Last year, the LSU men’s basketball team opened the season with a 12-1 record through non-conference play.
In the first year under former Murray State head coach Matt McMahon, the fast start was encouraging, but it was a mirage.
The team finished 14-19 overall with a 2-16 record in SEC play, at one point losing 14 straight games, tying for the second-longest losing streak in program history.
The team had only three returners entering the season in the wake of the program’s recruiting scandal and former coach Will Wade’s departure, and the team made up of transfers never fully gelled.
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LSU’s favorable opening schedule last year had a lot to do with the impressive early results. The Tigers played only one team that finished the season ranked in the top 80 of the KenPom rankings: Kansas State, who defeated them 61-59.
Though LSU’s 13-game non-conference schedule this year is still mostly made up of teams that rank below 200 in the preseason KenPom rankings, it’s certainly tougher than it was the year prior.
Here are three key matchups to look out for in LSU’s non-conference schedule this year.
Dayton, Nov. 16
LSU will face Dayton as part of the Charleston Classic in TD Arena.
Dayton will be the first real test of the season for LSU after early matchups with Mississippi Valley State and Nicholls. Dayton slots in at No. 69 in the preseason KenPom rankings, with LSU at No. 47.
Last year, Dayton finished 22-12 and missed the NCAA Tournament after falling as the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament. They’re predicted to finish first in the conference this year.
The Flyers return four starters from last year, but the headline is star center DaRon Holmes II, most likely a future NBA player. Last year, as a sophomore, he averaged 18.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game and led the nation in dunks.
Also returning is Malachi Smith, who operates as a traditional point guard with good decision-making for one of the slowest offenses in the nation. He’s coming off an offseason in which he had surgery on both of his ankles, an injury that cost him 15 games last year.
Depending on the results of the Dayton game, the Tigers could run into any of several other tough teams that are attending the Charleston Classic, including St. John’s under new head coach Rick Pitino or Houston, ranked No. 7 in the AP poll.
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Kansas State, Dec. 9
The Tigers will face Kansas State for the second consecutive season after seeing them in the finals of the Cayman Islands Classic last year. This year’s contest will be hosted in Baton Rouge on Dec. 9.
Kansas State is coming off a season where it finished No. 15 in the final AP poll and made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament as a three-seed before falling to Florida Atlantic.
The Wildcats open this season ranked No. 25 in the preseason KenPom rankings with the No. 17 defense and are receiving votes in the preseason AP poll.
Last year’s impressive season, the first under former Baylor assistant coach Jerome Tang, was driven by two of the country’s best players in Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell. Both were key parts of the tournament run and have now graduated.
The leading returning scorer is center Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who averaged 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season, but much of the offensive load is expected to be carried by transfers Tylor Perry and Arthur Kaluma.
Perry comes over from North Texas after being named the Most Outstanding Player en route to an NIT championship. He averaged 17.3 points on the season while shooting 41.3% from three-point range.
Kaluma is a transfer from Creighton who averaged 11.8 points and six rebounds last year. Though he has shot only 29.1% from deep in his college career, he isn’t hesitant from there, with 3.4 attempts per game.
That’s a theme on this Kansas State team full of players that can space the floor and will be empowered this season by a new five-out offense.
Texas, Dec. 16
LSU will square off against the Texas Longhorns in Houston in the Toyota Center for the Halal Guys Showcase.
Texas opens the season ranked No. 18 in the AP poll and has the No. 6 defense in the nation according to KenPom.
Last season, the Longhorns finished as the Big 12 tournament champions and made it to the Elite Eight last season as a two-seed, falling to Miami.
Texas lost its top three scorers to graduation, but graduate transfer Max Abmas will look to pick up the slack. Abmas took the college basketball world by storm during the 2021 March Madness Tournament in which he led 15-seed Oral Roberts to the Sweet 16. He’s the NCAA’s active scoring leader with an absurd average of 20.8 points per game.
Beyond Abmas, Texas has returning starters in guard Tyrese Hunter and big men Dylan Disu and Dillon Mitchell, a sophomore who’ll have an expanded role this year after a freshman year in which he started 38 games but was little more than a screen-and-roll big.
With the dismissal of head coach Chris Beard (now leading Ole Miss) after an assault arrest, former interim head coach Rodney Terry has the chance to lead his Texas squad for a full year with big expectations.
