Kim Mulkey's Take: LSU Advances To NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 To Play Duke Blue Devils

Kim Mulkey and the LSU Tigers remain alive in the NCAA Tournament after advancing to the Sweet 16 following a lopsided 101-47 victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

In the third quarter, LSU pushed its offensive momentum to outscore Texas Tech, 33-7 with Flau’Jae Johnson pacing the Tigers across the second half with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists. LSU shot 17-of-30 (56.7%) while Texas Tech was 9-of-38 (23.7%). LSU outrebounded Texas Tech, 28-14.

The Tigers are back in action on Friday, March 27 for the NCAA Regional Semifinal to face the Duke-Baylor game winner. The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT inside the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.

What were Mulkey's thoughts on the Sunday win? What's next for the LSU Tigers?

Kim Mulkey's Take: Sweet 16 Edition

Q. Coach, I asked Jada if she felt like she had taken a step up defensively, and she gave a lot of credit of you calling her out, saying that she needed to get to work. What have you seen out of her?

KIM MULKEY: I just think Jada, she's a winner. She won four state championships in high school. She's a true point guard, but she has a tremendous shot. She didn't like sitting the bench last year and she took it upon herself in the summer to get the work in that she needed knowing the system better now.

Jada, she's extremely intelligent when it comes to the Xs and Os, and she figures it out defensively. She's guarded some of the best players in the country as a sophomore. She's our little engine out there.

Courtesy of LSU Tigers Women's Basketball.

Q. You talk about experience, especially in the postseason. You're facing a team with 11 veterans, only one freshman, one sophomore. What do you expect to see out of Texas Tech?

KIM MULKEY: Yeah, they have a lot of transfers that, you know, have played a lot of college basketball. Very well coached. Play together. Lot of activity. They're really, really -- they are really good. There's no just one superstar, they all are pretty comparable to each other.

Q. Coach, both your players were saying that as a staff, you guys don't let them get comfortable with their defensive game. Sometimes maybe their defensive effort can be overlooked by all the points that they're able to score. Just what have you seen from the defense so far this season?

KIM MULKEY: I still think we can do better. I think the second quarter yesterday is a classic example. We didn't break it down because we have to move on, but if we were in regular season we would take that second quarter and we would just show it in great detail on what did we not do in that second quarter that allowed them to shoot so good?

Defense and rebounding, you never let up. You have to constantly make that a priority in your program, and every day we're constantly showing them more of that than offense. Their offensive skills, they usually come to you with that, you just don't screw it up as a coach. You run some plays that are conducive to what they do well.

But defensive rebounding, we've got to all be on the same page there. So they're probably pretty accurate in saying that we never let them get comfortable.

Now, we acknowledge when they do good. You have to make sure that you acknowledge and you show them. We pick defensive players of the game and we show them the charges and we have stuff on our walls. We acknowledge defense.

Q. Coach, speaking of defense, the Texas Tech players were mentioning how they want a full court press all four quarters. Without giving away the game plan, what are some of the advantages of a team pressing you full court, and is that something you want to get them out of immediately?

KIM MULKEY: I don't think they're going to get out of who they are, they've been doing that all year. We've seen it all year, Texas full court presses.

Just be able to handle the ball, don't turn it over. When you get by them, go score at the other end. But we're prepared for all of that. They're going to do what they do, we're going to do what we do. Some tweaks here and there maybe, but your identity is already established.

So yeah, they really, really play hard.

LSU Tigers Women's Basketball: Gary Redus. — Courtesy of Gary Redus via X.

Q. You've had a lot of teams that have scored a lot of points over the years. Have you embraced this style of play that y'all are playing now even more in recent years? And the players mentioned, they said it's the show. Playing an entertaining style of basketball seems to be important to you as well. Most important to win of course, but it seems like that's a component for you that you want to be an entertaining team?

KIM MULKEY: Well, no. I don't sit down and say this is what we have to do to be entertaining or sit down and say this is what we do because we're the show.

