McMahon still managed to sign a class of productive high schoolers and some portal targets, most of whom had Louisiana ties.
This year those limitations are gone. Progress is expected, and McMahon has told anyone who will listen that no one showed up at LSU to play in the NIT.
This version of the Tigers features a ton of experience and productivity in its portal additions, and McMahon hopes there are some breakout candidates from his homegrown crop of six players.
LSU tips off the 2024-25 season Wednesday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center with a tilt against visiting ULM. Alabama State will come to Baton Rouge on Sunday for a matinee before the first real test of the season, a trip to Manhattan to play Kansas State the following Thursday.
The season comes fast and furious. Here are three predictions for the Tigers.
LSU will finish Top 4 in the SEC in steals
It’s obvious McMahon prioritized defense in the transfer portal. Last year’s backcourt was unable to consistently keep opposing guards out of the paint. That’s a killer. It puts points on the scoreboard and bigs in foul trouble. Jordan Sears finished ninth in the Ohio Valley Conference in steals last year. He’s a pesky point guard defender with good instincts. Dji Bailey had six steals in a game against Florida last year and finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 in swipes. Cam Carter led Kansas State in steals last year, and that program is built on grit and toughness. Those guys are all fourth and fifth year players with a track record of really strong defense. Couple that with the fact that LSU figures to play up tempo again, the Tigers were sixth in the SEC in possessions per game last year, and I think LSU’s steal numbers will be elevated.
LSU will move up 88 spots in three pointers attempted
I figured LSU shot 37 threes against Loyola because of the game’s talent disparity. LSU was up by 30 just 10 minutes into the exhibition. Let ‘em fly, right? Well, it sounds like they’re going to shoot a bunch of them anyway. McMahon said after the game that he felt good about the number they took and the fact that they attempted 37 threes and 33 twos. He liked that nearly 50-50 ratio.
I’ll go with it.
Last year LSU finished 177th in the country in threes attempted per game. The Tigers averaged 21.7 attempts. I’ll say they cut that 177th in half up to 88th in the country.
Trae Hannibal and Hunter Dean were zero threat to launch from bonus land. They have moved on. Sears and Carter made 9-of-15 tries in the exhibition. They’ll have the green light. As will Mike Williams and Tyrell Ward who both shot over 39 percent from deep in SEC games last year.
Jalen Reed made 41 percent of his threes in league games last year, and that shot volume is going to go up this year from the 24 total he took last season.
The one player who won’t be hoisting from downtown is Bailey. That’s not his role. He’s a defense-first player who takes and makes layups and dunks. He shot 59 percent from the floor last year which led the Atlantic 10. Playing 30 minutes per night as a guard, he only shot 38 threes in 33 games. Derek Fountain shot more than that for LSU last year.
I think McMahon has the personnel to shoot more threes like Alabama and Auburn have over the last handful of years.
The SEC will get 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament
Last season the league got eight teams in. Texas made it as a Big 12 at-large, and Oklahoma was in the “first four out”. The argument can be made that the SEC is now the strongest basketball league in the country.
Mississippi State made the dance at 8-10 in SEC play last year. Eight or nine wins with a reasonable non-conference record will merit consideration once again. That’s what LSU is gunning for.
Gone are the days where five or six SEC teams are miserable. Pre-Pearl Auburn was always bad. No longer. Alabama may be the SEC ‘s standard right now after decades of mediocrity. Georgia has fielded some bad teams, but Mike White does a solid job. South Carolina had a great 2023-24. Vanderbilt has a new coach. Missouri was awful last year but made the tournament in Dennis Gates’s first year.
Sure, there will be a team or two that goes 5-13, but almost every night in the SEC is going to be a really tough one. LSU must take care of business at home and find a win here or there on the road.
If they can do that, McMahon will get LSU back into the NCAA Tournament. I’m not ready to predict that, but for the first time in four years, it’s a reasonable expectation.
