Tag: LSU Tigers women’s basketball

Cori Close chimes in on Angel Reese’s claim in LSU-UCLA handshake line

Cori Close states “That’s just not who we are” after viral handshake line incident.

After the LSU Tigers defeated the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16, there was a clip that went viral of Angel Reese showing displeasure towards one of the UCLA assistants.

Reese mentioned that it wasn’t Cori Close who was making the comments, although the video didn’t show who it was. Over the weekend, UCLA’s head coach chimed in on that discussion, per Andrew Graham of On3.

“That’s just not who we are,” Close said. “I don’t want to say anything about Angel, I will only speak to what the Bruins are and the Bruins are classy, speaking life into each other. We are not going to give that any — we would never do that. And especially would never come from one of my coaches. So we will — maybe she heard something mistakenly but I can tell you, and I’m not saying anything about Angel — I’m just saying from what comes from my camp, absolutely not.”

Here’s the video of the incident:

Reese didn’t go into details on exactly what was said, other than “It was another coach that was talking a little crazy.”

LSU saw its season end at the hands of Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight on Monday.

Cori Close admits it’s not the best roster that will win LSU-UCLA showdown

Which team comes out on top? Cori Close chimed in with her thoughts.

There are infinite storylines as UCLA and LSU battle each other in the Sweet 16 on Saturday. Bruins head coach Cori Close hopped on Sirius XM and discussed the matchup and didn’t sound worried about LSU’s star power on the roster:

“It’s a great example that it’s not the best roster that wins, it’s the best team that wins. Basketball is such a connected sport…Talent makes coaches look great. I respect that they got not only Van Lith but also Murrow…How connected are they? How connected are we…I respect them. They have a great individual roster… We got a pretty darn good individual roster too… Who can play with more purpose? Kim Mulkey is a winner…I want us to be the best version of ourselves and that’s more than enough.”

The battle of stars in the LSU-UCLA matchup is something we talked about earlier in the week, and it will be interesting to see which group comes out on top and can make the Elite Eight.

UCLA’s foul trouble could give LSU the edge

UCLA’s foul trouble is one thing to monitor in the Sweet 16 clash.

The 2024 NCAA women’s basketball tournament has been a lot of fun and there are five Pac-12 teams remaining in the field as the Sweet 16 begins.

Perhaps the biggest matchup of them all is UCLA against LSU, and we have examined a number of storylines entering the game.

Will Rosenblatt of LSU Wire touched on the Bruins’ foul troubles and how that could pay a huge dividend for LSU:

LSU plays an aggressive and physical style of basketball. Opponents don’t always know how to handle it which can put them in foul trouble.

We saw it in LSU’s win over Middle Tennessee, where the entire Blue Raider starting lineup was in foul trouble by the third quarter.

UCLA could prove to be a good matchup for LSU here. This Bruins team can get foul-happy at times. UCLA ranks just 222nd in fouls per game and 268th in foul rate. That’s still better than last year, where the same UCLA team ranked 339th nationally in foul rate.

Angel Reese and LSU take on Lauren Betts and UCLA on Saturday in Albany. If the Bruins can avoid foul trouble, they have a good chance of walking away with the win.

UCLA would be LSU’s best win of the year

LSU-UCLA has a ton of hype. Who takes home the victory?

The LSU Tigers won 28 games and have won the first two during the NCAA Tournament. On Saturday, they face UCLA in a tough Sweet 16 showdown in Albany.

However, the 2-seed UCLA Bruins might provide LSU with their biggest challenge in a while.

Will Rosenblatt discussed LSU’s concerns about UCLA’s toughness:

LSU is the favorite, but UCLA would be the best team it’s beaten all year. The Tigers’ best win to date is an 82-64 victory over Virginia Tech in November.

LSU’s struggled against stronger competition. According to the Massey Ratings, LSU is 0-3 in its three toughest games. That includes two losses to South Carolina and one in the season opener to Colorado.

