OH PITY Poor Kim Mulkey: Here's Why Her

BY ZOE COLLINS RATH | STAFF WRITER

PUBLISHED NOV 21, 2022 AT 10:56 AM | UPDATED NOV 22, 2022 AT 11:00 AM

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Kim Mulkey’s team has put up 544 points in its first five games this season.



The No. 12-ranked Tigers have run roughshod over teams that aren't likely to reach the NCAA tournament, such as Bellarmine, Western Carolina and Houston Christian.



On Sunday, they blew out Northwestern State 100-45, putting LSU one win away from tying the record for consecutive 100-plus-point games (the record is held by the 1981-82 Louisiana Tech team, which featured Mulkey at point guard).


The Tigers are on a roll.



But LSU ins't likely to face opponents like these in March Madness, and plenty of basketball fans on social media have noticed the trend.



Compared to other powerhouse teams such as South Carolina and Stanford, who played each other Sunday, Mulkey’s schedule is softer. As it stands, LSU won't face a Top 25 team until Jan. 30, when it plays host to No. 23 Tennessee.



“We inherited a program that won nine basketball games (in 2020-21), and if you think I am going to over-schedule before I know what I have, that would be a terrible mistake,” Mulkey said Sunday.



Historically Mulkey is not shy about scheduling matchups with other ranked teams when she knows her team is solid. In her last five years at Baylor, ranked Arizona State, Stanford and South Carolina teams all played Mulkey's Bears.

LSU is currently working on its schedule for 2023-24. The women's basketball program must coordinate with other teams, such as volleyball and men's basketball, for the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Also, the women cannot play on fall Saturdays because of football.



LSU then needs to talk to other schools about potential games.



"We can ask a team if they want to play us and they can say, 'We are not interested' ... it's really like doing a puzzle," said Johnny Derrick, assistant AD and director of operations.



The Tigers have road games against South Carolina, Florida, and Kentucky within Southeastern Conference play, games that will
boost their strength of schedule. The first time LSU will meet a Power Five conference opponent is against Oregon State in December.



Schedules can take time to make, as Derrick noted, and they serve many purposes. For the type of team Mulkey has, one that lost a lot of veterans from her first season at LSU, Derrick was working on the schedule in the middle of the previous season not knowing who the Tigers will get.
“The nonconference schedule was done long before we had Angel Reese and all these transfers coming in … we are on the phone now to improve the nonconference schedule,” Mulkey said.



With scrappy defense and improved shooting, the Tigers have tended to put away teams early once their offense gets going. They continue to improve their chemistry, and one of their goals is to build toward being a more complete team in March.



But with its schedule, LSU has yet to show it can compete with other top-tier teams.

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The story is littered with copious pile of guanospeak from Mulkey and the clown who does their scheduling?