March Madness is here, and the LSU Tigers look to win their second straight national title.
The quest to repeat as national champions starts on Friday, when the Tigers take on No. 14-seed Rice at 3 p.m. C.T. from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The game will be aired live on ESPN.
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What does Rice bring to the table?
Rice’s season has been just about as up and down as it gets. However, the Owls are flying highest when it matters most.
After closing out the regular season with five straight losses, the Owls caught fire in the American Athletic Conference Tournament, winning four straight games to win the conference title.
In that four-game stretch, Rice defeated UAB, North Texas and Temple to advance to the conference championship, which were three of the five teams it lost to in its five-game losing streak.
The Owls are led by Malia Fisher, who averages 13.1 points per game and seven rebounds per game. In the American Tournament, she scored in double figures in three of Rice’s four games, along with an 8-point and 10-rebound performance in a 2-point win over North Texas.
Not to mention, in the Owls’ five-game losing streak, Fisher scored 20 points or more in four of the five games. Despite the trajectory of the game, the junior forward almost always has an impact, and LSU will have to make containing her a priority.
Dominique Ennis and Destiny Jackson are right behind; Ennis averages 11.4 points per game, and Jackson, who led the team with 16 points over North Texas in the American Tournament, averages 11.2 points per game along with 5.1 rebounds.
In the American Conference championship, Sussy Ngulefac led Rice to a 20-point win with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-3 center also led the team in rebounds with nine in Rice’s tournament opening win over UAB.
How does Rice compare to LSU?
LSU’s strength has been its scoring and overall offense, as it leads the Southeastern Conference with 86.7 points per game. Rice, on the other hand, averages 67.4 points per game. The Tigers also have a 46.7% field goal percentage compared to Rice’s 40.1%, and a 32.1% 3-point percentage compared to Rice’s 31.6%.
LSU also averages 46.5 rebounds per game, which leads the SEC, compared to Rice’s 37.6, 10.8 steals per game compared to Rice’s 8.2, and 15.4 turnovers per game compared to Rice’s 16.7.
Rice’s strong suit has been its defense, especially recently, as it held East Carolina to just 41 points in the American Conference Championship. The Owls rank second in the American in fewest points allowed with 62.8 points per game. To put that in perspective, LSU allows 62.5 points per game.
The Tigers’ scoring efforts have lifted their way past many teams this season. While Rice’s defense has been its strong suit, especially recently, LSU’s defense will have to step up and control Rice’s offense to gain separation.
The Tigers may be even more short-handed
Last-Tear Poa suffered a concussion against Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament semifinals. While Mulkey has stated that she continues to get better every day, and is progressing into individual workouts, the timing may not be there for her to suit up.
When it comes to guard play, Poa’s facilitating strength and ball distribution is something the Tigers value.
Hailey Van Lith seems to have found a balance between playing her game and filling in the point guard role. Securing that balance in the NCAA Tournament is a must for LSU to be successful while Poa is out.
Aalyah Del Rosario and Janae Kent will likely get more minutes. Kent got the start in the SEC Tournament Championship against South Carolina, as Mikaylah Williams came into the SEC Tournament not 100% healthy. So Mulkey’s confidence in her true freshman is certainly growing.
In addition, Del Rosario has grown into the college game speed and been a valuable asset in several games off the bench for LSU’s post players.
Unfortunately, that seems to be where LSU’s depth ends. Rotating seven players deep in the NCAA Tournament is a difficult thing to do, especially when most other teams have nine or more.
LSU’s keys to win
The keys to win for LSU are similar to just about any game it plays.
First, solid defense is a priority. Limiting Fisher’s scoring for the Owls will throw Rice’s offense off-balance.
With lack of depth, especially without Poa, who was one of LSU’s strongest defenders, this may present challenges at times. Luckily, Rice isn’t a team that shoots an abundance of 3-pointers, so LSU’s post will be able to play its game to its fullest.
Given their lack of depth, the Tigers staying out of foul trouble is important, too. Against South Carolina, Angel Reese led the team with four fouls, and Flau’jae Johnson finished with multiple fouls in LSU’s last four games.
The Tigers don’t have the resources to rotate fresh bodies in and out as they please, so staying out of foul trouble in games that now could end their season is essential.
But this isn’t anything different from what LSU has prioritized all season. Aside from these keys, LSU’s offense has been consistent — so much so that they lead the SEC in points per game as a team.
More times than not, the Tigers have shown up when it comes to putting points on the board, but for comfortability’s sake, LSU locking in on defense and staying out of foul trouble will make the strengths off its game easier to accomplish.
