Tag: Matt McMahon

LSU offers 2025 4-star point guard from Massachusetts

Rutgers is a 35% favorite to land Nigel James per On3.

[autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] and his recruiting staff took a trip to the northeast to extend a scholarship offer to one of the best point guards in the 2025 recruiting class.

[autotag]Nigel James[/autotag] is a 6-foot, 186-pound, four-star point guard from Ashburnham, Massachusetts where he plays for Long Island Lutheran High School. The Long Island Crusaders are currently 13-2 during the 2023-24 season. Their next game is scheduled for Saturday against Gonzaga High School.

There are currently no Crystal Ball projections at this time for James but the Rutgers Scarlet Knights are a 35% favorite to land him per On3. Maybe McMahon can get him to change his mind.

Matt McMahon thanks fan support, proud of rebounding effort in loss to Texas A&M

The Tigers couldn’t quite pull off the season sweep of the Aggies on Saturday.

LSU’s men’s basketball team seems to have turned something of a corner to begin SEC play.

After a rough non-conference stretch, the team began SEC play 3-1 with a ranked road win against Ole Miss. It also took down Texas A&M by double-digits on the road, but it couldn’t get the sweep when it hosted the Aggies again on Saturday in what was a 73-69 loss.

Despite the loss, coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] thanked the home crowd for its support after the game.

“Yeah I think great atmosphere, great energy in the P-MAC,” McMahon said, per On3. “Really thankful for all the fans that came out and I thought they were really engaged and were doing everything in their power to will us to victory there down the stretch.

“We had out opportunities but we were unable to get the job done. But really thankful for the great fan support today and we’ll get back to work on Monday, coaches will get back to work tonight and tomorrow, and start preparing to get better as a team next week.”

Rebounding tells a lot of that story. After out-rebounding the Aggies 46-40 in the road win earlier this month, it lost that battle 48-34 on Saturday evening. Still, McMahon said that wasn’t due to a lack of effort.

“Physicality, and we were not physical enough in our pursuit of the initial box outs and then clearly in our pursuit of the ball and they won the battle of physicality,” McMahon said, per On3. “At their place, we won it and we won the game, they won it here and won the game.”

“I think like you respond to every game, obviously we’re disappointed in the loss. Don’t think it was from a lack of effort or a lack of togetherness, I thought we competed at a high level. We just didn’t get the job done on the glass and they made the play when it became a three-minute game, they made the plays to get the win.”

The Tigers will look to get back on track on Wednesday when it hits the road once again to take on a Georgia team that also sits at 3-2 to begin SEC play.

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Instant Analysis: LSU basketball drops a close one to Texas A&M at home

LSU came up just short against Texas A&M at home.

Looking to continue a surprisingly hot start to conference play on Saturday afternoon, LSU dropped a close one to Texas A&M.

It was the second meeting in the last two weeks for the respective programs. LSU got the best of A&M in College Station, but on Saturday, the Aggies got their revenge in Baton Rouge.

LSU held a small but steady lead throughout the first half, but A&M responded, going on a run to open the second half.

The two traded runs the rest of the way, going back and forth. Down three with the game winding down, LSU turned to [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag], who couldn’t land a contested three. Texas A&M grabbed the rebound and put the game away.

It was a missed opportunity for an LSU team looking to get back in the postseason race. LSU outscored the Aggies in the paint and held A&M scoreless on the fastbreak, but the difference in this one was rebounding.

Texas A&M grabbed 21 offensive rebounds, more than tripling LSU’s six. On the day, LSU was outrebounded 48 to 34. So despite LSU having the more efficient shooting performance, A&M simply created more opportunities.

It’s hard to be too disappointed about this one. A&M is a good team and LSU continues to show improvement from where it was earlier in the year. Still, this one would have been a resume builder and moved LSU to 4-1 in conference play.

Next up for LSU is a road game against Georgia on Wednesday followed by a trip to Tuscaloosa next Saturday.

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How to watch, betting odds as LSU men’s basketball hosts Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon

The Tigers host the Aggies in a rematch on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers began the year with some struggles through non-conference play, and it looked like they were heading for another disappointing campaign in Year 2 under coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag].

But SEC play has been an entirely different story. LSU has won three of four games to begin its SEC slate, and it has another opportunity to pick up a Quadrant 2 win on Saturday after taking down Ole Miss its last time out.

Texas A&M comes to town looking to avenge a 15-point loss on its home court earlier this month. The Aggies gained momentum after that loss with a win over a top-10 Kentucky team, but that was squandered with a loss to a struggling Arkansas team their last time out.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch Saturday’s game, including the latest betting odds from BetMGM.

Matt McMahon grateful for home crowd in LSU men’s basketball’s win over Ole Miss

The Tigers are 3-1 in SEC play after an up-and-down non-conference stretch.

The Tigers earned their first ranked win of the season, knocking off No. 22 Ole Miss in Baton Rouge on Wednesday night to move to 3-1 to begin SEC play after an up-and-down non-conference slate.

LSU’s men’s basketball team is hitting its stride, especially since point guard [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] was cleared to play in December, and coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] said the team took advantage of the winter break to improve.

“We’ve got a long way to go but we’re trying to build,” McMahon said, per On3. “We’re trying to build. Our players have worked extremely hard to improve our team. We’re such a better team today than we were back in the middle of December, and our players deserve all of the credit. They really took advantage of the break from academics over Christmas to spend a lot of time not only in the gym working but in the weight room, film study, but starting to build a real team off the court.”

