LSU's Angel Reese-led superteam will look to find their first win of the college basketball season as they host Queens University later today. The defending national champions were stunned in their season-opener earlier this week as they were soundly beaten by #20 Colorado. It was the first time since 2020 that LSU had lost a season opener. Furthermore, it was the first time since 2009 that a Kim Mulkey-coached team had lost their season opener. Mulkey attributed the loss to a lack of toughness. However, she did not call out any specific players by name.
Much like Reese bounced back against Cuba after being humbled by Brazil in the AmeriCup, LSU is expected to bounce back against Queens. The ASUN school dropped their own season opener to Ole Miss 91-44. Last season, Queens finished dead last in their conference, going 8-21. 2022-23 was Queens' first season at the Division I level after transitioning from Division II.
LSU Superteam Yet To Be Super
Mulkey made headlines over the summer as she added the top two players in the transfer portal - Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow. However, it's clear that the growing pains are still present. Morrow, previously the heart and soul of DePaul and the country's seventh-best rebounder last year, finished with 6 points and 4 rebounds. Similarly, impact sophomore Flau'jae Johnson put up just 3 points. While a number of the younger players had solid games, it seems that the roster is still looking to find an overall cohesion that suits them.
While Reese put up a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Van Lith had 14 points of her own, some of the issues that experts noted about the new team are already present. Some criticized Mulkey for grabbing talent without having a solid plan on how to utilize it. While it's just one game, it's an issue that could stymie LSU's title defense. Amid a fairly weak conference schedule, LSU's next big test will be #8 Virginia Tech at the end of the month. LSU open SEC play against Missouri at the start of January.
[via]