Has LSU women’s basketball redefined its ceiling as it enters the Sweet 16?

Has LSU women’s basketball redefined its ceiling as it enters the Sweet 16? BATON ROUGE, La. — Eyes closed. Head back. Arms stretched up to the heavens. Kim Mulkey reached basketball nirvana. The full-court heave in transition from Shayeann Day-Wilson. The one-touch pass from the paint to the corner by Sa’Myah Smith. The pause and 3 to bring it home by Mikaylah Williams. Mulkey was elevated to a different plane of existence.

In that moment, LSU finally took slight control for a 64-53 lead. Five minutes later it would be 81-55.

For all its warts and flaws and reasons they aren’t the expected title contender they’ve been in years past, LSU is playing beautiful, unselfish basketball as it redefines its ceiling for another March run. They are fast. They are savvy. They have the skill and shot-making to beat anyone on the right night. But even if you don’t fully believe in LSU yet — and that’s OK if you don’t — this version of this team might be the most fun group to watch in the tournament right now.

And so much of this has to do with its three big stars and the realization they need it to be a big eight.

Because yes, those three LSU stars — Flau’Jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams — are indeed that good.

“Our wings … they are elite,” Mulkey said.

So elite they can come off any screen and attack. “They’re so confident in their ability, sometimes they just go up and shoot the ball,” Mulkey continued, “not realizing, ‘Hey, let’s have a little ball reversal. I’ll get you another shot.’”

The Tigers are Rolling

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So in these two tournament games, something has clicked. Johnson is back from a shin injury and attacking the basket. Morrow is taking the ball at the elbow and not just scoring at will, but drawing double teams and dishing to her teammates in the pain for easy buckets. It’s how LSU’s two starting bigs, Morrow and Smith, can combine for 13 assists. It’s how Smith can go 9 of 9 on easy buckets because of constant ball movement for open looks. It’s how LSU can win 103-48 Saturday against San Diego State and then beat Florida State 101-71 two days later. Those stars keep using those ball reversals and creating movement, and that’s where this entire LSU team changes.

“They realize, ‘This is fun. Scoring is fun. But winning and having everybody score the ball and contribute is just a lot more fun and it takes you a long way,’” Mulkey said.

Johnson, the Roc Nation-signed rapper and star guard leading major commercials, was the first to say in a Friday’s news conference before the tournament: “Yeah, we’re the big three, but it’s going to take a big eight to get to where we want to go.” Mulkey praised her observations.

And in the moments before LSU came out of the locker room to speak Monday night, the original players coming out were understandably Morrow and Smith for their combined 48 points. Nope. Change of plans. Mulkey said something to the NCAA media team, and those two name cards were swapped out for LSU’s lower-scoring point guards: Day-Wilson, Last-Tear Poa and Jada Richard. Something is happening in Baton Rouge, and it’s realizing the stars eat more when everybody eats with them.

“I think they’ll quickly tell you, what else can you write about them?” Mulkey said of Johnson, Morrow and Williams. “Start writing about the other five, the other six, because this weekend they were special. Our bench was special. Our entire team was special. It was electric in there for two days.”

If the first weekend of the NCAA wasn’t exactly a thrilling few days, Monday night was the jolt it needed. Maryland-Alabama provided a double-overtime thriller right as the first half in Baton Rouge was becoming must-watch TV between LSU and Florida State. It was 50-49 at half with two of the highest-scoring teams in the country trading haymakers over high-press defenses. The Pete Maravich Assembly Center crowd stood at attention and rioted for 40 minutes.

But good basketball isn’t just about close finishes. No, Mulkey and LSU adjusted to the nation’s leading scorer, FSU guard Ta’Niya Latson, and changed the game. It stopped trying to fight over Florida State screens and dropped beneath. If Latson could hit 3s, fine. But it had to keep the star out of the paint.

It changed the game. Florida State turned the ball over six times in the third quarter and shot 3 of 17, and LSU took advantage with a 31-6 run to seal its place in Spokane against NC State.

Mulkey, almost to a fault, is a realist. She downplayed expectations to the extreme in her first year while overturning a thin roster. And she’s often the first one to tell you everything wrong with one of her teams. She is well aware this LSU team isn’t a favorite to get out of this regional or take down top-seeded UCLA. But she’s also been here before. And right now she sees a team having fun and finding out what it can be. Why stop the fun now?

“We weren’t talked about at all when we won it two years ago,” she said. “So let’s go see what we can do.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

LSU Lady Tigers, Women's College Basketball, Women's NCAA Tournament

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