Matt McMahon details what back-to-back ranked wins means for LSU

LSU basketball was late to the party but Matt McMahon’s group is finally making themselves known in the SEC following a pair of ranked comeback victories.

Last Saturday, the Tigers fell down early on the road and appeared to be headed for a blowout at South Carolina. But what as once a 16-point lead was whittled down to zero as LSU came all the way back, took the lead and then held on for the win at South Carolina.

The Gamecocks didn’t rest on their laurels after the big win, either, as they then faced a ranked Kentucky squad. In that late Wednesday evening contest, the Tigers fell behind by 15 points early in the second half before rallying for yet another comeback win, this time at the buzzer thanks to a chaotic final sequence.

After the Kentucky win, McMahon addressed what an incredible few days it was for the program.

“Well, I think it’s certainly a big step for us,” he shared. “It’s not every week, you know, you go on the road down 16 in the second half against the No. 11 team, you’re down by 16 and and come back and and find a way to win in front of 17,000 people, then come back home and play the No. 17 team and be down 15 in the second half and come back and find a way to win at the buzzer and celebrate with all your fans.”

After one and three quarters worth of tough basketball and slow progress under Matt McMahon, especially in SEC play, the last week was like a big bang for him in this conference.

“I think it’s a special week, certainly something we can build on,” he added, but also admitted that the Tigers can’t get too full of themselves now.

“But we got a lot of basketball left to be played, and I think it’s going to be really important, the maturity of our team, just how you have to respond after a tough loss, after a great win you got to respond as well. So I think our guys will come in ready to start preparing tomorrow.”

Right back to work for McMahon and his gang. For good reason, too, as LSU is nowhere near the projected NCAA Tournament field at the moment, even with those big wins. They’ll likely need to win out in the regular season or suffer no more than one-loss to still have a realistic at-large chance going into the SEC Tournament.