On verge of AP Top 25, LSU welcomes Southeastern Louisiana

LSU is off to arguably its best start of the Matt McMahon era as it continues its nonconference slate against Southeastern Louisiana on Friday night in Baton Rouge, La.

The Tigers (9-1), who have yet to be ranked in McMahon's three-plus seasons at the helm, are receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. They bounced back from an 82-58 loss to No. 19 Texas Tech on Dec. 7 with an 89-77 victory over SMU on Saturday in New Orleans.

"This was an important step for us, how we handled the loss at Texas Tech, how we prepared this week," McMahon said. "The urgency and edge that we came out and played with tonight. Really proud of our players."

LSU re-established its identity against SMU, winning the points in the paint battle 50-38.

"I love the 50 points in the paint," McMahon said.

Marquel Sutton (23 points, 12 rebounds), Dedan Thomas Jr. (16 points, 12 assists) and Pablo Tamba (14 points, 10 rebounds) all had double-double performances for LSU. Max Mackinnon added 22 points, courtesy of 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.

For the season, Thomas is the leading scorer with 15.3 points per game followed by Michael Nwoko (15.2) and Sutton (13.6). The Tigers are 5-0 at home, but they haven't played at the Maravich Center since Nov. 21.

SE Louisiana (4-7), meanwhile, has gone 1-5 on the road. The Lions opened the season with a four-game losing streak and have lost two of their last three. They are coming off a 70-69 home loss to East Texas A&M on Monday.

Jeremy Elyzee has been the Lions' top threat, averaging 12.4 points per game followed by Isaiah Gaines with 10.5. Gaines scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the loss to East Texas A&M.

Since 2009, LSU is 6-0 against their rival 40 miles to the east in Hammond. LSU won the last matchup 73-66 on Dec. 1, 2023. That was the closest game as the previous five were lopsided victories for the Tigers.

--Field Level Media