What Matt McMahon said after LSU's road loss to Tennessee

LSU fell behind 15-1 in the first half against Tennessee on the road, eventually losing 88-68 and falling to 4-5 in SEC play. Will Baker led the way with 16 points and eight rebounds, but the Volunteers’ offense was too much ending the game with 23 assists to seven turnovers and shooting 55.4 percent.

Here’s everything LSU head coach Matt McMahon said after the defeat.

Opening Statement

“Congratulations to Tennessee, obviously top-five team in the country for a reason. They were terrific in the first half and we just had no answer on either end of the floor. I was proud of our guys’ fight there in the second half to get it down to eight. But when you dig yourself that big of a hole, going to be impossible to get back in. You look at Tennessee’s execution offensively, 23 assists, obviously shot the ball incredibly well from three in the first half and then I thought the pressure really bothered us.

“… Played the way we would like to play in the second half. Took care of the ball. We were organized offensively, we moved the ball, we took high-quality shots. We were able to get our defense set and get some stops and work our way back in. But just didn’t have enough left in the tank there to get any closer than eight.”

How much Zakai Zeigler was the reason for Tennessee’s fast start vs. LSU

“Yeah, well he is a terrific point guard. We all know the importance and value of elite point-guard play. You saw how he played Saturday in Lexington. Really carried that over tonight. We were late on some closeouts to him and he hit some big threes. Just does a great job of organizing their team and getting the ball where it needs to go. And then when he is shooting it well from three, it makes him a really difficult cover because of his speed and quickness off the bounce.” 

The message at halftime after LSU trailed Tennessee 50-27

“I think we needed to try to get back to doing a better job of following our best plan of attack, which would be to have better ball security on offense. Do a better job executing on the offensive end. And then on defense, they just put so much pressure on you in transition and we did a poor job getting back and getting our defense set and they made us pay every single time. And then the three that they stepped up and knocked down a lot of open shots. 

But if you look at Tennessee, the games they won, I think they average 19 assists a game and (in) their losses they’re around 10. When the ball moves, they’re I think one of the best teams in the country in their movement (and) screening off the ball. College basketball has become so centered on the ball screen. I think Tennessee’s unique and their ability to move without the basketball and set off ball screens and really do a great job.”

What LSU did to try to slow down Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht (27 points)

“I think it’s important to note that they have really good players around Knecht. They’ve got some guys who are more experienced than NBA starting fives. So I think it’s obvious he’s turned himself into a top-10 NBA pick, but if you spend all your time locked in on him, Zakai Ziegler and (Josiah-Jordan) James go for 52 like they did on Saturday. So because of their balance, because they’re really good on the defensive end and so explosive offensively this year, it’s a tough cover. So the goal is just to make them work and try and make his shots as difficult as possible.”