The third year of the ACC-SEC Challenge in women’s college basketball is going to be headlined with a matchup between two teams who advanced to the Elite Eight, but haven’t met on the court in 15 years.
Kim Mulkey’s LSU Tigers will visit Kara Lawson’s Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, on Thursday, Dec. 4, according to multiple sources familiar with the schedule. The full schedule was later released shortly after this story was originally published.
Times and TV designations are still yet to be finalized, but the clash between Duke and LSU feels like one that would be a top candidate for the primetime slot on ESPN.
Duke is 3-2 all-time against LSU, but the two sides haven’t played since the 2010 NCAA Tournament when the Blue Devils beat the Tigers 60-52 in Cameron to advance to the Sweet 16. The most noteworthy game between LSU and Duke came in the 2006 Final Four, where the Blue Devils’ defense swarmed National Player of the Year Seimone Augustus — holding her to zero first-half points for the first time in her career — and going on to win 64-45 to advance to the national title game. In the previous season, LSU beat Duke in the Elite Eight in Chattanooga behind 24 points from Augustus and a double-double from Sylvia Fowles.
Augustus will be part of this game too, as she’s now an assistant coach for the Tigers.
Both Duke and LSU are coming off great seasons that saw each team win at least 29 games.
The Blue Devils captured the ACC Tournament title and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2013. Duke’s strong defense held South Carolina to its lowest scoring total of the season, 54 points, but the Blue Devils ultimately fell to the Gamecocks in Birmingham, Alabama, with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Duke returns ACC Rookie of the Year Toby Fournier and All-ACC defender Jadyn Donovan while adding ESPN’s fourth-ranked recruit, Utah point guard Emilee Skinner.
LSU advanced to at least the Elite Eight for the third straight season before falling to UCLA. The Tigers brought back star guards Flau’Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams, but also added several high-profile reinforcements through the transfer portal, including Notre Dame center Kate Koval, East Carolina wing Amiya Joyner, and dynamic South Carolina guard MiLaysia Fulwiley. Mulkey’s incoming recruiting class also includes four top 35 recruits.
During Mulkey’s four-year tenure in Baton Rouge, LSU is 9-0 against ACC opponents. The Blue Devils are 4-4 against SEC teams under Lawson, with three of those losses coming against South Carolina.
After tying in the first year of the challenge, the SEC won 10 of 16 games against the ACC last season.
Duke and LSU haven’t met in the regular season since 2000, when they played a neutral site game in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Other highlights of the ACC-SEC Challenge schedule include N.C. State visiting Oklahoma on Dec. 3, and then North Carolina at Texas, Notre Dame at Ole Miss, and South Carolina at Louisville on Dec. 4.
