The LSU Tigers were picked to finish 14th in the SEC in this year's preseason media poll, which feels a bit disrespectful after the one-year turnaround they made under Head Coach Matt McMahon last season.

In his first year at LSU, McMahon's squad won 14 games (only two in the SEC) and were one of the worst teams in the conference that year. However, after getting a full offseason to recruit transfers and high school players, McMahon fielded a team that went on to win nine of their 18 SEC games, including wins over No. 22 Ole Miss, No. 17 Kentucky and No. 11 South Carolina.

The Tigers did lose over 50 points per game of production this offseason, but they also added a ton of talented players to their roster. In the transfer portal, McMahon scooped up three talented guards in Jordan Sears, Cam Carter and Dji Bailey, who combined to average 46 PPG in 2023. Along with them, LSU added three top-100 recruits in Curtis Givens III, Robert Miller and Vyctorius Miller as well as a 7-foot JUCO transfer, Noah Boyde.

My point is, LSU may have lost a lot of talent and production, but they're also adding a lot of talent and production.

McMahon's Murray State teams that had a lot of success centered around elite guard play (i.e. Ja Morant). Last year, they lacked a true point guard who could bring the ball up the court, distribute and score at a high level. This year, he has that in Jordan Sears, a UT-Martin transfer who averaged 21.6 points per game while shooting 43.2% from three.

McMahon has the tools the make it to the NCAA Tournament this year, and while the SEC is always super talented, I'd be surprised if they finish 14th or worse in the league. There will undoubtedly be some teams who underperform, and I think this LSU squad is set up to exceed expectations.

Here's the full preseason media rankings:

1. Alabama

2. Auburn

3. Tennessee

4. Arkansas

5. Texas A&M

6. Florida

7. Texas

8. Kentucky

9. Ole Miss

10. Miss. State

11. South Carolina

12. Georgia

13. Missouri

14. LSU

15. Oklahoma

16. Vanderbilt

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