LSU women’s basketball kicks off their season Monday night in Las Vegas, Nevada against the Colorado Buffaloes. The game tips off at 6:30 p.m. C.T. on TNT, and is a part of the Naismith Hall of Fame Series.
Tiger fans have seen the new transfers and true freshmen in action a couple of times now, but Monday night will mark the first time they play together against true competition. Last season, LSU opened its season with Bellarmine University, but this season, Colorado presents more of a challenge.
“It’s an opportunity to challenge us early, humble us early, and it’s not something that’s going to devastate us if we lose, it’s going to teach us,” head coach Kim Mulkey said. “I just look at it as an opportunity right out the gate.”
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Colorado comes into the 2023 season ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25. Last season, it finished ranked No. 15 in the final Coaches Poll of the season, its highest ranking all year. Colorado made it to the Sweet 16 last season, but fell to Iowa 87-77.
So it might not be the same degree of momentum LSU has coming into the season, but the Buffaloes come in with momentum as well.
Picking up where they left off should be relatively easy, as they don’t have to change much from how they played last season. The Buffaloes’ four leading scorers are all back this season.
“Colorado is more poised than us right now. Colorado is playing LSU at the right time right now, because Colorado is that good,” Mulkey said. “When you have seven of eight returning players, it’s running a lot smoother than LSU is.”
Forward, Quay Miller led the team with 13.1 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game last season. Center, Aaronette Vonleh, is right behind with 12.2 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Miller and Vonleh lead Colorado’s scoring, and their offense revolves around their paint presence. However, as Angel Reese and LaDazhia Williams were LSU’s post-presence last season, the Tigers now have more depth to combat that. Reese now has Aneesah Morrow, Sa’Myah Smith and Aalyah Del Rosario to help her in the paint.
But Colorado’s guards have been just as effective. Frida Formann averaged 12.0 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game last season, and Jaylyn Sherrod averaged 11.3 points per game, 5.1 assists per game, and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Not only have Formann and Sherrod been successful in scoring themselves, but they’ve also been successful in getting the ball to their post players.
Overall, for Colorado, out of the nine players that averaged over 10 minutes played per game last season, eight of them are returning.
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“I think the team chemistry is really good. We just have so many pieces it’s kind of a whirlwind right now with matchups,” Formann said. “I think our chemistry on and off the court is really good.”
In addition, the Buffaloes added graduate guard, Maddie Nolan from Michigan, who LSU saw in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament last season, and Missouri transfer, Sara-Rose Smith, who averaged 6.7 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game.
To put that in perspective, LSU had eight players that averaged over 10 minutes played per game, five of them are returning.
On paper, the Tigers may have more talent based on statistics. But the returners, transfers and freshmen learning to play with each other will be an adjustment that Colorado won’t have to make.
But if that adjustment is already made from the brief time this season’s LSU team has spent together, talent may be the determining factor for the result of the matchup.
