The LSU Lady Tigers will find out Sunday night who they will play in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The defending national champs won ten in a row before losing to South Carolina last Sunday. ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme predicts LSU will be a two seed.
“Should they be considered for a number one, and the answer is no,” said Crème. “The nonconference schedule is not what the committee usually would like to see, and they do have a couple of losses, albeit a way to back to Auburn and Mississippi State.”
Since LSU will be a top four seed in a regional, they will host the first two rounds of the tournament and their first game will be either Friday or Saturday.
LSU has requested they play on Friday and hold the second-round game on Sunday to avoid a conflict with the SEC Gymnastics Championships in New Orleans on Saturday.
If LSU is a two-seed, they will face a 15-seed in the first round. In Crème’s latest bracket at espn.com, he has the Lady Tigers facing Jackson State. JSU played LSU two years ago in the tournament and nearly upset the Lady Tigers. LSU ended up surviving and advancing by winning 83-77.
Other potential 15 seeds coming to Baton Rouge are Norfolk State out of the MEAC and the Rice Owls who received an automatic bid after winning the American Athletic Conference despite being a ten seed.
Crème has Creighton and Miami as the other two teams coming to Baton Rouge. The Lady Tigers defeated the Hurricanes in a low-scoring Sweet 16 game last year, 54-42.
Crème says a potential matchup for LSU in the Sweet 16 round is UCONN.
The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament has just two regional sites. This year they are Albany, New York and Portland, Oregon.
Since the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee cannot have two teams from the same conference as the top two seeds, there’s a good chance South Carolina will go to Albany and LSU to Portland. If the Lady Tigers can get past to the Elite Eight, a potential matchup with Stanford or USC awaits LSU.
The NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Show is at 7 PM.