What Kim Mulkey said ahead of LSU women's basketball's Sweet Sixteen game vs NC State
LSU women's basketball takes the court against NC State on Friday in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
In a rematch of a regular season game won by the Tigers, both teams will be fighting to keep their seasons alive. LSU. the No. 3 seed, will need to knock off the ACC Champions and second-seeded Wolfpack to face Ole Miss or UCLA in the Elite Eight.
Though the matchup was in November, head coach Kim Mulkey is convinced both teams haven't changed their style of play all that much. If anything, both teams are better following tough conference slates.
LSU finished third in the SEC and exited in the semifinals of the conference tournament but it reloaded thanks to the returns of Flau'Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow from injuries.
The pair got help from teammates in the first two games of March Madness. The Tigers scored over 100 points in each contest and allowed their defense to fuel their offense.
Here's what Mulkey said ahead of the Sweet Sixteen game against NC State.
Mulkey's scout on NC State
While she got familiar with the Wolfpack's personnel in November, Mulkey isn't relying on that game to prepare LSU for the Sweet Sixteen. Instead, she'll look at NC State's path to the ACC Championship, including its clutch play in close games.
"I think both teams are obviously better and we just have a ton of respect."
"We've looked at some film but they're better. We're better. They're ACC champs. We finished third in the SEC. They're supposed to win."
"They've won games on the road that were tough games. They were in tight games. They made the plays to win those games."
Wolfpack improved post play compliments guard-heavy lineups
NC State head coach Wes Moore relies on guard play, particularly leading scorer Aziaha James, to shoot his team to victory. Even with post players like Madison Hayes finding more success in the postseason, Mulkey is still focused on limiting the Wolfpack's backcourt.
"I'm sure their posts have developed and are better but they have four outstanding guards and they're not going to change their philosophy and all of a sudden become a post-dominant team. We know what their strengths are. We know what their improvements are"
"Those guards just have unbelievable range. Those guards can dribble, penetrate. They have to rebound as guards because they usually play their four guards together."
LSU rides team-centered wins into Sweet Sixteen
Every available Tigers saw the floor in the first and second round NCAA Tournament games. From point guards to wings and forwards, the entire roster has found scoring success thus far. Mulkey aims to keep her team confident and motivated to contribute when called upon against NC State with the season on the line.
"They're all playing very good basketball. They're excited. Everybody's looking to score. They're looking to share the ball. I just think having everybody back and everybody healthy. It's fun to watch them right now."
"You have to keep coaching. You have to keep demanding. I think our practices do that. You have to understand there are going to be down moments throughout a season and yet you don't get too high or too low and you just keep coaching them."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
8 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Can South Carolina turn last season's momentum into a breakthrough year behind LaNorris Sellers?
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Shane Beamer and the 13th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks are hoping to parlay momentum from last season's strong finish into a breakthrough 2025 campaign. The Gamecocks won their final six games last year before losing to Illinois 21-17 in the Citrus Bowl to finish 9-4 after barely missing out on the College Football Playoff. This year marks the first time South Carolina has been ranked in preseason AP Top 25 since 2014, when they debuted at No. 9. That brings added pressure to the Gamecocks, who'll look to navigate a brutal schedule that includes six games against Top 25 teams: Clemson (No. 4), Alabama (8), LSU (9), Oklahoma (18), Texas A&M (19) and Ole Miss (21). Beamer, who is 29-22 in four years at South Carolina and 15-17 against conference foes, said it is a welcome change. 'Yeah, I'd rather be ranked high and have those expectations than not,' Beamer said,. 'As a coach, when you're not ranked high, like we were last year, it's great because you can use that as fuel and motivation. But we want to be a team that's consistently ranked high in the top 10, top 15, going into every single season.' Senior defensive lineman Nick Barrett arrived in Columbia three years ago when the Gamecocks were coming off a 2-8 season, so he's seen the steady rise of the program. 