Matt McMahon describes how LSU got worn down playing vs Mississippi State

Matt McMahon was trying to make sense of how the LSU Tigers fell to the Mississippi State over the weekend following the SEC clash.

The loss dropped LSU to 14-13 on the season, and it was never really a close one throughout, as the Bulldogs steamrolled the Tigers at home on their way to a 20-point win on Saturday. Afterwards, McMahon elaborated on his thoughts, explaining how LSU was worn down by Mississippi State.

“Well for me, in the first half, I would say, 36% from the floor. Defense was solid there. But they did get five baskets I believe in transition that hurt us, in the first half, and then 11 offensive rebounds, that led to 15 second-chance points. So I think that was the issue there, defensively. I thought our effort was fine, in the half-court,” McMahon said, following the game. “Second half, just the turnovers. You’re trying to come back, and y’all watched the game, I thought we looked really tired in the second half. They just wore us down physically.

“You know again, it was a dominant performance by them. This was six-straight games against NCAA Tournament teams, and they certainly look like a team to me that can win games in the tournament.”

Alas, McMahon makes some good points. Mississippi State certainly is steep competition, as they advanced to 19-8 on the season with the win. Still, he would’ve liked to see some better effort from his team in the loss.

Part of the reason the Tigers fell was due to Trae Hannibal having one of his worst games of the season against the Bulldogs, but McMahon isn’t worried about the future of one of his biggest stars. Despite the bad game, McMahon still praised Hannibal and made it clear that he fully expects him to play well again soon for LSU. 

“It’s been a big key to the progress we’ve made as a team,” Matt McMahon said. “I think he’s 41-15 in SEC play, coming into tonight, which has been really good for us. He’s done a great job getting everyone involved. You saw the seven assists, zero turnovers on Wednesday.”

This season, Trae Hannibal has averaged 20.9 minutes per game. During that playing time, he has averaged 5.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. Most importantly, he has 70 assists to only 44 turnovers this season. 

The Mississippi State game was a difficult one for Hannibal, though. He only had two assists and turned the ball over seven times. That was in 36 minute effort, as he’s seen his playing time go up significantly in recent games.

LSU and Matt McMahon’s next opportunity will be on Tuesday, as they welcome the Georgia Bulldogs to town. We’ll see if they can get the job done against the 15-12 squad, as the game will be in Baton Rouge.