As soon as last season ended, Hokie fans were hoping that the first ACC/SEC Challenge would give us a rematch from the Women's Final Four between Virginia Tech and LSU.
Sure enough, those hopes have been fulfilled with the Hokies and Tigers set to face off this fall.
We're getting a Virginia Tech-LSU Final Four rematch in the ACC/SEC Challenge in what clearly appears to be the headline game of it. Also confirmation of VT-Auburn on the men's side.
— Tim Thomas (@TimThomasTLP) June 28, 2023
Great games for the #Hokies, disappointing though that neither are in Blacksburg https://t.co/RPVZdOZFsL
Virginia Tech will travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU on Thursday, November 30th at 9pm Eastern in a game that almost certainly will be on ESPN. There's no doubt that this is the biggest game of the Women's ACC/SEC Challenge and may be the biggest one in terms of the buzz side overall even including the men's side given that buzz.
This matchup will be full of stars and tremendous matchups from the battle in the post between Liz Kitley and Angel Reese to the battle at the point between Georgia Amoore and Hailey Van Lith who have faced each other plenty of times previously when Van Lith was at Louisville.
Of course, the coaching matchup also pits two of the best in the business against each other in Kenny Brooks and Kim Mulkey which should be fantastic after last season's game saw plenty of highly successful adjustments headlined by the VT shift to zone that sparked a huge run for the Hokies to close the first half and take control of the game through the third quarter.
Early season matchups with star power and a little bit of heat from the previous season like this game are great for the sport of college basketball as a while. VT-LSU headlining a two-day slate that also includes UNC-South Carolina and Notre Dame-Tennessee is great for the sport while also feeding fan bases that are seeing the sport grow in popularity.
This also adds to what will be a strong non-conference schedule for the Hokies that includes a showdown with Iowa in Charlotte plus a trip to the Cayman Islands that is likely to include a game against at least one of UCONN, UCLA, and LSU (though a matchup in the Caribbean vs the Tigers seems unlikely given this matchup).
The rematch that everyone wanted is coming this fall when the Hokies and Tigers face off in Baton Rouge after their wild Final Four matchup in Dallas this past season.