By all measures, UCLA is one of the eight or so best teams in the country. We know LSU has the talent to win this game and the postseason pedigree to go along with it. Still, the Tigers have something to prove after failing to notch a signature win the regular season.

The winner moves on to the Elite Eight to face the winner of Caitlin Clark’s Iowa team and JR Payne’s Colorado squad, so there is a lot on the line in this one.

Who comes out on top?

The Angel Reese-Lauren Betts duel will be worth watching

Get your popcorn ready for Angel Reese vs. Lauren Betts.

UCLA and LSU are set to face off in a Sweet 16 battle in the women’s NCAA Tournament. This game has been discussed a lot, and for good reason.

Angel Reese and Lauren Betts going against each other is aragubaly the best matchup of this game, and Will Rosenblatt of LSU Wire examined the rebounding matchup between these two teams:

UCLA leads the sport in rebounding rate with LSU sitting second.

On the offensive glass, LSU leads the way with UCLA ranking third. Together, the two combine to average 90 rebounds per game.

For UCLA, Lauren Betts leads the way with nine rebounds per game but it’s the rebounding depth that sets them apart. Five qualified Bruins average five or more rebounds per game and have rebounding rates over 10%.

But when it comes to pure ability, LSU has the best rebounder in this game with Angel Reese. Her 13.2 per game ranks second nationally. Throw in Aneesah Morrow’s 10 per game, and you get the best rebounding duo in the country.

Betts missed the first game of the NCAA Tournament against California Baptist but returned with a stellar performance in the win over Creighton. Now, she and Reese will go head-to-head in a must-watch battle of star players.

UCLA-LSU will be fun battle of ‘Big 3’s’

Which Big 3 will play better in this matchup?

LSU and UCLA is arguably the most anticipated matchup of all the Sweet 16 clashes in the women’s NCAA Tournament this upcoming weekend.

Lauren Betts and Angel Reese going head-to-head will be a fun battle to watch, but the battle of Big 3’s is another interesting discussion point.

Both teams have talented trios and Will Rosenblatt of LSU Wire talked about that aspect:

Both of these groups are stacked with talent, so boiling each team down to three players is selling it short. But both LSU and UCLA have been led by a trio of stars this year and this game could come down to which “Big Three” makes the most plays.

For LSU, it’s Reese, Morrow, and Flau’Jae Johnson. For UCLA, it’s Charisma Osborne, Kiki Rice, and Betts.

The matchup to watch is Betts taking on Reese and Morrow in the post. LSU passed the first test against Middle Tennessee’s Anastasiia Boldyreva. But it’s getting tougher with Betts.

In the backcourt, LSU is tasked with defending Rice and Osborne. LSU guards have struggled to defend at times this year and we’ve seen Mulkey try different things with the lineup because of it.

Charisma Osborne nearly had a triple-double in the Round of 64 win over California Baptist, and Kiki Rice and Lauren Betts combined for 44 points in the win over Creighton, so they are feeling great going into this game

Focus could be an issue for LSU-UCLA amid Kim Mulkey rumors

LSU might be a bit distracted with the rumors involving Kim Mulkey.

The UCLA Bruins and LSU Tigers face off in a loaded Sweet 16 matchup in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

There is a lot to examine with this game, and the winner faces the winner of Colorado vs. Iowa.

Will Rosenblatt of LSU Wire mentioned how the Kim Mulkey rumors could be a tough thing for the Tigers to overcome:

We saw it last weekend, with LSU lacking focus at crucial points in tournament games.

There’s some noise hovering around the program with talk of a story about Kim Mulkey set to appear in The Washington Post. The contents of that story remain unclear at the moment.

On top of that, LSU can’t get caught looking ahead to Iowa in the Elite Eight or a potential Final Four trip. Winning back-to-back titles is hard. Even if you have the talent, keeping that sharp focus over the span of two seasons can be a struggle. LSU needs to be locked in here.

There have been plenty of rumblings about the article in the works regarding Kim Mulkey, and that could be a tough thing to ignore for this LSU team. Then again, they have had some time to cope with this drama.