He also had high praise for the raucous PMAC crowd in the win over the Rebels.

“So, we’ve made a lot of strides there, and I think at the end of the day when you’re trying to build, fans respect hard work. They respect players that play with passion, that play unselfishly and together and give relentless effort on the floor. Our guys have been doing that. We’ve got a long way to go. Got to keep building it,” McMahon said. “But we’re really thankful for the crowd tonight and their energy that they brought to the PMAC.”

The Tigers will be back in action on Saturday when they host Texas A&M, a team they already beat on the road earlier this month.

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LSU athletics are off to a great start in 2024

Buckle up, everyone, we could be in for a great year of LSU athletics.

The year 2024 could not have started on a better note for LSU.

I am not just talking about the success LSU football has had recently, I am talking about all athletics. [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and the football team kicked it off on the right note with a win over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

Since then, Kelly has landed three commitments from five-star recruits including top 2024 Louisiana prospect [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag] and the No. 1 overall 2025 prospect, quarterback [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag].

LSU women’s basketball is off to a 2-0 start in SEC play with wins over Missouri and Ole Miss to start this year. [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] and the men’s basketball team pulled off a huge win over Texas A&M to start conference play 1-0 as well.

LSU gymnastics had their first meet of the year inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and they took on the No. 14 Ohio State Buckeyes. The Tigers came away with a 196.975-196.775 victory over Ohio State to start their season 1-0.

Oh, I forgot to mention, LSU has signed a new defensive coordinator as [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag] is returning to the program after serving as the DC for Missouri.

Buckle up, everyone, we could be in for a great year of LSU athletics.

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LSU men’s basketball’s Mike Williams III named SEC Freshman of the Week

Mike Williams III scored a season high 20 points in the last outing against Northwestern State.

It’s been a bit of a rough start to the 2023-24 campaign for the LSU men’s basketball team and second-year coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag], but the season hasn’t been entirely devoid of bright spots.

One standout so far has been true freshman guard [autotag]Mike Williams III[/autotag], who has played a major role so far this year and has even earned a starting spot in the backcourt. Williams, a former three-star recruit in the 2023 signing class from Cumberland, Maryland, is hitting his stride as the season goes on, and he’s coming off his best game in the win over Northwestern State.

He totaled a season-high 20 points while going 7 of 11 shooting, including 6 of 9 beyond the arc. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for his efforts.

On the year, he’s averaging 7.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals.

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Former LSU coach Will Wade, McNeese stun Michigan

Will Wade is finding early success at his new gig.

Former LSU men’s basketball coach [autotag]Will Wade[/autotag] is finding early success at his newest stop.

Wade returned to the college coaching ranks this offseason as he accepted a job at McNeese, and despite serving a 10-game suspension as a result of the NCAA allegations against him, which ultimately resulted in his ouster from LSU, his team is 11-2, ranks 54th in the NET and pulled off its most impressive win of the season on Friday night.

The Cowboys stunned Big Ten foe Michigan in a buy game, giving them their second Quadrant 2 win of the season. They have the best record in the Southland Conference by a wide margin and are a likely NCAA Tournament team.

That’s obviously a tough pill to swallow for LSU, which has struggled quite a bit since Wade was fired. New coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] went just 2-16 in SEC play in Year 1, and his team sits at 8-5 heading into what will be a very difficult conference schedule.

Wade, meanwhile, could find himself back in a big-time job sooner rather than later.

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Matt McMahon notices a trend for his team in first halves

If LSU wants to win an SEC game this season, it will need to fix the self-inflicted wounds.

LSU took down Lamar on Thursday night to increase their season record to 7-5 with only one non-conference game left before the Tigers start SEC play on the road against Texas A&M on Jan. 6.

The Tigers have been looking for some consistency from the team this year and adding [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] back to the team has helped a lot. Head coach Matt McMahon has noticed a trend for his team this year that has led to the Tigers having to dig themselves out of a hole in a majority of their games this year. LSU has struggled during the first half of ball games. Here is what McMahon had to say about it.

“I think there’s a pretty simple formula that you’re finding, the differences in the two halves,” McMahon said, per On3. “The first half Saturday we gave up 10 points off second chance opportunities and we gave up 15 points off our turnovers. So 25 points there, self-inflicted so to say, and the second half that number came down to seven and so we limited their second chance opportunities and did a much better job of taking care of the ball.”

If LSU wants to win an SEC game this season, it will need to fix the self-inflicted wounds.

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Matt McMahon talks about preparing for a tough SEC slate

After a win over Lamar on Thursday night, Matt McMahon and the LSU Tigers move to 7-5 this season.

After a win over Lamar last Thursday night, [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] and the LSU Tigers move to 7-5 this season. The Tigers will have one more non-conference game before they start SEC play on the road against the Texas A&M Aggies.

The Tigers have struggled to find their identity so far this season but the addition of [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] to the lineup has helped LSU immensely. LSU has scored 85 and 87 points in their last two games thanks to having Cook in their lineup.

McMahon was asked how his non-conference slate has helped to prepare his team for conference play this year. The Tigers did not win a conference game last year, can they right the ship this time around?

“I think the focus just has to be on getting better. We added a new piece in Jalen Cook, now we have to build the chemistry around that,” McMahon said, per On3. “The goal is to build consistency. So that’s what we’ll try to be very intentional in how we prepare.”

LSU will take on Northwestern State on Dec. 29 before taking a break until Jan. 6.

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