Matt McMahon analyzes why LSU has struggled during first halves

LSU dropped their fifth game of the season on Saturday, falling to No. 19 ranked Texas 96-85 at The Halal Guys Showcase in Houston.

The Tigers’ losses this season have been highlighted by struggles in the first half, and Saturday was no different as they found themselves down 56-37 at the break to the Longhorns. LSU head coach Matt McMahon addressed the team’s second half woes in a press conference on Tuesday, breaking down what’s been going wrong for his team at the start of games.

“I think there’s a pretty simple formula that you’re finding, the differences in the two halves,” McMahon said. “The first half Saturday we gave up 10 points off second chance opportunities and we gave up 15 points off our turnovers. So 25 points there, self-inflicted so to say, and the second half that number came down to seven and so we limited their second chance opportunities and did a much better job of taking care of the ball.”

LSU looked much improved in the second half versus Texas on both ends of the floor, winning the scoring battle 48-40. But the Tigers were still not able to overcome their losing deficit similar to numerous other occasions this season.

The Tigers’ first half struggles started early in the season, suffering an upset loss to Nicholls in their second game of the year on a last-second three-point shot after entering the matchup as 19.5-point favorites. LSU was outscored 44-25 in the first half of that matchup, and they’ve also been outscored in the first half of each of their last three games.

LSU is 1-2 in that three-game stretch, but McMahon believes his team is trending in the right direction with plenty of games ahead of them.

“I think our defensive energy, intensity, and focus has been much better and then on the other side of the ball our offensive execution’s been much better. I think we had 44 [points] in the second half Wednesday and then 48 [points] in the second half Saturday,” McMahon said. “So I know we’ve talked about it before, but sustaining more consistent play in longer stretches continues to be an area of improvement for us.”

There are two games remaining in LSU’s non-conference schedule before SEC play begins, both of which are very winnable and will give the Tigers an opportunity to build momentum heading into January.

The Tigers’ next matchup is against Lamar on Thursday, which tips off at 9:00 p.m. ET and will air on SEC Network.