The LSU Tigers have finalized and released their schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 season. After last year ended in the Elite Eight, Kim Mulkey dove deep in the transfer portal, nabbing South Carolina standout MiLaysia Fulwiley in one of the most talked-about moves in the entire transfer portal. Not that the cupboard was exactly empty at LSU anyway.
The Tigers were already set to return star guards, Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson, giving them two elite scorers. Fulwiley will help, as will massive Notre Dame transfer Kate Koval and a banner freshman class. With the schedule now circulating, here are five takeaways from the full LSU slate.
Top 5 LSU schedule takeaways ahead of the 2025-26 season
SEC/ACC Challenge is intriguing
One exception to a lightweight pre-conference schedule is the annual SEC/ACC Challenge matchup. The Tigers will face Duke on the road on December 4th. The Blue Devils also reached the Elite Eight a year ago, falling to eventual national runner-up South Carolina in a 54-50 slugfest. The Blue Devils did lose plenty of talent, but still should be a competitive squad, particularly on the road.
Tough Luck on the Double Dip
The SEC schedule goes for 16 games, but it’s a 16-team league. This means that every SEC school will play every other team once… and then one other team twice. LSU certainly didn’t get an easy path here, as its double-up opponent is Texas, fresh off a Final Four season a year ago. The Tigers have a home-and-home battle with the Longhorns. Star scorer Madison Booker will be back with the ‘Horns and will make that battle a tough one.
Plenty of Heavyweights Ahead
View this post on Instagram
The usual SEC slate involves a ton of intriguing matchups. That first South Carolina/LSU game of the post-Fulwiley transfer era is certainly one to circle. It’s at LSU on Valentine’s Day. Likewise, the annual battle with Tennessee, something of a sleeping SEC giant, will take place at LSU on February 26th in the Tigers’ penultimate regular-season game.
Some of the more notable road trips, aside from the aforementioned visit to Texas, would include at Oklahoma (and standout Reagan Beers) on January 18th and a battle at top scorer Mikayla Blakes and Vandy on January 4th.
A fun trip definitely highlights the non-conference games
Suffice it to say, Kim Mulkey won’t win any awards for playing a bulky non-conference schedule. Granted, a 16-game SEC slate awaits, but many of LSU’s non-conference foes could probably play with an extra player on the floor and not threaten the Tigers. But a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands in late November is a highlight. LSU will play Marist and then either Miami of Ohio or Washington State. The hoops might not be epic, but the trip will be.
Slate of Games Should Test LSU Well
Yes, the Tigers could have been more adventurous in the pre-conference schedule. But with the nature of the women’s NCAA Tournament and the ensuing push for a Top 4 seed, it’s hard to blame Kim Mulkey for taking relatively few risks with a team that will be working out its chemistry in the early part of the season.
But that SEC schedule will offer everything from talented backcourts to tough post players like Beers. If the SEC schedule won’t get LSU ready for postseason play, nothing will. The Tigers set up a path that’s both reasonably challenging but also shouldn’t stop them from claiming a top-four seed and two home games in the NCAA Tournament.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
