This season has been a rollercoaster year for the LSU Men's Basketball Program as an incredible run in Non-Conference play turned into an abysmal year in SEC Play as LSU is currently 13-12 and 2-10 in SEC Play. The struggles for the Tigers led to questions around the overall direction of the program mainly with the Head Coach.
Matt McMahon is in the third year of his tenure at LSU and after showing signs of improvement in year two, the program took a massive step backward this season. As LSU racked up loss after loss, many began to question whether or not Matt McMahon would be fired as a large portion of the fanbase felt he isn't the man for the job.
On Monday, after the Tigers massive win over Oklahoma, Matt McMahon can exhale as On3's Shea Dixon reports that LSU will be retaining Matt McMahon while heavily investing in NIL.
NEW: LSU is sticking with head basketball coach Matt McMahon, @Sheadixon reports🐯
— On3 (@On3sports) February 17, 2025
The school plans to increase its NIL budget after being one of the lowest spenders in the SEC this season...
Story: https://t.co/hFf6gFIH1h pic.twitter.com/WpXObkmyKx
The news that LSU will keep McMahon while investing in NIL makes the most sense as it's better to invest the money in the right players rather than spending more money to buy an entire staff out while hiring a new staff leaving no money to spend on the roster.
The most disappointing part of the entire situation is to see that LSU was one of the lowest spenders on NIL in the SEC this season. In order to win in the NIL era, you have to spend the money on elite recruits and high end transfers and bargain bin shopping got LSU a result equal to their investment.
The investment in the program will allow everyone to see what Matt McMahon is fully capable of with the right pieces in place. If McMahon succeeds then LSU will likely be more committed to basketball going forward but, a failure will likely lead to some uncomfortable conversations.