If there’s any truth to Flau’jae Johnson’s “energizer bunny” claim, today certainly wasn’t the best example. The LSU guard, the team’s top scorer, one with championship experience, and one whom Kim Mulkey entrusted with ‘leader duties’ looked lost on the court today; “I have fun, I’m laughing, smiling a lot. I get locked in, I get serious,” — the sentiments nowhere to be found. So excuse the fans if they misinterpreted the head coach’s ‘disappointed’ gesture at the Big 4. 

A third consecutive Elite Eight on the line, the Tigers set off from the word go against NC State. They pulled an 11-point lead by the first quarter, but as 10 more minutes ticked in, LSU was down 36-40. All the while, Flau’jae Johnson hadn’t put up a single point— a scenario playing out for the first time since 2023, as per the reports. It was then that Kim Mulkey was caught looking disappointed.

In a now viral clip, the head coach was initially standing beside her players after the first half had concluded. But in the second that followed, she walked past Johnson, eyes locked on her with a somewhat neutral expression. The star guard had just received a side-eye! It is a very good possibility that Mulkey’s expressions meant nothing, and that things were simply being taken out of context. At the same time, no one could blame her.

Mulkey isn’t a stranger to the tough-love approach. “You suck,” she had told Johnson earlier this season as she struggled. Now, in the high-stakes matchup, with LSU in need of their most-experienced and leading scorer, the reaction was only expected of the head coach. But it is also true that the junior guard was coming off of shin splints that had sidelined her for the SEC tournament, and suffered an eye injury during the game against the Wolfpacks today. Johnson later revealed she was seeing double after getting poked. Yet, it would hardly justify the numbers she put up.

By the time the game was over, the star guard had only recorded a score of 3 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. This only included only 1 steal and 1 block from her side. However, Johnson would contribute on the defensive front, limiting Aziaha James, Saniya Rivers, and Madison Hayes to a combined 29 points on 8-27 shooting. However, all of that came after the initial half.

Therefore, fans did not choose to think that Mulkey was holding a neutral expression during her captured interaction with Johnson. After all, they themselves were not too pleased with how the player had performed over the course of the game.

Basketball fans poke fun at Flau’jae Johnson going scoreless in first half

One social media user wrote, “Kim Mulkey’s side eye to Flau’Jae Johnson after going scoreless in the first half 👀”

If Kim Mulkey was upset with Flau’jae Johnson at that point of time, then she certainly would have had a chat with her player after the game. After all, despite being on the court for 30 minutes, Johnson recorded only 1-8 (12.5%) with her field goals, 0-1 (0.0%) with her 3-pointers, and 1-2 (50.0%) with her free throws. This marked the 2nd time since November when the player has scored only in the single digits, and was her lowest score over the course of this time period. Johnson had previously made only 6 points in LSU’s overtime loss against the Alabama Crimson Tide in late February. Therefore, that side-eye might be considered ‘well-deserved’.

One individual wrote, ““Flau’jae Johnson held scoreless for the first time since 2023” she didn’t even have to say that fr.”

This might be a reference to a comment potentially made by a game commentator. It highlighted just how bad things were for Johnson. This was a player who averaged 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists during the recent college season. The recent performance was certainly a major low for her.

One social media user wrote, “Probably aren’t gonna win if you can’t get Flau’jae Johnson doing anything”.

Well, fortunately, the LSU Tigers squad proved this commentor wrong. The team had a very close win against the NC State Wolfpack by an 80-73 score. Flau’Jae Johnson could not cover the offensive front during this game, for sure. Fortunately, Aneesah Marrow stepped up. She put up 30 points, a whopping 19 rebounds, 0 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Additionally, Sa’Myah Smith scored 21 points and 11 rebounds over 40 minutes. Mikaylah Williams recorded 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists over 36 minutes. All of this ensured the LSU Tigers squad made the Elite Eight stage for the 3rd consecutive year.

One individual wrote, “Flau’jae Johnson is going to need to show up in the 2H. Looks like the same LSU team that showed up in the 1H against Florida State; everybody needs to wake up – wins are earned, not given”. Well, Flau’jae Johnson did not ‘show up’ in the 2nd half. Johnson scored her first 2 points at the 6:32 mark of the 3rd quarter. She worsened the situation for herself by injuring her eye after colliding with Zoe Brooks as 5:04 minutes remained in the 4th quarter. The player was down for a couple of minutes and grimaced when she got back up. Kim Mulkey eventually subbed out Johnson in favor of Kailyn Gilbert. She did not return.

One social media user wrote, “Hate to say it, but Flau’jae Johnson playing like Te-Hina Paopao tonight 🙁”. The South Carolina Gamecocks player was not too bad during the recent college season, averaging 9.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. However, she hasn’t had much luck during the March Madness series. In the Gamecocks’ last game against the Maryland Terrapins, she made only 2 points, 0 rebounds, and 5 assists. Johnson was sailing the same boat.

The LSU Tigers squad is next set to face either the UCLA Bruins, or the Ole Miss Rebels in the tough fight for the Final Four. Hopefully, Johnson delivers a better performance in that game.