LSU women’s basketball is headed to Nashville for a heavyweight matchup with UConn, set for Sunday, December 20 at Bridgestone Arena in the 2026 espnW Invitational.
The game is part of a broader ESPN Events schedule release that also includes Virginia and Kentucky in the event. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale in early Fall, and fans can sign up for pre-sale access via espnwinvitational.com. Game times and networks have not been finalized yet and will be announced later.
This meeting will put two of the sport’s biggest names on the same floor for the first time since 2016, when UConn won 76-53. That was also the last regular-season matchup between the programs. The Tigers and Huskies are set to meet for the 10th time overall, with UConn holding an 8-1 edge in the series.
The two schools have also crossed paths in the postseason twice, and LSU’s lone win came in the 2007 Elite Eight. In that game, interim head coach and current LSU associate head coach Bob Starkey guided the Tigers to a 73-50 victory.
The matchup also brings together two of the most accomplished coaches in the game. LSU’s Kim Mulkey and UConn’s Geno Auriemma are the sport’s winningest active coaches by percentage. Mulkey owns a career mark of 783-130 and became the fastest NCAA head coach, men’s or women’s, to reach 750 career wins after LSU’s Feb. 23, 2025 win over Kentucky.
Auriemma and Mulkey also lead all active head coaches in national titles, with Auriemma at 12 and Mulkey at 4.
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LSUs Next Quarterback Battle May Already Be Taking Shape
Husan Longstreet has barely settled into LSUs program, but his arrival already gives the Tigers a clearer look at what comes next under Lane Kiffin. The redshirt freshman quarterback, once a five-star recruit at USC, is now part of Kiffins transfer class and has brought real pedigree to a room that always seems to be one turn away from a major reset.
For now, the path is straightforward enough: Sam Leavitt is the established starter, and LSU can afford to let Longstreet develop without forcing the issue. The bigger intrigue is the longer view, because if Leavitt heads to the NFL Draft after the season, Longstreet is the kind of arm LSU could be building toward as the program starts thinking about its next quarterback fight. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Could Face Another Staff Reset Sooner Than Fans Wanted
Lane Kiffin has at least gotten a seasons worth of continuity from his top two assistants, keeping offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and defensive coordinator Blake Baker in place as LSU settles into the year. For a program that has spent plenty of time dealing with change at the top and on the sidelines, having both coordinators back has mattered, especially with Baker already drawing interest before after being considered for the Tulane job and Weis building a reputation as one of the sports more promising young coaches.
Still, the longer LSUs staff performs at a high level, the more likely it is that other programs will come calling. Industry insider Pete Nakos recently listed both Weis and Baker as potential head coaching candidates in the near future, which puts the Tigers in a familiar spot of trying to enjoy the stability while it lasts. For now, LSU has its coordinators intact, but another round of staff turnover could arrive sooner than fans hoped. [Read more 🡒]
LSU's Dominick McKinley Suddenly Has More To Prove Than Expected
Dominick McKinley arrived at preseason camp with the kind of rsum that usually buys a little more certainty. The LSU junior defensive tackle was a former five-star recruit and had shown up on several preseason depth charts as either a starter or the No. 2 option, which made his place in the pecking order seem fairly clear entering August.
Instead, the early work of camp left him with more to prove than many expected. LSU opened with Malik Blocton and Deuce Geralds as the first-team tackles and Stephylan Green and Richard Anderson behind them, leaving McKinley to keep fighting for snaps after appearing in 23 games over his first two seasons with only limited starts. He is still expected to compete for playing time, but the opening of camp suggests nothing will be handed to him. [Read more 🡒]