"You guys control us and I don't like that": Kim Mulkey brings up the money factor and seems unhappy with TV channels influencing LSU game scheduling 

Kim Mulkey's LSU will get a four-day break after defeating Vanderbilt on Monday (83-77). The Tigers will then enter the tougher part of their season, with the road trip to face Florida on Saturday and then the defending champions, South Carolina.

When asked about the long gaps between games in the post-game presser, Kim Mulkey shared that she was happy with a bye week. However, she questioned the reason behind the Commodores game's scheduling on a Monday.

"I'm not real sure why we played on Monday versus Sunday, was it TV?" she said (Timestamp 14:50). "We were on TV tonight? What channel? Okay, well there's your answer - TV. You guys control us, and I don't like that."

"Doesn't TV control everything in college athletics? Doesn't it? And why is that? Money, money, money, money, so there'll come a day where you won't control us."

It was the first Monday evening contest for the LSU since the neutral site game against Washington on Nov. 25, 2024. The Tigers have suited up on Thursdays and Sundays since December, with the expectation of playing Seton Hall at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, which was on a Tuesday.

Kim Mulkey believes the Tigers were fatigued early against Vanderbilt

Kim Mulkey credited Commodores coach Shea Ralph for the tough contest. Vanderbilt went pound for pound throughout the first half (37-37) and was only outscored by one point at the end of the third quarter. Moreover, they kept the game close until the Tigers found a way to hold them off in the last minutes.

While the LSU coach expressed her team's early foul troubles had a lot to do with their struggles, she claimed that the team was playing through exhaustion.

"We put them at the foul line in the second quarter and I got four of them (players) over there (bench) with two fouls that play a lot of minutes for us," Mulkey said (Timestamp 4:40). "So, the second quarter was kind of weird but they took the charges, they got the position on us and took charges and did what they needed to do."

"I thought they made shots, I thought they made contested shots, and I thought we got fatigued some defensively and didn't help each other and we were on an island by ourselves a little bit there."

The Tigers outscored Vanderbilt in rebounds (45-25) and points in the paint (44-32). They also took 14 more field goal attempts than the Commodores. However, factors like free-throw attempts/efficiency, second-chance points others added up to make it a closer contest than Kim Mulkey anticipated.