The SEC announced the in-conference women’s basketball schedules on Wednesday. With the SEC schedule released, LSU’s full regular season schedule is set.
The Tigers will have eight home SEC games and eight away SEC games. LSU opens its SEC schedule with Missouri at home on January 4.
There are certainly games that present challenges to the defending national champions, but also others that could present themselves as “trap games.”
For example, LSU will host most likely its biggest SEC challenge, South Carolina, on Thursday, Jan. 25. Four days before that game, the Tigers will host Arkansas. Last season, when LSU hosted Arkansas, the Razorbacks took them to the wire, but the Tigers escaped with a three-point win.
In addition, LSU will head on the road to face Ole Miss on Jan. 7, who was an SEC tournament semifinalist last season, Tennessee on Feb. 25, who finished runner-up in the SEC Tournament last season, and Georgia, who took LSU to overtime in the last regular season. Not having home-court advantage could potentially present a challenge to the Tigers.
Outside of the SEC, LSU is set to rematch with Virginia Tech, who the Tigers defeated in the Final Four to advance to the national championship.
That matchup will be in Baton Rouge at the PMAC as a part of the SEC/ACC Challenge, and it will tip off at 8 p.m. C.T. on Thursday, Nov. 30.
LSU will open their season with two exhibition games against East Texas Baptist on Oct. 26 and Loyola (New Orleans) on Nov. 1 at the PMAC. Both matchups are at 7 p.m. C.T.
The Tigers will then travel to Las Vegas, Nevada for the regular season opener against Colorado on November 6 as a part of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Series. That game will tip-off at 6:30 p.m. C.T.
On Nov. 9, LSU will play its first home regular season game against Queens University of Charlotte. That matchup will tip-off at 7 p.m. C.T. The Tigers also host Mississippi Valley State, Kent State, Texas Southern, Louisiana-Lafayette, McNeese, Northwestern State and Jacksonville in non-conference matchups throughout November and December.
During that time, LSU will travel to Hammond to take on Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 17, and Baltimore, Maryland, Angel Reese’s hometown, to take on Coppin State on Dec. 20.
They’ll also travel to the Cayman Islands for the Cayman Islands Classic to take on Niagara on Nov. 24 and Virginia on Nov. 25.
Much of what kept LSU out of the top national seedings was its non-conference strength of schedule. Last season, the Tigers only faced one non-conference Power Five school in Oregon State, who they faced after winning in the first round of the Maui Classic in Hawaii.
This time around, the Tigers are facing three non-conference Power Five schools, including a former top four team in the country in Virginia Tech. Coming out of those matchups in the winner’s column will only boost LSU’s resume and put them in a much better position than they were at that point last season.
The expectations are higher than ever before for the LSU women’s basketball team. But they went right to work after winning the national championship, as they picked up Hailey Van Lith from Louisville and Aneesah Morrow from DePaul, two of the top transfer portal players in the country. LSU also finished with the No. 1 high school recruiting class.
