Kim Mulkey: ‘I think people want to see’ a potential LSU-South Carolina rematch

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The most intriguing possibility that the 2024 Southeastern Conference tournament has to offer is a chance for LSU and South Carolina to clash again. 

Earlier this season, the two women’s basketball giants met in Baton Rouge for a thrilling January game, which South Carolina won 76-70. Kim Mulkey’s LSU squad nearly toppled the undefeated Gamecocks. But a couple late Raven Johnson 3-pointers staved off an upset. 

So, Mulkey had to wait to pick up her first win over South Carolina since she’s coached at LSU. Her next chance could come as early as Sunday, for the 3 p.m. SEC tournament title game. 

“It would be great for the game,” Mulkey told The Advocate Thursday. “It would be great for the SEC. It would be great for television. I think people want to see the two teams that finished at the top, and it would just give us another opportunity to beat a team that no one else seems to have been able to beat.”

Before they meet, each squad first must win two games. No. 1 South Carolina will face Texas A&M Friday at noon, and No. 2 LSU will play the winner of the No. 10 Arkansas-No. 7 Auburn game, which tips off 6 p.m. Thursday. 

“It’s not the most important game on the schedule,” Mulkey said. “The most important game on the schedule starts the weekend of the 21st of March, those important games.”

Seeding Update

An SEC tournament win would, of course, be a nice addition to LSU’s NCAA Tournament resume. 

ESPN’s latest bracket projection, released Monday, gives the Tigers the No. 2 seed of the Portland 2 region. That tracks with the NCAA selection committee’s latest reveal of its current top-16 seeds. In that glimpse, LSU was ranked ninth overall and given a No. 3 seed. 

“I feel like we’re in the top-16,” Mulkey said, “and wherever they want to put us, they’re going to put us, whether we win the thing or whether we lose in the first game. We’re one of the top 16 teams in the country. Just use the eye test.”