UConn women’s basketball is set for a neutral-site showdown with the LSU Tigers in Nashville next season. Rebecca Lobo first reported the news, which Geno Auriemma confirmed on Sunday.
“Next year — and I give ESPN all kinds of credit for getting this — you’ve got UConn playing LSU in Nashville,” Lobo said on the A Touch More podcast with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe.
“People join the media and they can’t keep a secret. Not that it’s a secret anyways,” Auriemma quipped about Lobo’s reveal. “I haven’t
gotten the date of that game yet, but I hope it’s one of those January, February games.”
While the details of the contest have yet to be revealed — the schools have not formally announced it yet — it’ll likely take place at Bridgestone Arena, home to the NHL’s Nashville Predators and the site of UConn’s 2014 national championship victory.
The Huskies haven’t played one of Mulkey’s teams since she left Baylor for LSU in 2021. During her time with the Bears, they met nine times between 2010-21 — two of which came in the NCAA Tournament. UConn held a 5-4 edge in those contests but went 2-0 in the postseason. All but two contests were top-10 showdowns, with the lone exception being the only Final Four meeting between the teams in 2010.
Since Mulkey took over in Baton Rouge, she’s put together notoriously weak non-conference schedules. During her five years in charge, the Tigers have only played nine power conference teams outside of SEC play. Two of those came in the ACC/SEC Challenge while another was in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. All others were in early-season tournaments or events.
UConn is 8-1 all-time against LSU. The lone victory for the Tigers came in the 2007 Elite Eight, a 73-50 thrashing in Fresno, California. The Huskies also own a postseason victory in the series, an 86-71 win in the 2000 Elite Eight. The schools last met during a home-and-home in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
