Preview: Can LSU get another key top 15 win vs. Oklahoma?

No. 6 LSU takes on No. 13 Oklahoma on the road at 2 p.m. on ESPN2 in a top 15 matchup as the Tigers look to follow up the huge win over Texas with another statement win.

Here are my three keys for LSU and what to watch for, followed by a full preview.

1. Slowing down Reagan Beers — Beers is a monster and one of the best bigs in college basketball, averaging 17 and 11 and doing it efficiently. We saw Texas’ Kayla Oldacre give LSU problems, so the Tigers have to be prepared for a ton of post ups. Kate Koval needs to be ready in this game to matchup.

2. Handling OU’s pace — Oklahoma is No. 1 in the SEC in pace so far this year, while LSU is 14th. This is not a Tiger team that has been able to run as much as it would like, but it may favor them in this game to get the Sooners to slow it down and force a team with zero 3P shooting to execute in the halfcourt. Another note: Oklahoma is last in the SEC in 3P% and 187th in the country. Pack the paint.

3. Utilize depth — Oklahoma plays seven comfortably, but LSu can play nine if it wants to. There should be plenty of energy coming off of the bye with the depth LSU has. I thought that was huge vs. Texas and it can be utilizes again.

LSU vs. Oklahoma preview

Following a bye after a 2-0 week, the sixth-ranked LSU women’s basketball team returns to action Sunday in Norman to face off against the 13th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners at the Lloyd Noble Center.

The Tigers and Sooners will meet at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN2 with Courtney Lyle (pxp) and Andraya Carter (analyst) on the call. Both teams are meeting for the third time in series history with each matchup occurring in the last seven years. 

LSU won the most recent contest, 107-100, in Baton Rouge for the first meeting between each team as SEC foes on Jan. 30, 2025. Oklahoma downed the Tigers in the first game on Dec. 7, 2019, 90-68, in Norman during the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Junior Mikaylah Williams, a Bossier City, La. native, displayed her clutch gene in the Tigers’ 70-65 victory over No. 2 Texas, knocking down big shots all game. The 6-0 guard finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals. As the final minute waned down in the fourth quarter, Williams hit her toughest shot of the contest, as she drained a three with one second left on the shot clock and 1:20 left in the ballgame, giving LSU the 66-59 advantage.

LSU’s victory over No. 2 Texas marked the program’s first AP Top 2 win since 2008 when the Tigers defeated No. 2 North Carolina, 56-50, in the NCAA Elite Eight. LSU’s win over the Longhorns snapped a 17-game losing streak against teams in the Top 2. 

The last time LSU defeated an AP Top 5 opponent was in the 2023 National Championship where the Tigers downed Iowa by a score of 102-85 to claim its first national title.

Going into the contest versus No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 6 LSU is seeking to win back-to-back games against ranked opponents for the first time since the Tigers defeated No. 4 Virginia Tech and No. 3 Iowa in the 2023 NCAA Final Four and 2023 NCAA National Championship, respectively. LSU downed the Hokies 79-72 to punch its ticket to the national title, where it defeated the Hawkeyes, 102-85, claiming the program’s first championship.

In a stretch that started with No. 11 Kentucky, LSU will take on seven SEC teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 (vs. Kentucky, at Vanderbilt, home/away vs. Texas, at Oklahoma, vs. South Carolina, at Ole Miss, and vs. Tennessee). In Coach Kim Mulkey’s time at LSU, the Tigers are 21-14 against opponents ranked in the Top 25 poll at the time the teams played each other. LSU’s five-game opening stretch features four ranked opponents, all of which are currently ranked in the Top 13 (No. 11 Kentucky, at No. 12 Vanderbilt, at Georgia, No. 2 Texas, at No. 13 Oklahoma). 

LSU leads the country in 6 statistical categories: bench points per game (43.8), field goal percentage (53.3), rebound margin (19.6), offensive rebounds per game (18.6), scoring margin (44.2), and scoring offense (100.1).

*LSU press release