It wasn’t long ago that LSU basketball was sitting with a record of 6-5 and were in desperate need of a spark. However, after their most recent SEC win over No. 22 Ole Miss, the Tigers are 11-6 and have found themselves on quite the run thanks to the leadership of coach Matt McMahon.
Coach Matt McMahon has LSU basketball on quite the run
What a start to the New Year it’s been for LSU basketball. Since the beginning of 2024, coach Matt McMahon and the Tigers have found themselves on a 3-1 run, including a most recent win over top-25 ranked Ole Miss.
When taking the job in Baton Rouge, coach McMahon was faced with quite the challenge. Left with a decimated roster, he practically had to rebuild his team entirely through the transfer portal both in 2022 and 2023.
While it took some time and it was never going to go smoothly, things seem to have turned the corner in a major way. After starting out the 2023-24 season in an up-and-down manner, the start of SEC play marked new beginnings for the purple and gold.
Last night, the Tigers won their third conference game of the year, and they did it in convincing fashion with elite defensive play against top-25 Ole Miss. The final score landed at 89-80, but that doesn’t come close to telling the full story.
LSU dominated in field goal percentage, rebounds, assists and turnovers, essentially taking over in every aspect of the game.
“We’re 1-0 tonight. And as we always talked, it’s 18 one game seasons,” coach Matt McMahon said about Wednesday’s SEC win. “The league – it’s ridiculous how good the teams are. So I think every win is important. Someone asked me earlier, is it a must-win game? Every game is a must-win game.
“I thought our players, the energy and effort they played with, the togetherness they played with was a great step in the right direction for us. It’s a big win over a top-25 team.”
Senior guard Jordan Wright dominated for the most part, putting together a stat line of 27 points, seven steals, seven rebounds and five assists. The Tigers had several other players put together double-digit scoring performances, including junior Jalen Cook (16), freshman Mike Williams III (10) and sophomore Tyrell Ward (11).
Ole Miss coach Chris Beard gives credit to the Tigers
Notably, it wasn’t just LSU coach Matt McMahon that came away impressed by the purple and gold. During media availability after the game, Ole Miss coach Chris Beard took the time to hand out some praise.
“I give LSU all the credit,” the Rebel head coach began. “It’s a good team, talented players, veteran team – coach is doing a great job here in year two.”
“I’m not one of these guys that sits up here and acts like everything was on us, good or bad. We played a well-coached team tonight with good experienced players, I think they have a defensive identity, in my opinion. They try to get you to turn the ball over, and we fell for it early. Even in the first four minutes of the game, we had three casual turnovers, so I absolutely give LSU credit for that.”
On the day, the Tigers forced Ole Miss into 15 turnovers, while holding them to 36.9 percent shooting from the field, and just 25 percent from behind the arc.
As we continue on with SEC play, LSU basketball is catching fire at the perfect time. They’ll now look ahead to January 20, 2024, as LSU welcomes Texas A&M to the PMAC at 3:00 p.m. CST.
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