We’re set for a monumental women’s college basketball matchup in Baton Rouge on Thursday night.
No. 9 LSU is hosting No. 1 South Carolina in a top-10 SEC showdown between two of last year’s Final Four participants. The Gamecocks enter this one undefeated on the year, and the Tigers are looking for their first win against them in 12 years.
While a victory would certainly be huge for the program, coach [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] said she encouraged the team to act as the defending national champions should, which includes not storming the court in the event of a win.
“And we’re not gonna go run on the floor if we beat them,” Mulkey said on her radio show this week, per On3. “You’re the defending national champions, act like you’ve been there. And I want everybody to scream and holler, but I don’t want people running out on the floor like we just won another national championship.”
While beating South Carolina would be significant for the Tigers, it’s nothing new for Mulkey, who beat the team multiple times in her last stop at Baylor.
“I shared that with the team, I asked them in the locker room, ‘Raise your hand if you’ve ever beaten South Carolina in your career,’” Mulkey said. “None of them raised their hand except for me and [autotag]Bob Starkey[/autotag]. I said, ‘Beating South Carolina is not that big a deal to me. I beat them twice in one year to win a national championship. But for this program and for you and for the LSU fanbase, you need to understand it is a big deal because you want to do something that hasn’t been done in a long, long while.’ But, don’t allow it to be bigger than it really is.”
As far as her message for fans, Mulkey asked them to keep things in perspective, regardless of result.
“This is a very exciting game Thursday, but keep perspective,” Mulkey said. “There are bigger games down the road for both South Carolina and LSU. Don’t make it so big that you’re devastated if your team doesn’t win. But if your team wins, celebrate it, and then move on the next day.”
The Tigers will host South Carolina with ESPN’s College GameDay in attendance on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT. GameDay will begin an hour earlier at 6.
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