LSU Women’s Basketball Pushing For First NCAA No. 1 Seed Under Kim Mulkey

By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

This year’s LSU women’s basketball team has been one of coach Kim Mulkey’s favorite groups she has ever coached. But why?

“(It’s) How coachable they are, how fun they are,” Mulkey said following the Tigers’ 103-63 win over No. 24 Alabama on Sunday. “When I say fun, you enjoy going to work, you enjoy seeing them. Even if each of them has a bad game, they don’t let it bother until the next practice. A lot of kids get caught up, you know, ‘Do I start? I’m deserving.’ We don’t have that. As you see, I’m going to play you. It doesn’t matter if you start, you just want to be in the rotation and it makes coaching fun when you win. But I’ve won with teams that weren’t fun to coach and this team is fun to coach.”

It may also be one of Mulkey’s favorite teams to coach because of how the Tigers are performing. LSU (21-2, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) extended its win streak to seven games after crushing a quality No. 24 Alabama (19-4, 5-4 SEC) team on Sunday. LSU held the Crimson Tide to just 20 points in the paint in the victory.

With the win on Sunday, LSU is tied for second place in the SEC with No. 7 Vanderbilt (21-2, 7-2 SEC) and No. 19 Tennessee (14-5, 6-1 SEC), just a half-game behind No. 3 South Carolina (21-2, 7-1 SEC).

In Mulkey’s first four seasons in Baton Rouge, the SEC has been top-heavy, usually led by South Carolina and Tennessee. This season, it’s anyone’s race and everything the Tigers want is right in front of them.

It won’t be easy, though. LSU faces its toughest stretch yet, as February’s remaining schedule includes four ranked opponents: No. 4 Texas (21-2, 6-2 SEC), No. 3 South Carolina, No. 13 Ole Miss (18-4, 5-2 SEC) and No. 19 Tennessee. Mulkey, who hasn’t always prioritized winning the conference, is committed to chasing the SEC title this season.

“We got seven games left. Where this thing winds up, I think it’s fun to be in the mix,” Mulkey said. “We don’t have to rely on anybody else winning or losing. Go win seven ball games and you might win your first SEC title. If you don’t win seven ball games, make sure when you walk off that floor, the team that beat you, ‘Man, they just played great and we did all we could do, coach.’”

Winning the SEC title for the first time since 2008 would benefit LSU in the conference tournament and increase its chances at earning its first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since the 2006-07 season.

A No. 1 seed is not just for bragging rights. Historically, it has increased teams’ chances at winning the national title. Dating back to 2015, No. 1 seeds have won the past seven national championships.

In the last two seasons, LSU has dropped both of NCAA Tournament games to No. 1 seeds (2024 Iowa and 2025 UCLA).

This season, the Tigers are not waiting for the SEC race to unfold – they are positioned to take control.