Matt McMahon talks about lessons learned so far in SEC

LSU‘s men’s basketball head coach Matt McMahon has not had the first year he envisioned, especially when it comes to SEC conference play. The Tigers entered SEC play with an impressive 11-1 non-conference record. But since then, things have turned on their head for the Tigers, who currently sit at the bottom of the league with a 12-15 record. And following their most recent loss, an 82-73 defeat to South Carolina on Saturday, McMahon talked about lessons he’s learned so far in SEC through year one.

“I think it’s something we’ll really evaluate then; I’m not trying to pass off the question. Obviously, I have great respect for the league. The talent level, it’s a step below the NBA. It’s the feeder program to the NBA. The elite coaches in the league. I think the defenses have been terrific at the top of the league,” said McMahon.

“But the focus has been… whether you’re on a winning streak, losing streak, just trying to find a way to get your team better and go 1-0 in the next game. So afterwards, we’ll really sit down and start working on the changes and things that we need to get done to give ourselves a better chance.

LSU started off conference play promising, knocking off the then No. 9 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks at home 60-57. After that win, the Tigers proceeded to go on a 14-game losing streak.

Getting manhandled in conference play to this level would require a plethora of work for most to find something positive to reflect on. Hopefully, that is not the case for McMahon, whose Tigers will need a colossal turnaround next season to get this year’s atrocity out of the minds of their fans.

McMahon on LSU’s home loss to South Carolina

LSU lost to South Carolina on Saturday afternoon, dropping its 14th straight game and falling to 1-13 in SEC play. The Tigers never led in the contest and allowed the visiting Gamecocks to have their best offensive game of the season, making 15 3-pointers which was ultimately too much for LSU to overcome.

“Not a whole lot to say,” said McMahon. “Obviously, it was a very disappointing afternoon. Give credit to South Carolina, they had great energy and shot the ball incredibly well from the three-point line and that was ultimately the difference in the game. You look at a lot of the other statistical categories that were fairly favorable to us, but we were minus 24 points from behind the three-point line and thought they had the energy and played with the urgency that was necessary to win this game, so give them great credit.”

Cam Hayes led the way with 25 points as clearly the best player on the court for the Tigers, but it wasn’t enough as LSU shot just 41.9 percent from the field and 14-of-26 from the free throw line. Here’s what Matt McMahon said after the game.