The LSU Tigers are set to clash with the defensively stout Texas Tech Lady Raiders in a high-stakes March Madness showdown.
The LSU Tigers now know their opponent for the Round of 32 of the 2026 women's NCAA tournament: the No. 7 seed Texas Tech Lady Raiders, who beat the 10-seeded Villanova Wildcats by a score of 57-52.
Kind of similarly to the Tigers, the Lady Raiders went undefeated through their regular season schedule and then sort of stumbled once they got to conference play. They finished the year 26-7, losing in their first matchup in the Big 12 Tournament.
Unlike LSU, though, Texas Tech mostly locked in when playing top teams, going 3-0 against ranked opponents and beating the No. 6-seeded Baylor Bears twice.
The Lady Raiders are led by guard Bailey Maupin and forward Snudda Collins off the bench, then it's mostly a rotating group of others that help out. Three players have double-digit scoring. No one has at least six rebounds per game, but eight have at least two. Gemma Nunez leads them with 4.7 assists, but only Maupin has at least two per game besides her.
Maupin led their offense with 17 points, adding three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. She was held to just 4-of-13 from the field, but went 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Texas Tech as a team went 14-of-15.
This Lady Raiders team is certainly more known for its defense. They held opponents to 57.9 points per game this season, which is one of the best marks in the nation. The Tigers, another great defensive team, allowed 60.8 points per game.
Texas Tech's offense scores just 71.5 points, though, which is less impressive.
LSU should certainly be able to win this game, barring a major upset. The Lady Raiders aren't really built to pull off that type of upset, but anything can happen in March.