It has been a rough couple of years for Matt McMahon at the helm of the LSU Tigers Men's basketball team. Finally, though, they are starting to enter the national conversations once again.

ESPN's Jay Bilas, one of the most respected national voices on Men's college basketball, recently released his highly anticipated 'best 68 teams' list. It provides a preview of the teams he views as having the best chance of making the NCAA tournament before the season really gets underway.

After three years of missing the tournament and being .500 in conference play, or far worse, the Tigers cracked the list at the No. 68 spot. This is what Bilas had to say about his decision to include them:

"McMahon has one of the better teams of his four-year tenure in Baton Rouge -- and after a losing record in his first three years, he needs a dance ticket. His best bet is UNLV transfer Dedan Thomas Jr., a former top-40 recruit who averaged 15.6 points for his hometown squad last season."

The fourth-year head coach pretty much reworked this roster entering this season and Thomas was certainly the biggest name that he added.

Previously with UNLV Rebels for two years, Thomas has averaged 14.5 points, 4.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds on 43.2/35.8/73.1 shooting splits. He was the No. 15 overall player in the transfer portal this offseason and the sixth-best point guard, per 247sports.

It will be especially interesting to see how to looks with McMahon, who helped Ja Morant become one of the most exciting young guards in college basketball with the Murray State Racers.

Thomas has a similar play style and should be able to thrive in McMahon's offense. A star, trustworthy point guard is something that LSU has lacked for years now.

It's also not the only position that the Tigers overhauled, just the most high-profile one.

Michael Nwoko, Rashad King, Max Mackinnon, Jalen Reece, Mazi Mosley and Matt Gilhool were all also players added that were ranked as four star transfers or freshmen. Ron Zipper is a 22-year-old freshman that has professional experience in Israel.

McMahon was given all of the NIL resources that he needed to reshape this roster over the offseason. If there isn't significant progress made, like a trip to the tournament, he will likely join Brian Kelly in the pile of failed Scott Woodward hires as the team looks for someone else to hand the keys to.