LSU head coach Matt McMahon isn’t tempering expectations in his third season at the helm of the Tigers. After LSU’s 110-48 win over Loyola (New Orleans) on Tuesday, McMahon revealed his hopes for the 2024-25 campaign.
“You don’t come to LSU to play in the NIT. You come to LSU to build a program that gets to the NCAA Tournament and wins games in the tournament,” McMahon said. “I don’t ever put limitations on our team. To me, it’s all about just focus on, ‘How do we get better every day? How do we build the chemistry of our team?’
“We’ve talked about the urgency we have to have in November and December to take advantage of some of the non-conference opportunities that we’ll have on our schedule, but the goal is to become the best team we’re capable of being. I really like the pieces on our team, and I think we’ll stay committed to that. We’ll put ourselves in a position to have some opportunities here as we work our way toward league play.”
LSU looked capable of making noise later this season in its showing on Tuesday. In the win, LSU shot 18-37 (48.7%) from beyond the arc. It was a team effort, with the Tigers recording 22 assists on their 39 made field goals.
Senior guard Cam Carter led the charge for LSU, tallying a team-high 21 points while shooting 5-8 from downtown. Carter was far from the only Tiger who had a standout showing. Six LSU players scored double figures in the exhibition.
If LSU improves at the same rate it did last season, Tigers fans have a lot to look forward to. In McMahon’s first season at LSU in 2022-23, he led the team to a 14-19 overall record and a 2-16 mark in conference play.
Last season, LSU was much better, finishing 17-16 and 9-9 against conference foes. Now, LSU will look to make noise in the prestigious conference. Evidently, not everybody is convinced of the Tigers’ prowess.
LSU was voted to finish 14th in the conference by the media in the preseason poll. Such a lackluster prediction certainly doesn’t align with Matt McMahon’s vision.
LSU won’t have to wait long to silence its doubters. On Nov. 6, the Tigers will kick off their regular season as they square off against UL Monroe at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN+.
