BATON ROUGE, LA ― TheNo. 2 LSU Tigershave given their brand of basketball a simple name: "The Show."
"We're going to give y'all a show. Whether that's behind-the-back passes ― we're going to have celebrations. We just play with a lot of passion. I think from the top of our roster to the bottom, we just love basketball," guard Jada Richard said.
"I feel like there's a lot of people who play basketball, but they don't like it. Feel like we all love the game. We love coming to practice every day, pushing each other. We love the grind. We love the in between, the practices and things like that. ... LSU women's basketball, we have that grit, that passion, so that's why we're the show."
LSU owns the most explosive offense in the country. The Tigers average just over 95 points a matchup, have four players who average double digits and have the highest producing bench in the nation (39 points per game). Underhead coach Kim Mulkey, LSU has scored 100 points or more 15 times this season, including a 116-58 win over the Jacksonville Dolphins in thefirst round of March Madness.
The win over Jacksonvilletied an NCAA recordfor the most 100-point games in a season with Long Beach State (1986-1987). In the matchup against the Dolphins, the Tigersscored 64 points by halftime, but they were just getting started. In the third quarter, as they increased their lead to more than 30 points, the smiles started slowly emanating from faces as LSU pulled off thrilling shots, multiple steals and even a behind-the-back pass in transition for a score. The crowd in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center roared with excitement after every move as the Tigers relished in the moment.
"I feel like we're appealing, and we're fun to watch, from the celebrations to what we're doing on the bench towhat Coach (Kim) Mulkey's wearingto the coaching staff, what outfits they're gonna wear to the game ... I think we're just fun," guard Mikayla Williams told USA TODAY Sports.
"Coach (Kim) Mulkey definitely says, 'The score is 0-0. Don't look at the score. Just keep playing hard.' So that's kinda what we do, continue to play hard, continue to stick to our principles. At the same time, like I said, we like to have fun a little bit and keep the crowd into it."
"The Show" is off the court, too. On the eve of LSU's second-round matchup against Texas Tech, the Tigers are in their locker room, complete with vanity lighting, a salon and a beauty station to get prepped for game days. As USA TODAY entered the room where players were congregating for media interviews, a massive card game was going on. The Tigers were playing war and chatting about other games they needed to learn, like gin rummy.
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"I hate losing," one player said. "Money, shuffle the deck," another said toassistant coach Seimone Augustus, an LSU alumna and four-time WNBA champion. Augustus jokingly asked why she had to shuffle before playfully chiding her players about not being able to properly shuffle. Yet, there she was laughing and enjoying the off-court version of "The Show" as she attempted to understand where the, at times, hysterically chaotic card games were going.
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While the scene in the locker room might have been filled with childlike joy and raucousness, it was amazingly calm, controlled, much like an actual show. Every player enjoying the time together and doing so on their terms, similar to how LSU has played all year. The players are "The Show," and they enjoy being in "The Show" while playing basketball, never losing sight of the ultimate goal.
"We're very intentional about improving things. Like, there's always room to improve," guard Zakiyah Johnson said.
"I don't think a lot of people really focus on that a lot. You've got teams who are undefeated, teams who win a lot of games, and they're not really worried about what they can do to fix it. They don't think they can. But for us, you know, Coach (Bob) Starkey, he's always ready with something to fix. Even if we had the best game of our life, there is something to fix, and I think that's really important."
If LSU advances past No. 7 Texas Tech on Sunday at Pete Maravich, the Tigers will take "The Show" out on the road. LSU will play the winner of No. 3 Duke and No. 6 Baylor at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, when the Sweet 16 open unfolds March 27-28. Multiple players told USA TODAY they look forward to traveling because, no matter where they go, people enjoy watching them play.
"It's exciting. I feel like we don't play basketball like any other team. We're very exciting. We're just a vibe,"guard Flau'jae Johnsonsaid.
"When we go out, and we sell out other people's arenas. It don't get much bigger than that. It's like home games at away games. So I just think that's pretty cool. That's 'The Show' for sure."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Why LSU women's basketball is called 'The Show,' explained