LSU Basketball’s Confidence Crisis Deepens in Loss to Arkansas
Another game, another gut punch for LSU men’s basketball. Tuesday night’s loss to Arkansas wasn’t just another mark in the loss column-it was a spotlight on a team still searching for its identity, confidence, and consistency as the season spirals further off course.
This wasn’t a one-possession heartbreaker or a game that slipped away in the final minutes. It was the kind of performance that raises real questions-not just about execution, but about mindset.
After the game, forward Pablo Tamba didn’t mince words.
“I think it was a thing of confidence today,” he said.
That’s not something you usually hear from a player unless it’s been simmering for a while. Tamba pointed to Arkansas’ composure and energy from the jump-two things LSU has struggled to sustain all season.
“They came out playing their game confidently,” Tamba said. “That’s what we have to do.
We’ve done that before. I know we can do it.
It’s just we’ve got to find the right mindset and the right way to approach the game so we can perform that way.”
That theme-urgency, mindset, belief-continued with forward Marquel Sutton, who echoed Tamba’s take.
“I agree with him,” Sutton said. “I feel like we’ve got to come out with more urgency.”
And there it is. LSU’s slow starts have become a defining trait this season.
Ten minutes in, and they’re often already behind the eight ball. And when they do manage to start fast?
They’ve struggled to hold on. The Tigers gave up an 18-point lead to Kentucky, an eight-point cushion to Arkansas in their first meeting, and most recently, a 15-point advantage to Georgia.
That’s not just a trend-it’s a pattern, and a painful one at that.
What’s striking is the disconnect between the players’ perception and head coach Matt McMahon’s postgame assessment. When asked about the confidence issue his players brought up, McMahon didn’t exactly agree.
“I’m not sure that it’s confidence,” he said. “I think it was their rim protection, their ability to fly around defensively and make it really difficult on us to score.”
He’s not wrong about Arkansas’ defense-they were relentless. The Razorbacks swatted 10 shots and made LSU’s offense look stuck in quicksand. Their length, timing, and energy were a problem all night.
But when your players are pointing to confidence and urgency, and your coach is focused solely on X’s and O’s, it raises eyebrows. Basketball isn’t just about schemes and matchups-it’s about belief, rhythm, and trust. If the players feel like they’re lacking that edge, it’s something that needs addressing, not just tactically, but emotionally.
McMahon did acknowledge the execution issues, saying, “Finishing of plays and execution wasn’t good enough to play with one of the best teams in the country tonight.” And he’s right-Arkansas’ pressure and shot-blocking clearly rattled LSU. But when the players are talking about mindset, and the coach is focused on mechanics, it suggests a team that’s not quite in sync.
This isn’t about finger-pointing. It’s about alignment. The best teams-especially the ones that bounce back from adversity-are the ones where the locker room and the coaching staff are on the same page, mentally and strategically.
Right now, LSU doesn’t look like one of those teams.
There’s still time to course-correct, but the margin for error is shrinking. And until LSU finds a way to match its physical preparation with the mental toughness and urgency its players are calling for, nights like Tuesday are going to keep happening.
The Tigers have the talent. What they need now is belief-and fast.