LSU is about to find out just how much basketball can command attention in a football town.
The week ends, of course, with Alabama coming to Tiger Stadium on Saturday. But before that spotlight settles on football, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center gets its turn, and the buzz around LSU hoops feels unusually loud for this place.
It begins Monday at 6 p.m. when the No. 9 LSU women open against SLU.
Then comes Tuesday’s 7 p.m. men’s game against LSUNO, a program using its original name again for the first time since 1974. For LSU, it’s the start of a basketball stretch that carries real weight on both sides of the PMAC.
The men’s side is the biggest storyline, because Will Wade is back. LSU brought him back after firing him in 2022 for NCAA infractions, and the reunion is as bold as it is unmistakably LSU. Wade never lost his attachment to the school, and the school never really lost its attachment to him.
“We’re coming back to make history,” Wade said in March at his introductory news conference. “We’re coming back to try to hang a banner, win a national championship or I’m going to be the first coach fired from the same school twice.”
That’s the kind of line that fits the moment. Wade already gave LSU a strong run the first time around, leading the 2018-19 Tigers to the SEC regular-season championship and the NCAA Sweet 16 while he was suspended from coaching.
Now he returns to a program that hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since he was let go in 2022. Matt McMahon’s four-year run ended with an NIT appearance in 2024, when LSU finished 17-16.
There’s also a future being built alongside the present. LSU already has four prospects committed for next season, and that class is ranked No. 1 nationally.
But this first team is a different kind of puzzle. Nobody remains from McMahon’s final roster, and the current group is a 14-man mix pulled from all over the globe.
The names to know are former UCLA point guard Donovan Dent and 6-foot-8 forward Saliou Niang, whose previous experience came in a pro league in Italy. Eligibility questions, as the source material puts it, remain their own separate headache.
National expectations are modest. LSU was picked 14th in the preseason poll at last month’s SEC media days.
Still, for a lot of LSU fans, Wade’s return is the event. He is the attraction.
And with the NCAA tournament field now expanded to 76, there’s at least room to wonder whether this group can outplay that low preseason slot.
The women enter with a much clearer identity. Kim Mulkey’s team led the nation in scoring at 95 points per game and opened last season with eight straight 100-point outings, an NCAA record. Even after losing stars such as Flau’jae Johnson from last year’s Sweet 16 team, LSU still has serious firepower.
Mikaylah Williams is back as an All-American candidate. MiLaysia Fulwiley brings disruptive, ball-hawking pressure.
Jada Williams arrives from Iowa State to run the point. That backcourt gives LSU plenty to work with.
The question is inside. As longtime LSU assistant Bob Starkey likes to say, “No rebounds, no rings.”
LSU did lose 6-5 Ukrainian Kate Koval, who is now at Baylor, and replaced her with 6-5 Russian Anna Minaeva. Minaeva brings more upside than Koval, but at 17 she has far less experience.
Another piece, 6-3 former Spanish pro Noa Morrow, is out until at least later this month while recovering from a leg fracture. For now, 6-3 Grace Knox and 6-0 ZaKiyah Johnson will need to help hold things together.
“We know what we lost,” Mulkey said, noting she is entering her sixth season at LSU. “I know what we have in our returning players. They’re all very confident.”
That confidence will be tested by a nonconference schedule that includes UConn, Villanova, NC State and North Carolina, followed by regular-season games against No. 1 South Carolina, Texas and Vanderbilt, teams LSU was picked to finish among the top four with in the SEC.
Mulkey’s track record means the women’s team comes with bigger expectations. Her 2023 national title is part of the backdrop now. But this week, the bigger picture is the same for both programs: LSU basketball has arrived with real momentum, and the building is going to feel it.
Can it last? The games are about to start, and LSU is about to find out.
In Other News...
LSU May Be Weighing A Surprising Lamar Brown Role Change
Lamar Browns Instagram post has added a little intrigue to LSUs roster picture, because the freshman defensive lineman appears to be hinting at a possible move to the offensive line. Brown has mostly been used on the defensive side this season, and his playing time has been limited, which makes any potential shift worth watching as the Tigers continue sorting out where young talent might fit best.
LSU has not officially confirmed any position change, and for now Browns future remains in the realm of possibility rather than announcement. Still, a switch like this would be notable for a player whose early college role has not yet fully settled, and it gives the Tigers another personnel storyline to monitor as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Just Got A Stunning Title Vote Before Alabama Week
Nick Saban rarely hands out compliments lightly, which is why his latest national title pick turned heads around Baton Rouge. With LSU sitting at 6-2 and No. 15 in the rankings, the former Alabama coach pointed to the Tigers as a sleeper candidate to win it all, citing a team that has paired strong scoring with a defense that has done its part. Six of LSU's wins have come by 20 or more points, a sign that when the Tigers are rolling, they can separate from opponents in a hurry.
The timing makes the endorsement even more interesting with Alabama coming in at 6-2 and ranked No. 10 for a matchup that already had plenty riding on it. Saban did flag quarterback Sam Leavitt's turnover issues as a possible obstacle, a reminder that LSU still has questions to answer before any championship talk gets serious. Still, getting that kind of vote of confidence from Saban just before Alabama week adds another layer to a game that was already going to carry plenty of weight. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Faces An Early Recruiting Test In A Battle Fans Will Notice
The early stages of B.J. LaFells recruitment already have a familiar LSU feel to them. The son of former Tigers receiver Brandon LaFell, the 2029 prospect has picked up offers from LSU and Notre Dame, along with other programs, and the Tigers are leaning into a pitch that combines family ties with a long track record of developing NFL receivers.
For LSU, this is the kind of battle fans will notice because it reaches beyond the usual recruiting chatter and into legacy territory. Notre Dame gives him a national alternative with its own appeal, and the process is still just beginning, with coaching relationships and development opportunities likely to matter as much as any school name on the offer sheet. [Read more 🡒]