Weekend upsets aren’t really that uncommon in women’s basketball. However, some of the games that shook up the national rankings transpired on Thursday with North Carolina State falling to Georgia Tech and Iowa topping Maryland in a top-10 showdown while Gonzaga and Middle Tennessee stumbled against unranked teams.
The next night, Arizona outlasted UCLA in overtime in a matchup of Pac-12 powerhouses.
The national championship rematch, with South Carolina topping UConn once again, was the headliner among Sunday’s games. However, it was not the only show in town as Duke beat Notre Dame in a meeting of ranked teams, Washington stunned Stanford and Louisville took down North Carolina.
This week’s list of key games begins with No. 22 North Carolina State listed by the sportsbook as a 5½-point favorite over visiting and 11th-ranked Virginia Tech.
Looking at the women’s college basketball betting lines, South Carolina (even) is favored in the odds to win the national title. Stanford is next at +375 followed by UConn at +650.
Let’s check the latest NCAAW news, stats, injury reports and NCAAW lines. We’ve got plenty of NCAAW picks for you to consider.
SEC Heavyweights Escape – Barely
Few games are as anticipated this season as the upcoming showdown between South Carolina and Louisiana State, the only two remaining undefeated teams in the country.
However, both the Gamecocks and Tigers had to work to remain undefeated on Sunday.
Host UConn led defending national champion by as many as 11 points despite playing without former national player of the year Paige Bueckers, leading scorer Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme.
Aliyah Boston had 26 points and teamed with Kamilla Cardoso to pull down 15 offensive rebounds in the 81-77 win.
. @aa_boston OH MY GOODNESS!! Season high 25 points for the senior! pic.twitter.com/jimRpnzJIm
— South Carolina Women’s Basketball (@GamecockWBB) February 5, 2023
South Carolina held UConn to just a pair of 3-pointers and were +15 in offensive rebounds.
LSU was on the road against unranked Texas A&M and only led by four points with 1:45 left to play.
Angel Reese had 26 points and 22 rebounds for her third game of the season with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.
The only bad news is that Indiana jumped up from No. 4 to No. 2 after a pair of impressive wins against unranked teams to keep this from being a No. 1 vs No. 2 showdown.
Devils on the Rise
Duke rebounded from a loss at Florida State in late January to win back-to-back games.
It wasn’t easy, but the Blue Devils edged Pittsburgh 53-44 as Celeste Taylor and Shayeann Day-Wilson had 13 points each. That set up a huge showdown with Notre Dame.
Taylor led the way once again with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the 57-52 win as Duke took sole possession of first place in the ACC.
There is still plenty of work yet to be done with Florida State and Notre Dame only a game out of first place and four other teams just two games back.
Perfect at Home No Longer
Iowa State’s unblemished home record came to an end when Baylor got 21 points from Sarah Andrews in a 76-70 victory. That came just three days after a one-point loss at Kansas State.
Leading scorer Ashley Joens was 2 of 15 from 3-point range in the two losses as the Cyclones fell nine spots to No. 21 in the latest Associated Press poll. Iowa State is suddenly two games out of first place in the Big 12 and sitting alone in fourth place.
North Carolina State went from 15th to 22nd and Gonzaga from 17th to 23rd while Middle Tennessee dropped right out of the Top 25.
Longhorns Finding a Way
Texas doesn’t have that one go-to player as the Longhorns were relying on five double-digit scorers to remain in contention for the Big 12 title.
When sophomore forward Aaliyah Moore went down with a season-ending injury in mid-January, there were concerns about the season heading in the wrong direction.
Texas is 13-2 without Moore and is alone in first place in the Big 12 standing after a hard-earned win at Kansas extended the Longhorns’ winning streak to five games.
Team of the Week
Washington Huskies
Washington ended an 11-game losing streak to Stanford thanks to dominating inside with an 11-2 advantage in offensive rebounds.
Freshman Elle Ladine came off the bench to score 21 points in Washington’s first win over Stanford since 2016.
Washington had lost six of seven games before winning the last three games, with no win bigger than the one against the Cardinal.
Player of the Week
Caitlin Clark, Iowa Hawkeyes
Clark wins this award for the second week in a row.
Clark had 42 points on 13-of-19 shooting in a 96-82 victory against nationally ranked Maryland. That was followed up with her third double-double of the season as she finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in a 95-51 win at Penn State.
Clark is averaging 28.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 10.5 assists during the Hawkeyes’ eight game winning streak. It is no wonder that the Las Vegas NCAAB odds list her among the top candidates for the national player of the year.
Now comes a showdown for first place in the Big Ten when No. 5 Iowa plays at No. 2 Indiana on Thursday. In just about any other week, that would be the game of the week. However, with LSU and South Carolina squaring off on Sunday, this goes down as yet another of the intriguing contests this week.
Game of the Week
- Game: LSU Tigers vs South Carolina Gamecocks
- Date, time: Sunday, Feb. 12, 2:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- LSU Tigers vs South Carolina Live Stream: TBS.com
What game were you expecting?
The only two undefeated teams in the country get to square off. South Carolina is coming off a tough win at UConn and now faces the top challenger to the Gamecocks’ SEC dominance.
The matchup in the paint between reigning national player of the year Aliyah Boston of South Carolina and LSU’s Angel Reese, the SEC’s leading scorer and rebounder, should be worth the price of admission. However, the game figures to be decided by the guard play.
LSU and South Carolina rank 11th and 12th in the SEC in 3-pointers attempted, so this will be more about when the shots are made from the perimeter rather than seeing how many shots go down from 3-point range.
