The postseason has begun for LSU women’s basketball as the Tigers have claimed the No. 2 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and will have a double bye. 

As it is for any team, the Tigers have their eyes set on a conference tournament title and are looking to bring one home for the first time since 2003. However, it won’t be easy as they have some formidable foes in the tournament as well.

Alongside LSU, three other teams got double-byes, including South Carolina as the 1-seed, Ole Miss as the 3-seed and Alabama as the 4-seed. To get to the title game LSU will have to potentially go through two of those teams to get there. 

South Carolina

The first team is the South Carolina Gamecocks. After another undefeated season, they are the favorites once again to win the national title.

With the amount of talent and scoring ability on their team, it comes as no surprise. There have only been two teams to keep it within single digits with the Gamecocks this season, North Carolina and LSU.

In what was considered the game of the year, South Carolina took down LSU 76-70 in a hard-fought win, despite trailing as much as 11 in the first quarter.

It’s a game that LSU wishes it could have back. Tough shots made by Bree Hall and Raven Johnson down the stretch allowed South Carolina to pull away. Angel Reese also fouled out for the Tigers late in the fourth quarter which played a big role.

If these two meet up again it could be another close game as these teams have the most talented lineups in the country and rank inside the top three for points per game. The only possibility for these two to play would be in the title game.

The Tigers will need to stay out of foul trouble and can’t lose anybody in the game again as they did in the first matchup. Their defense has been the story for a lot of the season and it has gotten better over time but they have to be focused and communicate.

There were times in the game when South Carolina players had wide-open opportunities due to the lack of discipline from the Tigers. They will also need to create better shots for one another.

Mikalyah Williams is one of the most talented freshmen in the country, but she struggled against the Gamecocks. A lot of that had to do with the shot selection she had. There will be growing pains with freshmen, but if they play again you can’t afford 1-for-10 3-point shooting and need to realize which shots should and shouldn’t be taken.

Ole Miss

Ole Miss and LSU faced off earlier in the season with the Tigers winning 84-73. It was an all-around victory as the Tigers had all starters over 10 points with Angel Reese being the catalyst with 21 points.

Although it seemed like the Tigers took care of business, they only had a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter as Ole Miss rallied in the third and even took the lead at one point.

Ole Miss is a sneaky team. Defensively it’s one of the best in the SEC as the Rebels allow the third least points and fourth lowest opponent field goal percentage in the conference.

They are second in the conference in blocks per game, behind only South Carolina. On offense, however, they struggle, only shooting 41% from the field and 26% from three.

In the first matchup, LSU was able to score efficiently shooting 47% from the field and 61% from three. Ole Miss was able to stay in the game through defense, forcing missed shots and getting to the free-throw line to slow the game down.

Because of their offensive deficits, the Rebels want teams to play at their pace. LSU needs to play fast-tempo basketball as it has been doing all season to keep Ole Miss on its heels. If LSU and Ole Miss both win their first game of the tournament, they could match up for their second game of the tournament

Alabama

With a 23-8  record, Alabama locked up the 4-seed. Alabama is led by senior guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, who is averaging 17.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.

She ranks No. 5 in the SEC for points per game and No. 4 for field goal percentage. She also shoots 50% from the field and 36% from three. When LSU played the Crimson Tide, it looked dominant in both victories, defeating them by 19 and 20 points. 

The defense from the Tigers wreaked havoc for Alabama as they forced 19 turnovers in their first match then 17 turnovers in their second. They also forced Alabama into a lot of bad shots.

In the two games they played LSU, they shot a combined 32% from the field and 31% from three. They held Barker in check for both games as she only averaged 9.5 points while shooting 42% percent from the field. 

This seems to be LSU’s most favorable matchup out of the top four teams as they showed in both games that it can be dominant against the Crimson Tide. If they were to meet, it would be in the conference championship, which LSU would likely be the favorite to win again.