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The Colorado Buffaloes stunned the college basketball world on Monday with a season opening upset over Angel Reese and top-ranked LSU. The win came in dominant fashion as the Buffs outscored the Tigers in three of four quarters.
It wasn’t the start Kim Mulkey was hoping for coming off a national championship last season.
While the Tigers were impressive in that NCAA Tournament run, many were critical of the way the team handled itself on the court. Superstar Angel Reese shouldered the brunt of that criticism due to her viral mocking of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, as well as a few other shots at opponents.
@bleacherreport Angel Reese getting buckets 🔥 #ncaa #marchmadness #wbb #basketball #angelreese #lsu ♬ original sound – bleacherreport
Reese embraced that ‘Bad Girl’ persona, becoming a polarizing figure over the offseason.
She declined an invite to the White House after Joe and Jill Biden asked to bring runner-up Iowa in for an appearance, too. She pulled out of her in-person classes at LSU after reaching the next level of stardom.
Some have gone as far as to call her the greatest Tigers player in school history, regardless of sport.
Love her or hate her, she’s turned her newfound celebrity status into lucrative NIL opportunities.
Interest in women’s basketball is higher than ever thanks to star players like Angel Reese, Flau’jae Johnson, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.
And so are their On3 NIL Valuations.📈
Analysis from @JeremyCrabtree: https://t.co/SDuBOSAg6G pic.twitter.com/DqcQT2vIZt
— On3 NIL (@On3NIL) November 6, 2023
Many are hopeful to see her continue building her career both on and off the court. Others, though, are eager to see her fall given the recent attention.
Those critics were quick to come out after LSU’s season opening loss. ‘Angel Reese’ is now trending on X (formerly Twitter).
“Angel Reese was too focused on her Instagram posts.”
“Love to see some humble pie to start the season.”
“Angel Reese what happened??? All that talking.”
Caitlin Clark coming onto twitter after having 28 10 and 7 in a win while the Angel Reese LSU super team lost by double digits to Colorado pic.twitter.com/yygkJWDnlV
— John (@iam_johnw) November 7, 2023
Reese scored 15 points and had 12 rebounds in the 92-78 loss.