Bob Starkey Breaks Down What to Expect from Jacksonville

By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

The second-seeded LSU women’s basketball team is set to host 15th-seeded Jacksonville on Friday evening in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (5 p.m., ESPN).

Jacksonville (24-8, 13-5 Atlantic Sun Conference) entered its conference tournament as the No. 2 seed and defeated West Georgia, Central Arkansas and Austin Peay to earn its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2016.

The Dolphins are one of the smallest teams in the 64-team field, with only three players standing 6-foot-1 or taller and their tallest player at 6-2. Despite that, Jacksonville uses its speed to its advantage. Offensively, the Dolphins focus on attacking the rim, drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line.

Jacksonville leads the nation in free-throw attempts per game (25.84). LSU associate head coach Bob Starkey, who oversees opponent scouting, said limiting those opportunities will be critical for the Tigers.

“One of the things we try to talk about is making sure we’re disciplined with our defensive approach,” Starkey said Thursday. “Can we keep them in front of us, not get any reaching fouls or bail them out on drives? If we keep them off the line, that takes away part of their offense.”

Coach Bob Starkey liking what he sees at #LSU practice ahead of its first game with No. 15 seed Jacksonville on Friday. pic.twitter.com/eoUYLviahX

— Andre Champagne (@andrechampagnee) March 19, 2026

Defensively, Jacksonville also leans into its identity. The Dolphins rank No. 49 nationally in turnovers forced per game (19.47) and score nearly 20 points per game off those takeaways. For LSU (27-5, 12-4 Southeastern Conference), taking care of the ball will be a key point of emphasis Friday.

“If we can take care of the ball and not foul them, we can cut into their offensive efficiency a little bit,” Starkey said.

The Tigers will need to account for 6-2 graduate student Priscilla Williams, who leads Jacksonville in scoring (15.4 ppg), rebounding (8.6 rpg) and assists (2.4 apg).

“She played at Syracuse. She played at Oregon, and now she’s been at Jacksonville for the last couple of years,” ESPN bracketologist Charlie Crème said on Tiger Rag Radio on Tuesday. “She’s the best player in that league.”

While anything can happen in March, Crème said LSU presents a difficult matchup for Jacksonville and expects Kim Mulkey’s squad to advance.

“They (Jacksonville) don’t have nearly the level of physicality or athletes to compete with LSU,” Crème said. “With LSU’s athleticism and depth at certain positions, mid-major teams just can’t match that.”

If LSU advances, it will face the winner of seventh-seeded Texas Tech (25-7, 12-6 Big 12 Conference) and 10th-seeded Villanova (25-7, 16-4 Big East Conference) on Sunday at a time to be determined.