I just allow players to have a little freedom offensively. I liked when I played, let's get up and down the floor. So I've got a lot of athletes, man. Let's go. Who wants to walk it up the floor and wait for a post player to come down there and post up?

Go back to your question about a press. Presses allow you to get up and down the floor. So it can work either way. I think it just evolves. I think it's your personnel, I think it's your players. Yeah, I don't coach the offensive side any different than I did when I got here or when I was at Baylor. The players do that.

Q. Coach, what can you say about what Krista Gerlich's been able to do this year in turning around that program?

KIM MULKEY: Well, I'm glad you're here. I'm going to reminisce a little bit, if I may.

I remember when I was hired at Baylor. I got in the Big 12. Baylor was the bottom of the Big 12. I walked in the United Spirit Arena, I don't know if it's even called that anymore but it was, to play Texas Tech. I looked at that crowd and said, hmm, what have I gotten myself into here?

Then I said to myself, I hope someday this is what it feels like at Baylor.

And you must remember Marsha Sharp was coaching then. Jody Conradt was at Texas. Bill Finley was at Iowa State. Kansas State was unbelievably good with Deb Patterson. Sherri Coale was so good at OU.

All of those coaches made me a better coach because I aspired to build something at Baylor like they had all built.

Then I saw Coach Sharp last night. I was hoping that she would be here. She, before we played them one year at Baylor, came to my office and sat down, and I'll never forget, I said, Coach, I don't know if this is -- this coaching is for me. I said, this losing eats at me. I said, I'm a point guard that's used to having that ball in my hands and winning a ballgame. As a coach, you're really helpless somewhat.

And I'll never forget what she said to me. She said, Kim, as you age in this profession, you will learn to compartmentalize, and while the losing will still eat at you, you will be able to handle it as you age.

I won't ever forget her doing that. And we're getting ready to play them that night.

Marsha Sharp won how many National Championships? One, right? I have the utmost respect of Texas Tech and the people in West Texas. Do you realize I know the people here don't -- she has a freeway with her name on it, does she not?

I was like, this is awesome. This is an area that appreciates what she has done. So every time we would go to Lubbock, my staff and I would make the bus driver get on the Marsha Sharp Freeway to remind us, hmm, that's pretty special. They didn't have to wait till she died to do it, or even to retirement, right? That just impacted me as a coach. When she retired, I thought she got out too early.

So Krista and Sheryl Swoops, zone defense. I still tell this story today. Can you tell me how many women's basketball teams won a National Championship and they have played zone defense as their primary defense? I can only think of one and that's Texas Tech.

Linden Weese was one of her assistants. I still think of a play I stole from him on an in-bounds.

Krista is a product of those years, so I'm not surprised at what she is doing. She's at the right place that saw her as a player, gave her time. She's coached her daughter. How many of us get to do that? What a blessing that is.

So it's amazing, but I'm not surprised.

Q. Broader question about the tournament. What did you make of the victory margins so far, some of the big victory margins so far in the first round of the tournament, especially posed by top-4 seeds?

KIM MULKEY: I know you won't believe this, but I haven't seen them. I saw ours. I have not seen them. We got up here at 11:00 today, 10:30, and I haven't looked at my phone, I haven't looked at anything.

I believe this on both the men's and women's side: The games are closer because of transfer portal and NIL. I do believe that.

Now, some may not be, but I think you're seeing when the announcers talk, they'll go, well, he used to be at this school and this school and this school, and man, you see an upset. And that's why you're seeing more of that. But I haven't seen any scores.

Q. (No microphone.)

KIM MULKEY: On the women's side?

Q. Yeah.

KIM MULKEY: Well, maybe you're trying to make me look bad and I don't really -- I don't know. I just know used to be 40-point victories, right?

Back when I played, there were only about three teams that could within a Natty every year, only about three teams, and now I think that potentially you could have more than that that can win a Natty. I think LSU's a classic example of that three years ago. We were a 3-seed, we weren't supposed to win it and we did.

Q. Just a followup on your story you were telling. You talked about how you still remember Coach Sharp giving you advice. Krista talked about the other day you giving her advice. Maybe you don't even remember those encounters, but I'm just wondering if you do.

