The LSU Women's Basketball team did something no other team in program history was able to accomplish; winning the national championship.
In just her second season with the program, Kim Mulkey did what she came to LSU to do, but she's not done yet. She accomplished another first for LSU Women's Basketball, and that's being the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in the preseason AP poll.
The Tigers lost some key playmaker such as Alexis Morris and LaDazhia Williams, but Mulkey quickly reloaded her squad. Among retaining key players like Angel Reese, Mulkey brought in Haley Van Lith and Annesah Morrow, the No. 1 and 2 players in the transfer portal. She also added the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation that includes the top player in the class, Mikaylah Williams.
The Tigers currently have four games against ranked opponents this season. Obviously, the rankings are subject to change, but here are the four ranked matchups LSU has on their schedule as of Tuesday.
No. 1 LSU vs. No. 8 Virginia Tech
On November 30th, the Tigers and Hokies will get a rematch from their Final Four matchup. LSU won 79-72 after outscoring the Hokies 29-13 in the 4th quarter. The come-from-behind win helped the Tigers secure their first national championship in program history.
No. 1 LSU at No. 7 Ole Miss
The Tigers will have to wait over a month for their next ranked matchup. They will face Ole Miss on January 7th in Oxford, Mississippi. The last time these two teams met was February 16th of last season. The Rebels traveled to Baton Rouge for LSU's pink out game, and the Tigers came away with a 69-60 victory.
No. 1 LSU vs. No. 6 South Carolina
This time, the Tigers will only have to wait 2.5 weeks for their next ranked matchup. This may be the biggest game of them all as the Tigers are trying to get revenge for their lost to South Carolina last season.
In what was one of the most anticipated matchups of the year, No. 3 LSU visited No. 1 South Carolina in Columbia on February 12th, but the Tigers got down big early and were never able to climb back into it. The Gamecocks won 88-64 and handed LSU one of their two regular season losses.
No. 1 LSU at No. 11 Tennessee
This is the only ranked matchup LSU has this year in which the two teams met twice last season.
The first time, LSU was able to get the best of the Vols. The Tigers won a thrilling 76-68 matchup which was highlighted by one of the best PMAC crowds I've ever seen.
The next time these two programs met was in the SEC Tournament. This time, the Vols were able to squeak out a 69-67 win over the Tigers, eliminating them from the SEC Tournament earlier than many anticipated.
LSU has a tough road to repeating as national champions. With four ranked matchups against top-11 teams, Mulkey and LSU will have to win a lot of close games on their path to repeating.
Unfortunately, we don't get to see a national championship rematch with Iowa during the regular season, but maybe the two will meet again in Cleveland.
