LSU head coach Kim Mulkey joined UConn’s Geno Auriemma in voicing her displeasure over the super regional format.
No. 3 seed LSU traveled over 2,000 miles away from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for its Sweet 16 matchup against No. 2 seed NC State in Spokane, Washington. The Lady Tigers defeated the Wolfpack 80-73 following a dominant 30-point, 19-rebound performance from Aneesah Morrow. LSU advanced to the Elite Eight for the third consecutive year to face No. 1 overall seed UCLA. The regional winner will then make a cross-country trip to Tampa Bay, Florida, for the Final Four, which tips off Friday.
‘I agree with Geno on everything he said about these super regionals only being in two places. We sold our soul too early,’ Mulkey said on Friday. ‘This game has gotten better. And, man, if you still had four regionals, can you imagine the attendance? I know our fan base. They can’t afford to come to Spokane. But they could if it was a little bit closer.’
The NCAA dropped from hosting games at four locations to two regional sites for the women’s tournament in 2023. The women’s March Madness event will have two regional sites through 2028: Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, California, next year; Philadelphia and Las Vegas in 2027; and Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. in 2028.
Mulkey said the NCAA must step up and ‘fix this.’ She added, ‘We don’t have to wait until the contract’s up. Let the people keep their super regionals. Just go add two now. I’ve never ever been one to believe that you can’t work things out if it’s better for the game.’
Mulkey’s main objection about the super regional format involves fans.
‘I wish our fans were here,’ Mulkey continued. ‘I know those of us who came from far have great fan bases. … It matters a lot. Maybe it doesn’t win a game for you, but the reason it matters is you build programs a lot of times, and you can sell to recruit your fan base, your attendance.’
What did Geno Auriemma say about super regionals?
Meanwhile, Auriemma’s main issue with two super regionals is the jam-packed scheduling. For example, UConn and Oklahoma had to be at the Spokane Arena early on Friday, with the Sooners’ press conferences starting just after 8 a.m. while the Huskies practiced at that time.
‘In a normal world, run by normal people, there would only be four teams here. Which means there would be no games (Friday), the games would be (Saturday). Which means we wouldn’t have to get up at 6 a.m. to have an 8 o’clock practice here this morning for an hour,’ Auriemma said. ‘Which means we wouldn’t have to get up at 5 a.m. to have a 7:30 shoot around for half an hour. Takes us longer to get through security than to actually be on the court, okay? God bless whoever wins Monday night, okay, and they have got to fly cross country, which is all day Tuesday, then they have two days, Wednesday and Thursday, to play the biggest game of their life.’
UCONN coach Geno Auriemma rips super regional format. ‘They ruined the game’
Women’s NCAA Tournament scores, upcoming schedule
All times Eastern; Numbers listed are seeds.
Sweet 16 — Friday, March 28
No. 2 Duke 47, No. 3 North Carolina 38
No. 1 South Carolina 71, No. 4 Maryland 67
No. 3 LSU 80, No. 2 State 73
No. 1 UCLA 76, No. 5 Ole Miss 62
Saturday — Saturday, March 29
No. 2 TCU 71, No. 3 Notre Dame 62
No. 1 Texas 67, No. 5 Tennessee 59
No. 2 UConn 82, No. 3 Oklahoma 59
No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 Kansas State | 8 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Elite Eight — Sunday, March 30
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Duke, 1 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 3 LSU, 3 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)
Elite Eight — Monday, March 31
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 TCU, 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Winner of No. 1 USC/No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 2 UConn, 9 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Final Four — Friday, April 4
At Amalie Arena in Tampa Florida
Semifinal 1: 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Semifinal 2: 9:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
National championshp — Sunday, April 6
At Amalie Arena in Tampa Florida
Semifinal winners, 3 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)