I don't think Coach Marlin directed the seeding comment at Coach Wade.
I think his problem (as was a problem for most of the automatic qualifiers) was that most of the automatich qualifiers came from non P5 conferences (and a few of the more prominent conferences) and were assigned 6, 7, and 8 seeds and subsequently had to go on the road to play a P5 team.
Before the pairings were announced we were also rumored to play Mississippi State...again on the road. BTW, UL had a better RPI than Mississippi than the Bulldogs as well.
And somewhere along the line, Coach Wade said he resented somebody saying he was afraid to play UL. Don't know who said this, but it wasn't Bob Marlin.
All that aside, I think you're right...we won't see UL and LSU play anytime in the future. Which is sad because it only makes sense. It helps both team's RPI and SOS, its good for attendance, its good for the state, its good for local recruiting.
Glen Guilbeau wrote a great article on the evening.
Linkee:
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/sto...invitation-tournament-pregame-show/426398002/