When it comes to March Madness, a win is a win no matter what. The LSU Tigers may have found themselves in a dogfight with the underdog Rice Owls, but they hung on for a 70-60 win to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Following the game, both head coach Kim Mulkey and star player Angel Reese spoke about the win.

Kim Mulkey was very direct about the need to keep things in perspective as per Chessa Bouche of BR Proud.

“That was an ugly basketball game,” Mulkey said. “But we won. You got to keep perspective.”

Angel Reese spoke about the number of turnovers LSU had and the need to fix that issue heading into the second round, as per Tyler Harden of The LSU Reveille.

“Of course we got to clean that up,” Reese said. “But we'll get back in the lab, figure out what we messed up on film and move on to the next game.”

While Reese was fourth in scoring for LSU against Rice with only ten points, she grabbed 19 rebounds, came up with three steals and a single blocked shot. LSU was led by Aneesah Morrow who finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Reese has been LSU's star player for much of this season. She is eligible to enter the WNBA Draft this year but has not yet made a decision on her future. She has another season of college basketball eligibility due to her COVID year.

This season, Reese averaged 19.0 points per game, 13.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals with splits of 49.1 percent shooting from the field and 73.4 percent shooting from the free throw line. Reese is considered a first round pick should she declare for the WNBA Draft.

LSU gets major backlash after hard-fought win vs. Rice

But while Mulkey and Reese were ready to turn the corner to the next game, not everyone shared the same belief in LSU being alright moving forward. Despite LSU having a massive discrepancy over Rice at the free throw line, LSU was still in a tight game.

At one point in the game, LSU had shot 22 free throws compared to none for Rice. The final discrepancy was 31-8 in favor of the Tigers. To have that big of an advantage and barely pull off the win could pose problems for the defending champs in each round of March Madness.

Several fans took to social media in disbelief that the defending champs could be pushed like this against an inferior opponent.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Sky's Angel Reese flexes next to WNBA logo before 2024 season, Kamilla Cardoso in background

Christopher Smith ·

Hailey Van Lith in a TCU basketball uniform on right, Angel Reese in a Chicago Sky uniform on left.

Joey Mistretta ·

Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark, Los Angeles Sparks player Cameron Brink, Chicago Sky players Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese

Erin Achenbach ·

It's been a shaky season for the Tigers regardless. They have not looked as dominant as they were last season during conference play. They've had to integrate two high profile transfers in Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow.

LSU now advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they will face another underdog on Sunday in Middle Tennessee. Middle Tennessee upset Louisville in the first round. The Tigers will need a much better effort if they have hopes of repeating as champs.