The Preview: LSU Women's Basketball vs. Duke Blue Devils in Sweet 16 Matchup

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU women’s basketball is set to compete in the NCAA Sweet 16 Friday night in the Golden 1 Center, home of the Sacramento Kings, as the No. 2 seed Tigers will face off against the No. 3 seed Duke Blue Devils.

For the seventh time overall and the second time this season, LSU and Duke will meet on the basketball court. The Tigers and Blue Devils will face off in the NCAA Sweet 16 round at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., home of the NBA’s Kings. LSU and Duke have met four times in the NCAA Tournament with LSU holding a 2-2 record.

In the national tournament, LSU has won a Sweet 16 (2000: W, 79-66) and Elite Eight matchup (2005: W, 59-49), while falling in Final Four (2006: L, 64-45) and second round (2010: L, 60-52) games against Duke.

The teams met in the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge most recently at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where LSU got down by double digits early and came back to secure an emphatic 93-77 victory on the road.

Friday’s contest is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. CT on ESPN with Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Debbie Antonelli (analyst) and Jess Sims (reporter) on the call. Fans can tune into the LSU Sports Radio Network with Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams calling the action.

Coach Kim Mulkey’s record in NCAA Tournament games at home improved to 26-2 with victories over Jacksonville and Texas Tech, while LSU’s home record in the NCAA Tournament moved to 27-4.

Mulkey has led LSU to five straight seasons as a host site, which is the most in succession for the program.

With Mulkey at the helm in national tournament games at home, LSU is 9-1. Now, Mulkey has LSU in its fourth-straight Sweet 16, 18th overall and the 32nd of her coaching career as an assistant and head coach.

LSU is seeking a fourth consecutive Elite Eight appearance under Mulkey.

Mulkey picked up her 150th win at LSU with the victory over Jacksonville. She became the fastest head coach in LSU history to 150 wins.

Courtesy of LSU Tigers Women's Basketball.

Mulkey did so in 175 games coached. Since becoming a coach in 1985 as an assistant with Louisiana Tech, Coach Kim Mulkey has been to the NCAA Tournament every season except two (02-03: WNIT Finals; 19-20: COVID). As a head coach, Mulkey holds a record of 68-19 in the NCAAT. Her 68 wins ranks fourth all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

LSU had their 16th 100-point game this season against Texas Tech, establishing a D-I record (Long Beach State: 1986-87).

Through 34 games, LSU has averaged 95.3 points per game, which leads the nation. That mark would break the SEC record in scoring average set by Georgia in 1986 (32 games; 2,855 points, 89.2 average). The Tigers through its 34 contests have scored 3,240 points.

LSU leads the country in 3 statistical categories: bench points per game (38.6), rebound margin (17.1), and scoring offense (95.3).

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