NCAAW Week Ahead: Odds Take Hit for Texas
The new year got off to a quiet start as no ranked teams were in action on Monday. The best game of the day might have been San Francisco edging Brown for its fourth win of the season. The only game between ranked teams on Tuesday has Michigan State hitting the road to meet up with No. 4 Iowa, with the women’s college basketball betting lines favoring Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes to take care of business.
The Big 12 leads the way with Baylor, Texas Christian and West Virginia all being undefeated heading into 2024.
North Carolina State, Oregon State, South Carolina and UCLA are the other undefeated teams. With a recent win by UT Rio Grande Valley, that leaves Alabama State, Chicago State, Hampton, Stonehill, and UMass-Lowell as teams still looking for their first win.
The Big 12 and Pac-12 are the only conferences with every team currently having winning records while every Northeast Conference squad has a losing mark.
South Carolina received 34 of the 35 first-place votes in the latest Associated Press poll. No. 2 UCLA received the one first-place vote. In the USA Today Coaches Poll, South Carolina received all 32 first-place votes.
The Gamecocks are still listed by the women’s college basketball futures odds with the best odds of winning the national championship. After South Carolina’s +325 championship odds are defending national champion LSU at +450 and Iowa at +900.
A Tough Blow For The Longhorns
Before Texas even took the court against rival Baylor, the Longhorns were dealing with a huge loss.
Star point guard Rori Harmon suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice.
The junior was off to a brilliant start to the 2023-24 season. She was second on the Longhorns in scoring, averaging 14.1 points on 52.3% shooting. She had one of the best performances to date this season with 27 points and 13 assists in a win over UConn on Dec. 3.
Despite standing 5-foot-6, she was tied for second on the team in rebounding and her 7.8 assists per game were tied for second nationally.
It remains to be seen how Texas rebounds from the loss of the player who had the basketball in her hands more than any other player.
Texas was listed by the women’s college basketball odds at +2600 to win the national title when the season began and those odds have dropped to +5000.
It is far from the only season-ending injury suffered by a prominent player as UConn has had to recover from the loss of sweet-shooting Azzi Fudd.
A Look at the Polls
The top four teams in the Associated Press Top 25 remained the same with South Carolina followed by UCLA, North Carolina State and Iowa.
Colorado went from eighth to fifth with Baylor jumping from 10th to sixth.
Southern California dropped from sixth to ninth after falling to rival UCLA. Texas fell from the ranks of the undefeated teams as Baylor won 85-79 on Dec. 30. The Longhorns tumbled from No. 5 to No. 10.
Other than Baylor, the biggest move was made by UConn. The Huskies went from 15th to 12th following an impressive win over a ranked Marquette team.
Elizabeth Kitley went to WORK to help Virginia Tech avoid the upset 😤
First ACC player over the last 25 seasons to have 30 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks in a game 😳 pic.twitter.com/9VkKAeT0gm
— ESPN (@espn) November 25, 2023
Game of the Week
North Carolina State Wolfpack at Virginia Tech Hokies
- Sunday, Jan. 7, noon ET (ACC Network)
Two of the ACC heavyweights collide in what could be an entertaining early January matchup.
Virginia Tech, the defending ACC champions, swept the two games from North Carolina State a season ago by almost identical scores. The Hokies won 73-61 on the road on Feb. 6 and, less than two weeks later, took the rematch 75-62 at home.
Elizabeth Kitley is averaging a double-double with 19.9 points and 11.4 rebounds for Virginia Tech.
Aziaha James, in her first season as a full-time starter, leads North Carolina State with an average of 15.5 points per game.
Player of the Week
Alyssa Latham, Syracuse
The freshman had 21 points and 12 rebounds to go with two assists, three steals and two blocked shots in Syracuse’s 86-81 win over visiting Notre Dame.
Alyssa Latham is unstoppable on the glass
📺 https://t.co/dBXW3bdjC8 pic.twitter.com/jHcAkNCKHQ
— ‘Cuse Hoops (@CuseWBB) December 31, 2023
She has five double-doubles this season as she has helped Syracuse break into the top 25 in the Associated Press poll.
The Orange fell just short of cracking the top 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Nationally Televised Top 10 Games
- No. 1 South Carolina at Florida, Thursday, 7 p.m. ET (SEC Network)
- Missouri at No. 7 LSU, Thursday, 9 p.m. ET (SEC Network)
- No. 4 Iowa at Rutgers, Friday, 6 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)
- No. 5 Colorado at Arizona, Friday, 8 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
- Oregon at No. 2 UCLA, Friday, 10 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
- Washington State at No. 8 Stanford, Friday, 10 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
- Oregon State at No. 9 USC, Friday, 10 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
- No. 3 North Carolina State at No. 13 Virginia Tech, Sunday, 12 noon ET (ACC Network)
- Mississippi State at No. 1 South Carolina, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- No. 5 Colorado at Arizona State, Sunday, 2 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
- No. 7 LSU at Ole Miss, Sunday, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- Oregon at No. 9 USC, Sunday, 3 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
- Oregon State at No. 2 UCLA, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
Questions Of The Day
Which top 10 team could be at the biggest risk of losing this week?
Third-ranked North Carolina State has a tough road test against defending ACC champion Virginia Tech on Sunday.
Which player do the experts think will score the most points this week?
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark leads the country with an average of 30.9 points per game so keep an eye on Clark and the Hawkeyes in Tuesday’s home game against Michigan State and a road contest versus Rutgers on Friday.
