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Zack Nagy | Sports Illustrated

BY ZACK NAGY

LAS VEGAS, NEV - The reigning National Champion LSU Tigers entered Monday night’s contest against No. 20 Colorado with significant hype, and after a difficult night in Las Vegas, the Bayou Bengals suffered a 92-78 season-opening loss to the Buffaloes.

It quickly became a night to forget for Kim Mulkey and the No. 1 ranked Tigers. After coming out of the tunnel flat to enter the second half, Colorado ran LSU out of the gym with Frida Formann shooting the nets off in T-Mobile Arena.

The Instant Takeaways: Non-Existent Chemistry

After bringing in a myriad of newcomers and returning only a handful of players from last year’s National Championship squad, there were clear concerns surrounding the team chemistry of the Tigers.

On Monday, those concerns became a reality. LSU went with the “death lineup” of: Flau’jae Johnson, Hailey Van Lith, Mikaylah Williams, Aneesah Morrow and Angel Reese. With Johnson and Reese being the only returning starters, it was a given there would be challenges from a “gelling” perspective.


There were times where the Tigers looked out of sorts. Van Lith would dump the ball inside to Reese and then the offense would stall. For Van Lith, she’s still adapting to a new position. She’s played off-ball most of her career, and now taking on a point guard role, there were a few hiccups in her first game at the new position. Van Lith ended the night with four turnovers and just 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting with seven assists.

Mulkey knew Monday night would be a challenge. It was a wakeup call the Tigers needed after receiving so much praise during the offseason and a main reason why this program scheduled a matchup against a Colorado group that returned four starters from a season ago.

Now, it’s back to the drawing board. No need to panic.

The LSU Numbers:

Angel Reese: 15 points, 6/15 shooting, 12 rebounds

Hailey Van Lith: 14 points, 4/11 shooting, 7 assists, 4 turnovers

Aneesah Morrow: 6 points, 2/9 shooting, 4 rebounds

Mikaylah Williams: 17 points, 8/16 shooting, 4 rebounds

LSU struggled against the motion offense of Colorado from the jump and the Buffaloes made sure to make the most of their opportunities from beyond the arc, specifically Frida Formann. The sharpshooter ended the night with a career-high 27 points and seven triples for Colorado with the LSU defense finding no answer around the perimeter.


Yes, LSU forced 21 turnovers, but a majority of their defensive stops were self-inflicted by the Buffaloes. Colorado shot the nets off, played with intensity inside and hung in there on the glass to create second-chance buckets.

Sophomore forward Sa’Myah Smith is one of the few players returning from last year’s squad. She stayed in Baton Rouge during the summer to add weight and bulk up in size, but Monday night showed there remains work to be done on the interior. The Tigers were outmatched in the paint on both sides of the floor with Colorado getting anything they wanted.

Colorado a Force to be Reckoned With

The Colorado Numbers:

Frida Formann: 27 points, 9/15 shooting, 7/11 3pt, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

Jaylyn Sherrod: 19 points, 5/12 shooting, 8 rebounds, 6 assists

Aaaronette Vonleh: 24 points, 11/15 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

The Buffs shot 53.2% from the field and 43.5% from beyond the arc. It was a complete performance from a well-coached group that has the chance to make some noise come March.

The talk of the town will be No. 1 LSU dropping the season opener, but make no mistake about it, Colorado came out and proved they have the opportunity to shine this season.

The Bayou Bengals will return to action on Thursday against Queens University at 7 p.m. when the reigning National Champions are presented with their title rings in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The hype surrounding LSU’s “superteam” has been the talk of college basketball all offseason with the season opener circled by the entire country. For Colorado, it was clear they were prepared to shock the world and utilize their experience to come out on top.

The Buffaloes returned four of their five starters from a season ago with Jaylyn Sherrod and Formann carrying the weight for this group. The experience, chemistry and intensity stole the show for a program who is no slouch. A Sweet 16 squad a year ago, Colorado is a force to be reckoned with.

BY ZACK NAGY
Zack Nagy | Sports Illustrated

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