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