'We just continue to come in with a chip on our shoulder, the team, to get better,' Barrett said. 'That last season was last season. We understand that's a whole different story; it's a whole new team. We gotta do something different this year. We can't just live off last year.' Selling high Much of the optimism surrounding the Gamecocks revolves around returning starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who threw for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions in 2024. The versatile Sellers also ran for 674 yards and seven scores, including a 75-yard scamper against LSU. 'If you had a good season the year before and your quarterback returns, you're probably going to be ranked pretty high,' Beamer said. 'And that's what we are.' ESPN projected Sellers as a mid-first round draft pick in 2026 in its recent mock draft. But the QB said he's not worried about playing at the next level right now, insisting his focus is on 'keeping my head down' and getting better on a daily basis. 'I know how much work I had to put in to get there, but I could also lose it quick,' Sellers said. Adde Beamer: 'I think we're going to be better around LaNorris as well on the offense — more depth and competition at pretty much every position. That's going to help him. He doesn't have to be Superman for us. Just continue to be the person he is, the leader that he is, and the player that he is.' Brotherly love Sellers said he is 'super excited' to play with his freshman brother, Jayden Sellers, who joined the school in the spring after enrolling early. Jayden Sellers led South Florence High School to a state championship last season after catching 59 passes for 1,016 yards and 14 touchdowns. He added 485 yards and 10 more TDs on the ground. 'Last time we played together with him was my senior, which was year three years ago,' the elder Sellers said. 'I was always quarterback. He played pretty much everywhere. And in rec league, he played running back, receiver, DB. He played that up until last year, senior year. I think he's fully receiver now. But that's all we used to do, throw a deep field run and he'd catch it.' Stewart of the game The defense will be anchored by 6-foot-5, 245-pound sophomore linebacker Dylan Stewart, who had 6 1/2 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries last season. He has already been named to the watchlist for the Walter Camp Award and Bronko Nagurski Award given to the nation's top defensive player. Football over Olympics South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor was viewed as an Olympic hopeful after finishing as a second-team All-American last year in the 100 and 200 meters. But Harbor has given up track to focus on football, where he was South Carolina's most targeted receiver last year. 'He's not just your everyday, 'I'm gonna go run the track team and have a good college career.' Like he could have run in the Olympics,' Beamer said. The schedule South Carolina will be challenged right away, opening against ACC foe Virginia Tech in Atlanta. The Gamecocks' schedule really begins to hit its stride in early October when they face five straight Top 25 teams including road games at LSU (Oct. 11), Ole Miss (Nov. 1) and Texas A&M (Nov. 15), and home games vs. Oklahoma (Oct. 18) and Alabama (Oct. 25). The Gamecocks close the season with their traditional rivalry game against Clemson at home on Nov. 28.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former LSU stars Joe Burrow-Jayden Daniels moment grabs attention after NFL clash
The post Former LSU stars Joe Burrow-Jayden Daniels moment grabs attention after NFL clash appeared first on ClutchPoints. The NFL preseason brought together two familiar faces from Baton Rouge, as former LSU Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels went head-to-head on Monday night. While the Cincinnati Bengals walked away with a 31-17 win over the Washington Commanders, the real headline came after the game—a heartfelt embrace between Burrow and Daniels that reminded fans of LSU's remarkable quarterback lineage. Joe Burrow, the 2019 national champion and 2020 Heisman winner, showed why Cincinnati is counting on him to set the tone early this season. Playing three possessions, Burrow completed 9 of 14 passes for 62 yards and one touchdown. His sharpest moment came on a four-yard strike to wide receiver Charlie Jones, capping off his final series of the night. Burrow also guided the Bengals on a 58-yard opening drive, finished by running back Chase Brown's one-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal. For a team that has often stumbled out of the gates in recent seasons, Cincinnati's preseason approach has been deliberate: keep the starters in long enough to build rhythm. Through two games with Burrow under center, the Bengals have scored touchdowns on four of five drives. 