The LSU Tigers officially kick off their basketball season next week on Wednesday when the Tigers host the University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks. On Tuesday Night, LSU got its last preseason action facing Loyola New Orleans in an exhibition game. Playing an exhibition was important for this group as Matt McMahon is trying to gel returning players with incoming freshmen and transfers.
The Tigers dominated the scrimmage winning 110 - 48 including the first half where LSU won 54 -12. Matt McMahon started Cam Carter, Jordan Sears, Dji Bailey, Jalen Reed, and Robert Miller III which should give us a great idea of the starting lineup for the season opener.
Preseason Dub#BootUp pic.twitter.com/HSQJUXc024
— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) October 30, 2024
The transfers led the way for LSU and if there's a reason this team may exceed expectations, its because Cam Carter can carry this team. Carter scored 21 points in 21 minutes shooting 8 of 13 from the field, 5 of 8 from three with five rebounds and three assists.
The impact of Jordan Sears was also seen as he scored 16 points making 4 three pointers and three steals. Richmond transfer Dji Bailey made his impact felt as well scoring ten points with three rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals. Transfer Noah Boyde is still recovering from an injury so he did not appear in this exhibition.
If this team is going to exceed its expectations, it'll be because the transfers took this team to another level thanks to the scoring ability of Carter and Sears.
This game also gave Matt McMahon a good idea of how his three talented freshmen may work their way into the equation. Curtis Givens III led the way scoring ten points, two assists, a rebound, and a steal. Vyctorius Miller scored nine points with a pair of assists and rebounds and Robert Miller scored seven points while tying for the team lead with nine rebounds while starting.
This team has the pieces to exceed expectations
While it has only been exhibition game, this team showed you its path toward exceeding expectations in 2024-25. The Tigers want to go fast on offense pushing the pace while also shooting often from three where they shot over 48%. The biggest concern right now is with the bigs as the Tigers are dealing with a few injuries but, the guards on this team are extremely talented.