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Analyzing LSU women's basketball 2024-25 schedule. Nonconference strength, hardest stretch

BATON ROUGE — LSU women's basketball released its full schedule for the 2024-25 season Wednesday afternoon.

The SEC released in May the conference matchups and now has dates for all 18 SEC games for Kim Mulkey and the Tigers this upcoming season.

In total, LSU will play 18 games at home and 10 true road games. This season's schedule a little different flair to it as LSU will also play five neutral site games in 2024-25, a highwater mark for the program since Mulkey has taken over.

LSU previously announced nonconference games against Stanford (Dec. 5), as part of the annual ACC/SEC Challenge, neutral sites games against Grambling in Bossier City (Dec. 8), against Seton Hall (Dec. 17), as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase in Uncasville, Connecticut and a road game at Illinois-Chicago (Dec. 19).

The Tigers tip off the season hosting Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 4. They'll play their first six games of the year inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center before playing two games in the Bahamas as the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship tournament.

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Outside of SEC/ACC Challenge matchup vs. Stanford, LSU women's basketball's nonconference schedule lacks firepower

Stanford finished last season top five in the NET rankings and advanced to the Sweet 16. But last season turned out to be legendary coach Tara VanDerveer's final season as she retired soon after the season concluded. The Cardinal also lost its best player, Kiki Iriafen, to the transfer portal — she's now at USC. Stanford will look like a shell of its once self and may be a big contest in name only.

Outside of the Cardinal, LSU plays one other team that finished inside the top 100 in NET rankings in 2024. That team is Seton Hall, who the Tigers will face in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase on a neutral court.

Kim Mulkey, LSU women's basketball playing several neutral site games

Last season, LSU opened on a neutral court in Las Vegas and lost to then-No. 20 Colorado.

While the Tigers won't get things started on a neutral court, they'll play their fair share of games at neutral sites, starting with the games in Bahamas. UConn is also scheduled to participate in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship but the tournament hasn't announced final pairings yet so it's unclear if LSU will face the Huskies, who should be a preseason top five team.

LSU participated in the Cayman Islands Classic last season and won both games but lost sophomore forward Sa'Myah Smith to a season-ending knee injury.

In 2024-25, LSU will also meet instate foe Grambling (Dec. 8) in Bossier City, a homecoming game for sophomore sensation Mikaylah Williams, followed by the Dec. 17 contest with Seton Hall in Connecticut.

Toughest stretch for LSU is in SEC schedule, starting at South Carolina

By the time the Tigers board the plane to take on Dawn Staley and the presumed No. 1 South Carolina squad, they'll have already played five SEC games.

LSU will need a fast start in conference play as the end of January is a tough stretch of games. After taking on the reigning NCAA champions on the road on Jan. 23, LSU returns home to take on Texas A&M, which always gives Mulkey's team fits, on Jan. 26.

On Jan. 30, Oklahoma, one of the newcomers to the SEC, comes calling to close out the month. The Sooners sport a revamped roster, headlined by Oregon State transfer forward Reagan Beers, who's one of the top returning forwards in women's basketball. The next game, LSU hosts Mississippi State on Feb. 2. The Bulldogs shocked the Tigers last season in Starkville as now-LSU player Mjarcle Sheppard had a memorable performance to help upset her new squad.

LSU women's basketball 2024-25 schedule

Nov. 4 Eastern Kentucky

Nov. 8 Northwestern State

Nov. 12 Charleston Southern

Nov. 15 Murray State

Nov. 18 Troy

Nov. 20 Tulane

Nov. 25-27 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship*

Dec. 1 North Carolina-Central

Dec. 5 Stanford

Dec. 8 Grambling State*

Dec. 15 Louisiana

Dec. 17 Seton Hall*

Dec. 19 at Illinois State

Dec. 29 Albany

Jan. 2 at Arkansas

Jan. 5 Auburn

Jan. 9 at Tennessee

Jan. 13 Vanderbilt

Jan. 19 at Florida

Jan. 23 at South Carolina

Jan. 26 Texas A&M

Jan. 30 Oklahoma

Feb. 2 Mississippi State

Feb. 6 at Missouri

Feb. 9 Tennessee

Feb. 16 at Texas

Feb. 20 Georgia

Feb. 23 at Kentucky

Feb. 27 at Alabama

March 2 Ole MIss

*denotes neutral site game

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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU women's basketball reveals 2024-25 schedule. What stands out