'Those reps are incredibly valuable,' Burrow said postgame. 'Usually you iron out those kinks in September, but we're getting that done now.' On the other sideline, Jayden Daniels, LSU's 2023 Heisman winner and reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, wasted no time reminding fans of his electrifying athleticism. In his lone possession, Daniels orchestrated a quick 74-yard drive that ended with a dazzling 14-yard touchdown run. Evading defenders and refusing to slide, Daniels powered straight through traffic to even the score at 7-7. The Commanders opted to keep his workload light, especially with several offensive starters sidelined. Daniels did not attempt a pass, but his legs proved more than enough. 'I'm just playing football,' Daniels said. 'I know it's preseason, but once I'm out there, it's a game to me.' When the final whistle blew, cameras caught the moment fans had been waiting for: Burrow and Daniels meeting at midfield, exchanging smiles, words of encouragement, and a long embrace. The hug was more than just a postgame ritual; it was a symbolic passing of the torch between LSU's back-to-back Heisman quarterbacks, each carving his own legacy in the NFL. For LSU supporters, it was a snapshot of pride. From Burrow's historic 2019 season to Daniels' dynamic 2023 campaign, the Tigers have produced generational talents who continue to make headlines beyond Baton Rouge. Social media lit up with reactions, with many fans calling it a 'full-circle LSU moment' and others pointing out that no program has showcased quarterback excellence quite like LSU in recent years. While the preseason matchup will quickly fade into the background as both teams prepare for the regular season, the Burrow-Daniels meeting will be remembered. For Cincinnati, Burrow's steady play suggests the Bengals are ironing out early-season issues that previously haunted them. For Washington, Daniels' brief but electric cameo is yet another reminder of why he's viewed as the future of the franchise. But for LSU fans, the scoreboard mattered less than the sight of two of their own embracing under the NFL lights, a moment that bridged past glory and future promise, and once again proved that LSU's quarterback tradition is alive and well. Related: Penn State's James Franklin gets brutally honest on fans being 'pissed' Related: Auburn's Hugh Freeze teases 3-QB plan vs. Baylor
CBS News
38 minutes ago
- CBS News
Keli Zinn, Rutgers University's new athletic director, says championships are "a big part of what drives me"
It's a new day for Rutgers athletics. Keli Zinn was named the university's next athletic director. She was formerly Lousiana State University's athletic director, and the first female athletic director for West Virginia. She will lead Rutgers University's 24 varsity sports, with over 730 student athletes. She has 15 national championships and 34 conference championships under her belt. At LSU,she helped lead the Tigers to four national championships including women's basketball, gymnastics, and twice in baseball, as well as multiple SEC titles in track and field and gymnastics. "The championship piece of it, that's a big part of what drives me. We have some incredible people here who have spent decades at Rutgers, and they want so much to experience that at the highest level of success. And I see part of my job as owing that to them," Zinn said. So how does she recruit the top tier student athletes, coaches and staff to assist with that goal? "It's going after the best. I'm going after that right now. And then get them in here to perform at a really high level," Zinn said. Zinn found creative ways to create program revenue at LSU, which even included a documentary series on Amazon Prime video. She said it all starts with getting in the win column. "We can certainly put up some good wins and show that there is progress being made," Zinn said. It's about cultivating a culture of winning, and sustaining it. "You hear a lot about that grit. You're going to see a mentality that starts at the top, where administrators believe in our success, our coaches believe that they can win here," Zinn said. "And that will translate to our recruits, our current student athletes, and everyone pushing in the same direction." "Keli Zinn brings the strategic drive, operational excellence, and championship pedigree we need right now for Rutgers Athletics," Rutgers President William Tate said when he announced her appointment. "Her leadership style resonates deeply with Rutgers' mission – competitiveness on the field, integrity in our practices, and excellence in the student‑athlete experience. She will guide Rutgers into a new era, with forward-looking leadership, tapping into the Rutgers edge."
