By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – When it came to March Madness post-season basketball tournament bids being announced Sunday, it was a matter of “where” for the LSU women and “if” for the LSU men.
Women’s third-year head coach Kim Mulkey’s No. 8 ranked Tigers, sporting a 28-5 overall record (13-3 SEC), received a No. 3 seed in the Albany 2 Regional. They’ll host first and second-round games in the PMAC, starting with a first-round Friday 3 p.m. matchup vs. No. 14 seed Rice (19-14).
Men’s second-year head coach Matt McMahon’s team, which rallied in the last 3½ weeks of the regular season to finish 17-15 and 9-9 in the SEC, was selected to the 32-team National Invitation Tournament field. They’ll host North Texas (18-14) on Tuesday night at 6.
The NCAA women’s tourney selection committee did defending national champion LSU no favors with its seeding and regional assignment.
Not only did the Tigers not receive a No. 2 seed as expected, but they were placed in the same regional as six other Associated Press top 25 teams – No. 1 Albany 2 regional seed Iowa, (which lost to LSU in last season’s national championship game, No. 2 seed UCLA (25-6), No. 4 seed Kansas State, No. 5 seed Colorado (which beat LSU in the season-opener in November in Las Vegas) No. 6 seed Louisville, No. 7 seed Creighton and No. 10 seed UNLV.
“I don’t care about the seeding,” Mulkey said Sunday night. “You just want to get a first and second-round game at home.”
In Mulkey’s 24 seasons as a head coach (21 at Baylor, 3 at LSU), this will be her 22nd NCAA tournament appearance. She ranks first all-time in Final Four winning percentage (88.9, 8-1), fourth in NCAA tourney winning percentage (77.9, 60-17) and fourth in tourney wins (60).
The biggest question for Mulkey’s depth-starved team after its SEC tourney finals loss eight days ago to No. 1 South Carolina was its health.
SEC Player of the Year Angel Reese hobbled through the finals on a sprained ankle. Starting point guard Last-Tear Poa missed the championship game after sustaining a concussion in the Tigers’ semi-final win over Ole Miss. Starting shooting guard Mikaylah Williams, the Bossier City native and Parkway High grad, missed three games with a sore foot, then played sluggishly in the finals when her services were finally needed.
When LSU returned to practice on Thursday, Reese and Williams, the SEC Freshman of the Year, were ready to roll.
“Angel’s ankle is getting to 100 percent,” Mulkey said. “Mikaylah is great, she’s been practicing full speed.”
Poa, though, apparently has yet to clear concussion protocol.
“She’s better every day,” Mulkey said of Poa. “She told me she got on the treadmill today. We’re going to try and do some individual workouts. That’s a great sign.”
Mulkey is hoping the grit her ailing team showed in the SEC tourney carries over this week.
“It’s that time of year when you want to be playing your best basketball,” Mulkey said. “I really thought in the SEC Tournament we showed toughness and talent and a will to win.”
Rice earned its fourth NCAA tourney appearance in program history after winning the tournaent championship of the American Athletic Conference in their debut season.
The Owls entered the AAC tournament as a No. 10 seed and won four games in four days over No. 7 seed UAB (71-56), No. 2 seed North Texas (61-59), No. 3 seed Temple (60-57) and No. 9 seed East Carolina (61-41).
If the Tigers beat Rice, they’ll play Sunday or Monday against the winner of the other Baton Rouge first-round game between No. 6 seed Louisville vs. No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee State.
Tickets go on sale today at 9 a.m. on LSUtix.net. Season ticket holders are reminded that, since this is officially an NCAA event, they may not have the same seats they sat in throughout the regular season. All tickets will be sent via mobile delivery.
The Tigers men’s NIT matchup vs. North Texas will be a rematch of a game won 66-62 by LSU in November in the Charleston Classic.
“We are excited about the opportunity to continue our season in the NIT this week,” McMahon said. “Our players and coaches look forward to playing in front of our fans in the PMAC on Tuesday. We have great respect for North Texas.
Even though McMahon’s team won its last 5 of 7 regular season games starting with consecutive one-point wins at then-No. 11 South Carolina (64-63) and home vs. then-No. 17 Kentucky (75-74), LSU was thought to be barely on the NIT bubble heading into SEC Tournament.
Beginning this season, the NIT selection committee awards two automatic bids and a home game to the next two highest-ranked teams in the NET ratings from each of the Power 6 conferences after the NCAA tourney fills its field.
When LSU collapsed in the second half of last Thursday’s SEC tourney second-round 70-60 loss to Mississippi State, the Tigers’ post-season invite hopes were placed on life support.
Yet they were resuscitated quickly, thanks to a series of events involving fellow SEC members Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Texas A&M, all ranked ahead of LSU in the NET and still battling for an NCAA bid.
After losing to A&M in Thursday’s SEC tourney second round, Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said his team wouldn’t accept a bid from the NIT.
Then, Mississippi State and A&M advanced to Saturday’s semifinals with Friday quarterfinals upsets of league champion Tennessee and No. 2 seed Kentucky respectively.
According to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, those wins vaulted the Bulldogs and Aggies solidly into the 68-team NCAA tourney field.
And just like that, the chances of the Tigers extending their season improved experientially. They were confirmed when eight SEC teams (including Mississippi State and Texas A&M) received NCAA tourney bids on Sunday.
“We invite all of our LSU fans, students, former players, and community to join us on Tuesday night in creating a home-court advantage in Baton Rouge,” McMahon said.
Tickets for the game will all be general admission at $20 a ticket for adults and $10 a ticket for youth and are available beginning Monday at 9 a.m. in person at the LSU Athletics Ticket Office and online at LSUTix.net.
The first 1,500 LSU students will be admitted free to the game. There will be no reserved parking for the game. Parking will be available in the various lots around the Maravich Center.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com