After a tough road loss to Mississippi State, LSU head coach Matt McMahon didn’t sugarcoat the issues. The Tigers came out flat, got bullied on the glass, and once again found themselves chasing a game they couldn’t quite reel back in. It was another frustrating outing for a team still searching for consistency on both ends of the floor - especially from beyond the arc.
“They were the aggressor,” McMahon said postgame. “Two teams desperate for a win, and they played with a sense of urgency that we weren’t able to match.”
That urgency - or lack thereof - showed up early. Mississippi State set the tone with physical play and a relentless attack on the boards.
LSU struggled to finish around the rim, missed opportunities at the free-throw line, and couldn’t stop the Bulldogs from getting out in transition. The three-point line?
That was a backbreaker.
“They really made us pay from behind the three-point line,” McMahon said. “We dug too deep a hole to have a chance in the game.”
And that’s been a recurring theme. LSU’s three-point defense has been a problem, and it’s not just a one-off.
South Carolina exposed it. Mississippi State did it again.
The Tigers aren’t just losing the battle from deep - they’re getting buried by it.
“The bottom line is that math doesn’t work for us,” McMahon said. “We’re not an elite three-point shooting team. When we’re only making four while our opponents are making 10, you’re -18 from behind the arc.”
That’s not a gap you can afford in today’s game. LSU doesn’t need to become a flamethrower from deep overnight, but they do need to close the margin - and fast. Whether that’s by improving perimeter defense or finding more efficient looks on offense, something has to give.
“We gotta get a lot closer to a net zero,” McMahon added. “We gotta find a way to guard the three-point line more consistently.”
With the NCAA Tournament creeping closer and LSU’s resume looking more fragile by the week, the Tigers are at a crossroads. The focus now? Fix what’s in front of them - and fix it quickly.
“I think the focus for us has to be short-term,” McMahon said. “How do we fix our start here tonight?
How do we show improvement on the defensive side of the ball from the three-point line? And ultimately, you have to be able to score.”
That offensive inconsistency has been another thorn in LSU’s side. Just days ago, the Tigers dropped 81 points.
Against Mississippi State? Only 21 in the first half.
That kind of swing won’t cut it in SEC play.
“We have to really get back and focus on getting our team better,” McMahon said.
Still, McMahon isn’t throwing in the towel. He knows the margins are thin, and he believes mindset plays a big role in how things unfold - especially with a young team trying to find its identity.
“I’m a big believer in the mindset,” he said. “So that was probably my disappointment tonight.
I just thought coming out of the shootaround, there was great energy, great communication. I thought we had a certain pop and a certain urgency.”
But energy in warmups doesn’t win games. Execution does. And LSU has to bring that same urgency to both ends of the floor - not just in spurts, but for 40 full minutes.
“You have to look at both sides of the ball,” McMahon said. “Because of three-point line defense, but then offensively, we didn’t score enough to give ourselves a chance there.”
Now, the Tigers will look to regroup as they head to Columbia to face South Carolina on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. It’s another chance to show growth - and maybe, just maybe, start climbing out of the hole they’ve dug.