LSU men’s basketball head coach Matt McMahon spoke to the media ahead of a huge home game against the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Tigers have gotten off to a slow start in SEC play with three straight losses.

A determinant factor that has been challenging for the Tigers has been the absence of star point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it is still unclear if the lead guard will be able to play on Wednesday night against the Wildcats.

“He is making great progress, I don’t have a status report for the game tomorrow yet.” McMahon stated. “We’ll see how he is in practice today.”

McMahon also mentioned that Thomas Jr. has not yet been cleared for physical contact.

With Thomas Jr. possibly missing another game, Coach McMahon acknowledges that Kentucky is a strong team, especially defensively. He notes that in order for the Tigers to keep up with the Wildcats, they will need to clean a few things up.

“We have to start the game a lot better. It’s not just the first three or four minutes, it’s the first fifteen. We’ve got to be a lot better.”

In order for the team to play better, it all starts with the leaders of the team. Mike Nwoko looks to ramp up the elite play he showed in the first game of SEC play against Texas A&M where he hung up 21 points.

If Coach McMahon can unlock Nwoko early in this matchup with Kentucky, the Tigers will have a strong chance at picking up their first SEC win Wednesday night in the PMAC.