Preview: No. 3 LSU Hosts Tennessee in Highly Anticipated Matchup
No. 3 LSU (20-0, 8-0 SEC) will put its undefeated record on the line Monday night in the PMAC at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2 as the Tigers welcome Tennessee (16-7, 8-0 SEC) to Baton Rouge for one of the most anticipated home games in years.
The PMAC is expected to be filled to capacity when the game tips of on ESPN2 with Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck. Fans should look to arrive early to the PMAC and doors will open one hour prior to tip. Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams will call the game on the LSU Sports Radio Network.
The LSU ticket office announced that due to high demand for Monday night’s game between No. 4 LSU and Tennessee that all advance tickets are no longer available.
A limited number of standing room only tickets may be available at tip-off based on available seats and space. If standing room only tickets do become available, fans may purchase them at located on the south side of the PMAC near the ramps.
For season ticket holders not able to attend the game, LSU offers a ticket forwarding program so that all tickets will be used. For more information, visit www.LSUsports.net/forward.
“Just get better,” Coach Kim Mulkey said of the team’s mindset. “Rebuild this program to an elite level. Get fans in the stands. “Beat somebody maybe along the way you weren’t supposed to beat. We have that opportunity Monday. We’re not supposed to beat Tennessee. They were picked second in this league preseason. They have more depth than we do. It’s going to be quite the challenge.”
Tennessee has faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation and may be the toughest test for the undefeated Tigers up to this point. The Lady Vols were selected in the preseason to finish No. 2 in the SEC, one spot ahead of the Tigers.
A preseason Top-5 team, Tennessee’s tough schedule has pushed them out of the polls. All six of the Lady Vols’ losses have come against teams that are currently in the AP Top 25. Since the start of SEC play though, the Lady Vols have found a groove with a perfect 8-0 conference record. They are coming off a 17-point loss on Thursday though against No. 5 UConn.
In Coach Mulkey’s second year in Baton Rouge and with nine new players, LSU has pieced together a 20-0 start for the first time in program history. Led by National Player of the Year candidate Angel Reese who has a LSU record 20 double-doubles in a row, LSU has defeated opponents by an average of +36.4 points per game (+24.9 in SEC play).
“We’re just going in with a positive mindset and doing whatever it takes to win,” Reese said.
Reese isn’t the only elite talent as LSU features star-power all around the court. Alexis Morris is one of the nation’s elite guards who has settled in nicely to her new role this year as a point guard. Flau’jae Johnson is the freshman phenom who scores 14.6 points per game. Jasmine Carson is an elite shooter from the perimeter and LaDazhia Williams is a glue player in the post that can do the dirty work that often goes unseen.
Guards Kateri Poole and Last-Tear Poa as well as freshman post Sa’Myah Smith all provide quality minutes of the bench for the Tigers.
“Something about this team that I’ve never been a part of is that we’re a team that can crituqe each other and be on each other so hard and it not be personal so I love that,” Reese said. “We push each other. We work hard in practice. We’re going to go as far as we can take this.”
The Tigers’ identity is defense and rebounding. LSU outrebounds opponents +22.1 and holds teams to 31.6-percent shooting from the field, both numbers that rank in the top three in the country.
With Tennessee, LSU will face a team that can match its size and athleticism. Rickea Jackson is new in Knoxville this year, transferring to Tennessee from Mississippi State. She leads the Lady Vols with 17.8 points per game. Jordan Horston, a 6-2 guard, scores 15.7 per game and leads the offense with 3.2 assists per game.
Jilliam Hollingshead is another weapon for the Lady Vols. The 6-5 forward had 11 points and nine rebounds in Thursday’s loss against UConn.
