Remember: don’t get eliminated
Survive and advance.
#2 LSU looks to make a return to nationals, but they’ll be tested well. The Tigers won their regional semifinal with a 197.800, the second-best regionals score in LSU history and best on the road. They don’t need to worry about repeating their finish as much as they need to focus on finishing ahead of two of the following three teams: #15 Minnesota, #10 (seed, #12 NQS) Arkansas and #7 Kentucky. The meet begins at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN+ with Alex Perlman and Anastasia Webb on the call. This will be anything but smooth sailing just like the rest of the season.
LSU’s History against Kentucky and Arkansas:
LSU is 87-10 all-time against Kentucky and 12-1 in the postseason. The last time these two met in the postseason was at the 2021 Utah Regional Final where LSU advanced over the Wildcats 197.750-197.600.
LSU is 46-6-1 all-time against Arkansas and 11-1 in the postseason. The last time these two met in the postseason was at national semifinals in 2018 where LSU advanced over the Razorbacks to Super 6 197.4750-196.4250. This is LSU’s first meeting with Arkansas in Bud Walton Arena.
#12 Arkansas (197.445 NQS, 13-11-1 overall (8-6-1 regular season), 6th at SECs, begin on vault)
Semifinal scores: 197.325 AA; 49.375 VT, 49.150 UB, 49.350 BB, 49.450 FX
Event rankings: 11th on vault [49.355], 15th on bars [49.355], 16th on beam [49.380], tied for 9th with Florida on floor [49.565]
Preview: Arkansas couldn’t have gotten a luckier draw for the regional final. They’re at home and getting home order in front of what will hopefully be an engaged and partisan crowd. They feed off that energy and have history on their side: every seeded regional host who has advanced to regional finals has advanced to nationals. They need to hit their routines better than usual, though. Even though it’s at home, scoring has been tighter than expected, so don’t expect them to go 198.100 again unless they are hitting like a 198.100. Their best chance of advancing will come by being within striking distance when floor rolls around. Floor has the loosest judging in the NCAA this season and has been their best event by far. If Arkansas is within .150 of second coming into the final rotation, they have a good shot of overcoming the deficit.
#7 Kentucky (197.810 NQS, 19-7 overall (12-4 regular season), 3rd at SECs, begin on bars)
Semifinal scores: 197.100 AA; 49.350 VT, 49.025 UB, 49.350 BB, 49.375 FX
Event rankings: 5th on vault [49.450], 9th on bars [49.445], 7th on beam [49.445], tied for 6th with UCLA on floor [49.615]
Preview: Kentucky is the only team in this regional final that starts on their worst event by ranking, but they got familiar with it at SECs. That should help them out a bit. Kentucky is looking down the barrel of history: the first time they’ve ever made nationals in consecutive years. If anybody should feel pressure in this meet, it’s the Wildcats. The first thing they need to do is overcome those nerves. The second thing they need to do is hope Raena Worley does Raena Worley things on all four events to give them an oomph they need. Beam is an event where there’s genuine concern about consistency. Arianna Patterson has competed the event 13 times in 2024. She’s gone below 9.800 six times. I feel bad about saying it all comes down to one person, but the momentum swing that comes when she hits is palpable. They have to be clean on vault to close it out, and that’s more than just stuck landings, it’s everything else. If they do that, they can advance.
#15 Minnesota (197.310 NQS, 26-8 overall (16-6 regular season), 2nd at Big 10s, begin on floor)
Semifinal scores: 196.950 AA; 49.225 VT, 49.025 UB, 49.200 BB, 49.500 FX
Event rankings: 19th on vault [49.235], 21st on bars [49.285], 8th on beam [49.435], 11th on floor [49.560]
Preview: Minnesota is not here because they can’t. In fact, they’re the only team who has the same rotation they had on Thursday. If you don’t think Minnesota is a threat to steal a ticket to Fort Worth, look at the header again. Minnesota finished .100 out of the Big 10 title, and they looked legit doing it. If Arkansas and Kentucky look sloppy from the pressure of trying to make nationals, the Golden Gophers can burrow under both of them with incredible execution on vault and bars. Mya Hooten is not the entire team; it’s up to Gianna Gerdes, Sarah Moraw, Ella Sirjord, Marissa Jenks and more to step up and pull off a shocker.
#2 LSU (198.215 NQS, 22-3 overall (12-3 regular season), SEC champions, begin on beam)
Semifinal scores: 197.800 AA; 49.375 VT, 49.375 UB, 49.350 BB, 49.700 FX
Event rankings: 2nd on vault [49.510], 3rd on bars [49.570], tied for 3rd with Florida on beam [49.530], 1st in NCAA history on floor [49.725]
Preview: Well then, here things stand. It’s going to be a tight regional final, but that’s what everyone expects. If LSU is going to do what they think they can do, they have to start with a strong beam rotation that has six hits. When floor rolls around, they need to build up a solid cushion with a repeat of Thursday’s performance. Most teams would say that’s too difficult, but LSU is the type of team that can follow up a 49.700 on floor with a 49.650 or a 49.750 because LSU is not most teams. Vault needs clean sticks, but they can’t try too hard to get a stick and risk getting deducted harder for extra stuff. Bars needs to finish strong. The last time LSU finished on bars, they stuck everything in sight. That’s important, but the biggest key is to clean up the execution beforehand that got them dinged Thursday night.
I’m extremely stressed, but who isn’t? It’s the regional finals, it’s a shot at extending the season, it’s a meet that starts on the most stressful event before moving to the most fun event, it’s three SEC teams battling for two spots with a Big 10 team trying to make a shocking return, it’s the NCAA’s best tournament and it’s hopefully going to be fun for the fans.