What to know about defending champion LSU, Kim Mulkey before game vs Lady Vols basketball

Lady Vols basketball welcomes the reigning national champions to Knoxville this weekend.

Tennessee squares off with LSU, which has been ranked in the top 15 all season, on Sunday. Both teams are sitting near the top of the SEC standings, though both have dropped a handful of games and won't be overtaking undefeated South Carolina for the regular-season title. Tennessee is 1-2 against LSU in coach Kim Mulkey's tenure.

Here's what you need to know about the Tigers before their matchup with the Lady Vols.

Kim Mulkey led LSU basketball to national championship in two seasons

Mulkey returned to her home state to be the coach at LSU after spending 21 years at Baylor, where she won her first three national championships (2005, 2012, 2019).

In her second season with the Tigers, she led them to a national championship. Mulkey became the first coach in women's college basketball to win national championships with multiple programs. LSU has recorded at least 20 wins in each of her three seasons and went 34-2 en route to the national title last season. Mulkey went into this season with a 692-112 overall coaching record and went 60-8 in her first two seasons with the Tigers.

Mulkey won two national championships as a player at Louisiana Tech, where she went to the Final Four every season. The only year the Techsters didn't make it to the national title game was her senior season when they lost in the Final Four.

Angel Reese turns into superstar after championship season

Senior forward Angel Reese was launched into stardom after LSU's national championship run. She was voted the 2023 Final Four Most Outstanding Player and was a consensus first-team All-American. Reese logged a double-double in all six of LSU's NCAA Tournament games, which set the NCAA record of 34 in one season.

Reese went viral during the national championship game against Iowa when she directed the "you can't see me" gesture at Caitlin Clark that Clark had used against Louisville in the Elite Eight. Reese defended herself, saying she did it for "girls that look like me" to be "unapologetically you." Her performances combined with that moment turned Reese into one of the faces of women's basketball, and her stardom continued to rise over the spring and summer.

Reese has graced the cover of multiple magazine covers, including SLAM, Sports Illustrated – and she was in the 2023 SI Swim issue – and, most recently, Women's Health. She won Best Breakout Athlete at the 2023 ESPYs and 2023 BET Sportswoman of the Year. Reese even met Beyoncé at her concert in Baton Rouge in September.

Flau'jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams star alongside Angel Reese

LSU lost multiple key seniors from last season, but it reloaded with transfers and a top-ranked freshman class led by No. 2 freshman Mikaylah Williams, who has lived up to every bit of the hype.

The 6-foot guard has been one of LSU's leading scorers all season, and she set an incredible career-high 42 points against Kent State. Williams is one of the most well-rounded players in the freshman class, and the Tigers would have more losses on the schedule without her.

Flau'jae Johnson, who won SEC Freshman of the Year last season, took huge strides over the offseason and has become a key player for LSU. Her scoring is more consistent and she has a knack for making timely plays for the Tigers. Johnson is also a rapper and is signed to Jay-Z's label Roc Nation.

Aneesah Morrow transferred to LSU after playing two seasons at DePaul – she recorded 53 double-doubles in 66 career games there. The 6-foot-1 junior switched from being a forward to playing more on the wing, and she has thrived. Morrow nearly averages a double-double and is one of the most consistent players, and she's arguably LSU's best defensive player.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols-LSU basketball: What to know about Kim Mulkey, Angel Reese