By TODD HORNE, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
For the fourth consecutive year, Kim Mulkey has LSU in the Sweet 16.
This one wasn’t competitive.
Second-seeded LSU didn’t beat seventh-seeded Texas Tech on Sunday inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. It overwhelmed it—101-47—in a game that was effectively decided long before the final horn.
This is what LSU looks like when it locks in defensively.
Texas Tech didn’t just struggle. It was suffocated—held to 16-of-63 shooting, a season-low 25.4 percent and one of the most stifling defensive performances of this NCAA Tournament. Every possession felt rushed. Every look contested. Every mistake punished.
That’s not an accident. That’s identity.
And it’s why this LSU team is dangerous.
The Tigers (29-5) didn’t just advance—they did it while continuing to rewrite the record book. By cracking 100 points for the 16th time this season, LSU now stands alone with the most 100-point games in a single season in NCAA history.
And on a day that was never in doubt, there was still something to remember.
Flau’jae Johnson walked off the Pete Maravich Assembly Center floor for the final time as an LSU player—and she made sure it looked like it.
Johnson led the Tigers with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, adding four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Efficient. Composed. In control. Exactly the way you’d script a final chapter at home.
Mikaylah Williams matched her with 24 points of her own, adding seven rebounds, four assists and a steal. When LSU needed a bucket—or a response—it had options. That’s what separates good teams from dangerous ones in March.
And then there was the avalanche.
LSU opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run, stretching an already lopsided game into something closer to a statement. By the time the Tigers pushed the lead to 84-32 with more than eight minutes remaining, the only question left was margin.
That matters this time of year.
Because this wasn’t just about getting to the second weekend. LSU will face either Duke or Baylor in the Sweet 16 in Sacramento, and this performance sent a clear signal:
This team isn’t just advancing.
It’s building momentum.
And under Mulkey, that’s when LSU becomes most dangerous.
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