KIM MULKEY: I don't remember a lot. I remember, certainly remember her as a player, and then she was on Marsha's staff for a while while I was on Barmore's staff for a while at Louisiana Tech, and remembered what that was like. Is this really what I want to do? Is this what I'm supposed to do? This is all I've ever known.

And if any advice that I gave her, I'm sure she shared with you, it was probably more impactful for her to hear it from me like Pat Summit was to me when I asked her about can I do this and be a mother, too.

It wouldn't be anything that I purposely did. It was probably just done in passing, seeing a former player at her alma mater like I was, and what did Pat say to me that I could share with her, it was probably more along those lines.

Q. (No microphone.)

KIM MULKEY: Yeah, our children. Pat, I just said, when I was pregnant with Makenzie, my oldest, Pat pulled me to the side. We were getting ready to play them and she said, don't you get out, you can do both, you can do both, you can be a mom, you can coach. I probably said something along those lines.

All we are is a memory in life. We have memories. What wonderful memories I have of playing and coaching, but as a mother, there aren't many of us that got to coach our child. There just aren't. I probably should have played my kid a little sooner. I think Krista played hers early. Mine was on a 40-0 team with Griner and that crew. What a blessing it was to coach Makenzie, but I'm sure Krista has those same feelings.

Q. Coach, what concerns you the most about the game tomorrow?

KIM MULKEY: You've got to handle their pressure, you've got to handle whatever changing defenses you may see. You're always worried when you get to playoff time, are we going to rebound the ball, are we going to defend good.

Probably nothing any different than playing in the SEC, you know. Everything worries you. So as you coach, you go into a game and you're worried about everything, I'm worried about this, I'm worried about that. Just go play. At the end of the day, coaches aren't going to decide this game. At the end of the day, players make plays.

Q. Off topic a little bit. Paul Mainieri is out at South Carolina.

KIM MULKEY: I did get that text from somebody, and I can't open it. It won't open.

Q. He said in part of the statement on him being out at South Carolina is that he's done with coaching. I'm wondering if you had any thoughts on that.

KIM MULKEY: Me? Are you trying to run me off? No, I'm -- no, no, no, no.

Oh, I thought you were talking about me getting out. Oh, I was like, dang, Scott, I know I'm old, but damn, I'm still young really.

I'm sure I will. I'm sure when I talk to Kramer, you know, Kramer went to the National Championship with Paul here and was his shortstop. Kramer's probably, you know, sad, you know, because he probably has just wonderful fond memories of Coach Mainieri.

I remember Kramer's first two years, and this is so typical. He was behind Alex Bregman. I think y'all probably heard of him, right? Well, you signed here knowing you were going to be behind Alex Bregman, so Paul would move him to second a little bit. Was hard on him, which great. No big deal.

But I think the lesson that Kramer can send to all athletes is the same lesson Flau'jae can send. He stayed four years at the same school. He took those tough lessons. He became a two-time All-American at shortstop here and played for a Natty. He was how many inches diving into home plate of winning that National Championship against Florida?

So he did it the right way. He got his degree. He turned down, I don't know if it was 11th or 12th round as a junior to come out in the draft and he said, no. He said, my crew, we're all coming back. He ended up being the fourth round pick of the Cardinals. Never had a regret in doing that.

I just, I miss seeing those types of athletes stay four years and show commitment and loyalty. I'm sure he has nothing but good things to say about Paul, and I certainly do.

Q. Isn't it harder to judge coaches these days because of all this stuff, because that record at South Carolina, he's a better coach than that, we know that, right?

KIM MULKEY: Well, I don't know his record. With everything that's going on with the portal, NIL money, your athletic directors and your administrators better understand what's really going on out there and be very fair in what you think is a good season.

I'm not sure how many are involved in portal discussions with coaches, or involved too much in NIL discussions with coaches. I would think their deputy assistants are.

It's tough. And then when you deal with athletics now in their public institutions, how much power does an AD even have anymore? Who rules their world? That's a scary thought as well.

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