LSU’s women’s basketball team has earned its highest NCAA Tournament seed in coach Kim Mulkey’s five-year tenure.
The Lady Tigers (27-5, 12-4) were announced on Selection Sunday as the No. 2 seed in Region 2, the second weekend of which will be played in Sacramento.
Mulkey and company will open the tournament in the friendly confines of their Pete Maravich Assembly Center for the fifth straight year after doing so as a No. 3 seed the previous four postseasons.
First up for LSU will be No. 15 Jacksonville (24-8) on Friday, with the winner advancing to play either No. 7 Texas Tech (25-7) or No. 10 Villanova (25-7) in the second round Sunday.
The Lady Tigers have reached three straight Elite Eights — including the program’s first national-championship run in 2023 — and appear to have a favorable path to extend that streak as well.
Should LSU handle its business at home, the likeliest and highest-ranked potential Sweet 16 opponent would be its region’s No. 3 seed Duke, which it handily defeated earlier this season, 93-77.
The Lady Tigers finished fourth in the SEC this regular season and dominated their conference tournament quarterfinal against No. 5 Oklahoma, 112-78, before falling to top-seeded South Carolina, 83-77, in the semis.
This year’s team includes two newly minted First-Team All-SEC players in senior guard Flau’jae Johnson and junior guard Mikaylah Williams and the league’s Sixth Woman of the Year in junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley.
Check below for the complete Sacramento Region and the top four seeds in each of the bracket’s four regions.
LADY JAGS IN THE FIRST FOUR
Southern’s women will participate in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time in program history.
And for the second straight year, the SWAC champion Lady Jaguars’ draw takes them to the First Four, the stage where in 2025 they earned the program’s first-ever tournament victory in seven tries.
Southern (19-13) and Samford (16-18) are the No. 16 seeds in Region 4 Sacramento, with the winner Thursday advancing to face top seed South Carolina (33-4) on Saturday.
REGION 2 SACRAMENTO
1. UCLA
16. Cal Baptist
8. Oklahoma State
9. Princeton
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5. Ole Miss
12. Gonzaga
4. Minnesota
13. Green Bay
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6. Baylor
11. Nebraska vs. Richmond
3. Duke
14. Charleston
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7. Texas Tech
10. Villanova
2. LSU
15. Jacksonville
TOP FOUR SEEDS, ALL REGIONS
REGION 1 FORT WORTH (top left)
1. Connecticut
2. Vanderbilt
3. Ohio State
4. North Carolina
REGION 4 SACRAMENTO (bottom left)
1. South Carolina
2. Farleigh-Dickinson
3. TCU
4. Oklahoma
REGION 2 SACRAMENTO (top right)
1. UCLA
2. LSU
3. Duke
4. Minnesota
REGION 3 FORT WORTH (bottom right)
1. Texas
2. Michigan
3. Louisville
4. West Virginia