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The Kentucky Wildcats suffered a heart-breaking loss to Saint Peter’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Many were set for Murray State vs. Kentucky, both teams in the Bluegrass State, to meet for the first time in history.
The Racers, like the Cats, then lost to the Peacocks.
While head coach Matt McMahon, Murray State’s leader, didn’t have to prepare for Kentucky in the tournament, he may have to next season, as the LSU Tigers are set to hire him as their new head coach.
The program may be hit with sanctions following Will Wade’s Notice of Allegations. It still garnered a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament but quickly lost to the Big 12’s Iowa State Cyclones.
Sources: LSU is expected to hire Murray State's Matt McMahon as the school's new coach. Announcement could come as soon as this afternoon.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 21, 2022
Coming into the tournament, McMahon’s Racers had just two losses, one to Auburn and the other to ETSU, running through the Ohio Valley and adding a conference tournament title to their program history.
McMahon had helped build the program into the mid-major powerhouse it is today. He has been the head coach since the 2015-2016 season for the Racers, posting a 154-67 record in his head coaching career, all seven years coming with Murray State. He had three tournament trips, winning a game in two of the three.
As for Wade’s tenure, he spent five seasons with the Tigers, managing a tournament berth in three of them. At his peak, he led the Tigers to the third seed yet lost in the regional semifinal. This will be the Tigers' third head coach since 2011.
With this hire, both coaches (Florida hired San Fran’s Todd Golden) from the Murray State-San Fran first-round matchup will be in the SEC. With both teams having been ranked in the top 35 via KenPom to end the season, their hires were clearly well-warranted.