LSU men’s basketball head coach Matt McMahon sat down with the media Thursday afternoon to preview his team’s upcoming game against the SMU Mustangs at the Smoothie King Center on Saturday in the Compete 4 Cause Classic.
For the Mustangs and Tigers, the Compete 4 Cause Classic is more than just a game. The event aims at promoting community impact and engagement across New Orleans and provides student-athletes to use their platforms to inspire underrepresented youth in New Orleans.
For McMahon, he’s excited for a top SEC vs. ACC matchup that will give his players experience in a professional basketball setting as well as a chance to make an impact within New Orleans.
“The opportunity to play in an NBA arena is great for our players,” McMahon said.
“There’s a small community service piece to the event on Friday night where our players will get to spend some time with a couple youth organizations in New Orleans that I think will be great for our players and our program.”
After a rough matchup against the Texas Tech Red Raiders last week, LSU (8-1) will face another tough team in SMU (9-1). The Mustangs are No. 2 in the ACC and are ranked No. 20 in scoring in the country. With five of its players averaging double-digits points, the Mustangs will be a huge test for LSU to prove if the Tigers can compete against a high scoring offense.
“I think they’re (SMU) a legitimate top 25 team in the country,” McMahon said. “We approach every game the same way, but I do think our players have a sense of urgency to respond the right way.”
“I think you look at the explosiveness of SMU… one of the fastest playing teams in the country. Our transition defense will have to be really good and we have to improve our ability to defend the three-point shot.”
For McMahon, he understands that this game will be back and forth, but will come down to which team can create the most plays on offense to get a win in New Orleans.
With LSU only scoring 58 points against Texas Tech and shooting 17% from the three-point line, it made most fans concerned about the future of this team under McMahon; however, the Tigers are using this adversity as fuel ahead of Saturday.
“I think there’s an extra urgency going into every game,” McMahon said.”You only get to put that jersey on, guaranteed 32 times a year.”
“We’ve got high character people that are all about the right things .. that’s disappointed in our performance on Sunday (against Texas Tech).. and is very committed to getting better as a team and knows the challenge that SMU presents with their balance both inside, outside, offensively, defensively.”
LSU will face SMU Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
