By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU basketball coach Matt McMahon had no answer for an obvious question.
How could his team play its worst game of the season just four days after its best game?
Mississippi State, one of the worst teams in the Southeastern Conference and losers of its previous five games with four blowouts, blew out LSU, 80-66, Wednesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center after the Tigers nearly upset No. 20 Arkansas on Saturday in Fayetteville, Arkansas, before falling, 85-81.
At 13-8 and 1-7, LSU coach Matt McMahon was asked about the NCAA Tournament Wednesday following an 80-66 loss to 0-5 Mississippi State.
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) January 29, 2026
“The focus for us has to be the short term,” he said. https://t.co/v0goOOCPC4
“I was highly encouraged coming out of Fayetteville,” McMahon said after his team fell to 13-8 overall and 1-7 in the Southeastern Conference for the second straight season.
“I thought we did a lot of really good things (at Arkansas). We won the glass. We were physical,” he said. “We played with good pace offensively, scored 81 on the road there. So I thought we had a lot of things to build on. But for whatever reason, Mississippi State was the aggressor. And that’s how they built that lead. They dominated the glass. We did have opportunities to score in the first half, but were unable to finish. Didn’t finish plays. Didn’t finish at the free throw line.”
State (11-10, 3-5 SEC) out-rebounded LSU, 43-24, and tended to score at will inside. The Bulldogs led by 10 in the opening minutes and from the 6:55 mark of the first half on, they were up by as many as 27 and never by fewer than 14. And McMahon just couldn’t figure it out.
“I thought our mental spirit coming in off the loss Saturday and the two days of preparation was where we needed it to be,” he said. “But clearly they were the aggressor and had more urgency that winning requires.”
LSU was favored by seven points going in, and its demeanor matched that and more.
“Two teams tonight that were desperate for a win, and they played with a sense of urgency that we were not able to match,” McMahon said. “I thought we had great energy, and the physicality was there on Saturday. And for whatever reason tonight, that was not the case.”
It is McMahon’s job to find “whatever” the reason is. He seemed to have no idea. And time is running out as the Tigers play at South Carolina (11-10, 2-6 SEC) on Saturday. South Carolina fell at home to No. 19 Florida, 95-48, on Wednesday, but it did beat LSU in Baton Rouge on Jan. 6 by 78-68.
“If he doesn’t make it (to the NCAA Tournament), we’ll have to reevaluate.”
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) January 14, 2026
-LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry on shaky future of basketball coach Matt McMahon:https://t.co/OPLFtwWEjn
“The focus for us has to be short term,” he said when asked about NCAA Tournament hopes amid losses piling up. “How do we fix our start here tonight? How do we show improvement on defense, from the three-point line? And ultimately, you’ve got to be able to score. We scored 21 points in the first half.”
LSU hit just 2 of 8 free throws in the first half while missing 9 of 10 from three-point range. Amazingly, the Tigers had seven consecutive stops over the final minutes of the first half, but were able to finish the half on only a 4-0 run to cut State’s lead to 44-21.
Several Tigers just throw the ball toward the rim instead of taking what looks like a shot. But the worst thing about LSU’s performance was it seemed to have minimal energy throughout.
“I’m a big believer in the mindset. That was my disappointment tonight,” McMahon said. “I thought we’d have a certain pop to us, a certain urgency.”
There was no snap, crackle or pop, and worse yet, McMahon could do nothing about it.
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