BATON ROUGE — Purdue, the 2001 NCAA runner-up, and up-and-comers Michigan, Texas and Colorado highlight the LSU women’s basketball 2001-02 schedule released Saturday by head coach Sue Gunter.
Once again, the Lady Tigers’ schedule is stacked with difficult opposition as eight 2001 NCAA Tournament participants made the schedule with a potential matchup against one other in early tournament play.
Altogether, the Lady Tigers, who finished ranked No. 18 in the AP poll in 2001, will play 25 regular season games, including 14 games against SEC opponents. LSU will open with two preseason exhibition games before playing 15 regular season home games in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
“This is probably the strongest schedule we have had in some time, particularly because of our non-conference schedule” said Gunter, the fourth winningest active coach in Division I. “When the power rankings are released, I am sure that our schedule will be among the top five or six most difficult in the country. We will be challenged early, but it should be excellent preparation for when we enter conference play.”
LSU begins the season on Wednesday, Nov. 7 with an exhibition game against the Jackson All-Stars, followed by an exhibition game against the Basketball Travelers the following Monday. The regular season begins in the PMAC against Grambling on Nov. 20. Grambling is one of eight non-conference opponents the Lady Tigers will face at home this season. LSU enters the year with a 54-game non-conference home winning streak and has not lost a non-conference home game since January 1995.
Purdue, who finished as the runner-up to NCAA Champion Notre Dame last season, will visit Baton Rouge on Dec. 2. The Lady Tigers overcame a 15-point second half deficit to defeat the Boilermakers early last season, but fell three points short in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 73-70, as Purdue made its way to the finals and a two-point loss in the national championship game.
“We played Purdue twice last season and split with them, winning in Indianapolis and losing in the NCAA Tournament on their home court,” said Gunter. “This should be an exciting game that the fans should defiantly not miss. Purdue lost by just two points in the NCAA Championship game and this year we have a change to play them at home.”
The Lady Tigers will host Michigan, also from the Big 10, on Dec. 16 and take on Colorado from the Big 12 in Lubbock, Texas on Dec. 29. Michigan advanced to the second round of the tournament before falling to Notre Dame, while Colorado lost to Vanderbilt in the second round. Other non-conference opponents include in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette (Dec. 4), Mercer (Dec. 18), Rice (Dec. 20) and Prairie View (Dec. 22). In the LSU-hosted Crawfish Classic on Nov. 24-25, the Lady Tigers will take on Tennessee-Martin on Friday and face either Virginia Tech or Northwestern State on Saturday.
Virginia Tech also advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, falling to Texas Tech in the second round.
“In addition to playing Purdue, we host a very good Michigan team out of the Big 10,” said Gunter. “We also take on Texas and Colorado from the Big 12 and both teams are outstanding and should have excellent seasons. In our own tournament we will play either Northwestern State or Virginia Tech, which both have very competitive programs.”
LSU begins SEC play on the road against Georgia on Jan. 3. The Lady Tigers will open the home conference schedule against Florida on Jan. 10 and host conference rivals Arkansas, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Vanderbilt in 2001-02. LSU will also travel to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Kentucky to round out SEC play.
“Our conference schedule is made even more challenging because we open and close with difficult games on the road,” said Gunter. “We play two of our first three SEC games at Georgia and Tennessee and then close out with Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Alabama on the road in three of our last five games. We have really not gotten a break in our conference schedule over the last few years, but there is not much that can be done about that.”
Along with LSU, five teams from the SEC – Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Vanderbilt – advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, with all moving on to at least the second round. Tennessee was knocked out in the Sweet 16 and Vanderbilt made it to the round of eight before losing to Notre Dame. The Lady Tigers will play seven games against those five teams in 2001-02.
LSU Lady Tiger 2001-2001 Basketball Schedule
November
Wed. 7 – JACKSON ALL-STARS (Exb.), 7 p.m.; Mon. 12 – BASKETBALL TRAVELERS (Exb.), 4:30 p.m.; Tues 7 p.m. – GRAMBLING, 4:30 p.m.; Sat – 24 (CRAWFISH CLASSIC) UT MARTIN, Noon; Sun – 25 (CRAWFISH CLASSIC) VA. TECH or NORTHWESTERN ST., Noon or 2 p.m.; Thurs. 29 – at University of Texas, 7 p.m.
December
Sun. 2 – PURDUE, 2 p.m.; Tues. 4 – LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE, 4:30 p.m.; Sun. 16 – MICHGAN, 2 p.m.; Tues. 18 – MERCER, 7 p.m.; Thurs. 20 – RICE, 4:30 p.m.; Sat. 22 – PRAIRIE VIEW, Noon.; Sat. 29 – Colorado (at Lubbock), TBA.
January
Thurs. 3 – at Georgia, 6 p.m.; Thurs. 10 – FLORIDA, 7 p.m.; Sun. 13 – at Tennessee, 1:30 p.m.; Thurs. 17 – at Mississippi, 7 p.m.; Sun. 20 – ARKANSAS, 2 p.m.; Thurs. 24 – at Kentucky, 7 p.m.; Sun. 27 – VANDERBILT, 2 p.m.
February
Sun. 3 – MISSISSIPPI, 2 p.m.; Thurs. 7 – AUBURN, 7 p.m.; Sun. 10 – At Arkansas, 2 p.m.; Thurs. 14 – at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m.; Sun. 17 – SOUTH CAROLINA, 2 p.m.; Thurs. 21 – MISSISSIPPI STATE, 7 p.m.; Sun. 24 – at Alabama, 2 p.m.
SEC TOURNAMENT – February 28-March 3, Nashville, Tenn.
Home Games in All Caps