When LSU cut down the nets last April in Dallas, the Tigers became the lowest seed since Tennessee in 1997 to win as a No. 3. LSU should have no such worries being seeded that low this year.
The defending champions had already elevated to the top of our last Way-Too-Early Top 25 after landing Hailey Van Lith, the top target in the transfer portal. That was before DePaul‘s Aneesah Morrow chose Baton Rouge as her landing spot. With Final Four Most Outstanding Player Angel Reese, the nation’s fifth-leading scorer and second-best rebounder last season, just waiting for those reinforcements to join her for another run, LSU is the easy choice to stay No. 1.
However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t challengers. UConn was riddled with injuries last season, but a return to good health could mean the Huskies returning to the Final Four after seeing their streak of 14 straight appearances in the national semifinals snapped last March. Paige Bueckers missed all of last season and half of the 2021-22 campaign with knee injuries. A full season of Bueckers and Azzi Fudd on the court together could be special.
Ohio State and UCLA each added one major player in the transfer…
