Kim Mulkey previews the Tigers season opener against Colorado

Kim Mulkey and the LSU Tigers are just days away from tipping off their 2024 regular season. They're coming off the programs first national championship, and after losing a few key pieces, Mulkey and the Tigers have reloaded. They're poised for another national championship run, but there are going to be some road blocks along the way.

The first of those road blocks comes in their very first game against No. 20 Colorado. This is a team that made the Sweet 16 before losing to the eventual runner ups in Iowa. They have a ton of experience on their roster which is centered around seven players who have 3+ years of college basketball experience.

Mulkey talked about Colorado and the challenge they present for this Tigers team that's looking to begin their journey back to the promise land.

"They're very poised. They have played lots of games together and it's a concern. I don't care how talented you are, experience matters, and they're outstanding. They're a very good team. They've got everything you need, they've got a quickness at the point guard that creates and makes a lot of things happen, they're big inside and then they've got three point shooters."

Kim Mulkey

It's no secret that Mulkey and LSU have a ton of super stars on this team. From Angel Reese to Haley Van Lith to Annesah Morrow, this squad is loaded with talent from the beginning to the end of the bench.

During the Tigers second exhibition on Wednesday night, Mulkey put out a starting five of Angel Reese, Annesah Morrow, Haley Van Lith, Flau'jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams. She liked the energy and selflessness she saw from this starting five on Wednesday, and they'll likely get the green light to open the season on Monday night.

"It was a better start than the previous exhibition, but it was a different group starting. I liked the way we started, I liked the way we shared the ball, I liked the energy from all of them and they kind of feed off each other. I still think during the course of the game they kind of coasted. They realized the score was what it was and I want them to understand that they're not going to coast come Monday. It is going to be a very, very hard fought basketball game Monday."

Kim Mulkey

While Mulkey seems to have her starting five for the season opener narrowed down, she has no idea who her starting five will be for each game. She says she'll change her lineup based on defensive matchups, and she feels she has the talent to move pieces around and still be successful.

"I could have a different starting five depending on who we play. That may be the starting five for Colorado based on matchups. Which five gives us the best matchups on the defensive end of the floor. We could play the next game and have Sa'Myah [Smith] in there with Angel [Reese], I could have a different wing player. That more than likely will be the lineup for the Colorado game unless something happens, and that is strictly based upon the defensive end of the floor right now."

Kim Mulkey

Last year, a lot of people in the national media gave Mulkey and LSU a hard time about their non-conference schedule. She told us last year that she plans to make the non-conference harder and harder as she builds a foundation for this program. This year, the Tigers will face two top-25 teams in Colorado and Virginia Tech during the non-conference portion of the schedule, but they still have a relatively weak non-conference schedule overall.

Mulkey talked about her teams non-conference schedule and what goes through a coaches mind when deciding which non-conference teams to schedule.

"People love to talk about our non-conference schedule. At what point does that stop? We won a national championship, coaches know what they're doing. We're not doing a schedule because you want to see certain matchups, we're doing a schedule because we know our team is better than anybody. Sometimes you over schedule, sometimes you under schedule. It doesn't effect you. You're trying to get better, and the last six games, if you make it that far, are what you're playing for."

Kim Mulkey

One thing nobody can say about this team is that they're starting the season off with a soft opponent. Many top teams will be playing smaller non-conference schools to start the season, but not LSU. They're traveling to take on a very good Colorado team in their season opener.

Mulkey says it's going to be a challenge and it's going to humble this team. She even said they may lose this game, but if they do, she won't be worried about this team. She knows win or lose, this game will only make this team hungrier than before.

"A top-20 team right out the gate is going to be a tremendous challenge for us...I would like to have eased into it [the schedule], but it was an opportunity to challenge us early, humble us early and it's not something that's going to devastate us if we lose. It's going to teach us, it's going to make the new ones understand, and when I say new ones I'm not just talking about the freshman who will play a lot of minutes, I'm talking about the new roles that some of our players will have to play. I don't think there's really a con to it besides that you might lose the game. You pick yourself back up and you get right back to work and you improve. For us I don't look at it as a pro or con, I look at it as an opportunity right out of the gate to play a very good team, to keep us hungry and humble, and make us better win or lose."

Kim Mulkey

With football kicking off against Alabama this weekend and both basketball's starting on Monday, this is an exciting week for LSU athletics. Make sure you grab your popcorn, find a comfy seat and enjoy the show, because this week should be a fun one for LSU fans.