For the Lady Tigers basketball team, the road to the final four just got a lot smoother.
Gathered together Monday night with teammates, coaches and a roomful of supportive fans, the Lady Tigers watched as the brackets for this year’s NCAA tournament revealed LSU will be staying close to home for most of the tournament.
LSU received a No. 2 seed in the New Orleans regional, meaning if they can survive their two opening round games in Baton Rouge, the Lady Tigers will play their next two games just 60 miles away from home.
“To have the opportunity to go to New Orleans and play in front of our fans is great,” said senior center Sylvia Fowles after the seeding was announced. “There’s no place like home.”
The Lady Tigers will play Jackson State in the first round of the tournament in what will essentially be a home game for the Southeastern Conference regular season champions.
The Pete Maravich Assembly Center will serve as a host site for four teams in the opening weekend.
If LSU can get past Jackson State in the first round they will play the winner of Marist and Depaul.
Head coach Van Chancellor said the location of the games his team plays will not necessarily dictate the team’s success in those contests.
“It doesn’t make a difference if you play here or in New Orleans,” Chancellor said. “You still have to play.”
Senior guard Quianna Cheney echoed those sentiments but also made a point to say that fan support is a big benefit to staying home throughout the tournament.
“We are really excited about our fans being there,” Cheney said. “That’s what gets us rowdy and pumped up. The atmosphere will be nice.”
Lurking as the No. 1 seed in the New Orleans regional bracket is North Carolina. Should LSU advance to the elite eight, the Tar Heels will be the likely opponent.
Chancellor said that this year’s bracket was fairly easy to predict.
“This has gone about how I thought it would be,” he said. “I thought North Carolina would be in New Orleans, I thought we’d be a second seed and a Big 12 team would be our third seed.”
Chancellor was correct on all counts as Oklahoma State of the Big 12 Conference is the No. 3 seed in the New Orleans region.
The Lady Tigers tip off their opening round game on Saturday, March 22. The time is yet to be announced.
—-Contact James Rees at [email protected].