With just hours remaining until the start of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament matchup of LSU women’s basketball vs. MTSU, here’s everything you need to know ahead of the second round game.
LSU women’s basketball vs. MTSU matchup overview
It’s officially March, and the No. 11 MTSU women’s basketball team (30-4) wasted no time getting the madness going. As a matter of fact, the Blue Raiders were the ones to get the upset train rolling early on Friday, taking down No. 6 Louisville in a thrilling comeback fashion.
Falling behind by as many as 18 points, the underdog never flinched, but instead slowly crawled its way back, eventually coming out on top by a score of 71-69.
MTSU is led by head coach Rick Insell, who, in the midst of his 19th season with the program, has helped to bring his program to heights never seen before. With 463 victories under his belt with the team, he’s no stranger to winning and is one of the most experienced coaches in the entire sport.
Senior guard Savannah Wheeler is far and away the name to know on the 2024 roster. Averaging 17.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.4 steals, she not only leads the team in scoring but can essentially do everything her team might need. Junior center Anastasiia Boldyreva and sophomore guard Ta’Mia Scott are also two players to keep an eye on, as they’re both threats from a scoring and defensive standpoint.
As far as how the LSU women’s basketball vs. MTSU matchups might go, size is something that will immediately pop while watching the game. The Blue Raiders have two centers standing at 6-foot-5 or taller, while Tiger freshman Aalyah Del Rosario is also listed at 6-foot-6.
Additionally, coach Kim Mulkey and LSU will need to stay vigilant along the 3-point line, as the No. 11 seed has five players who shoot the ball 30 percent or better.
The purple and gold shouldn’t have too many troubles in the early going, but it’s almost certain that the Rick Insell and MTSU won’t go away without a fight. Look for coach Kim Mulkey and the Tigers to bring their A-game during the afternoon matchup. Otherwise, this has the potential to become yet another difficult game for LSU.
Where, when, how to watch
With the Tigers once again getting homecourt advantage for the first and second rounds of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, the purple and gold immediately have a strong edge heading into today’s No. 3 LSU women’s basketball (29-5) vs. No. 11 MTSU (30-4) matchup.
If the first round was any indication, it should be a packed house yet again and there’s little doubt that the PMAC will be rocking for their Fighting Tigers.
The game will take place this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. CST in Baton Rouge and will be available to watch live on ABC. As we stand with just hours remaining until tipoff, the Tigers are early favorites of -16.5 points, to go along with an over/under of 140.5, according to ESPN BET, showing that odds makers expect a fairly dominant and higher scoring performance from the home team.
Thank you for reading LSU Glory. For more LSU Glory content, covering all things LSU athletics, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at lsuglory.fr@gmail.com or direct message us on our Twitter account. It is thanks to your support that we can continue to grow into one of the fastest-growing and most influential LSU media outlets there is.