Sunday was a women’s basketball fan’s dream, with seven top-25 matchups, one overtime contest and three upsets. Free from the chaos were UConn and UCLA, the country’s top two teams, who both won in lopsided fashion. They retain the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in my poll.
Here’s where the rest of the teams ended up.
3. South Carolina (3)
Dropped out: Maryland (21)
Almost famous: Washington, Utah, Iowa State, Alabama, NC State, Fairfield, North Carolina, Stanford, Minnesota
Notes on the votes:
Texas: The Longhorns look like themselves again. After starting the season 18-0, Texas lost to LSU and South Carolina in back-to-back games. Since then, the Longhorns have recorded three straight wins, most recently against another top-15 squad in Oklahoma. Texas was dominant from the start, taking a 19-10 lead in the first and never relinquishing the advantage.
Texas is a team that can make a deep tournament run because of its balance, something that was on display against the Sooners. Justice Carleton and Madison Booker each finished with 16 points, while guards Jordan Lee and Rori Harmon had 14 and 10 points, respectively. Freshman Aaliyah Crump had 12 off the bench, including two three-pointers. The Longhorns, who have long been criticized for their lack of three-point shooting, made 5 of 11 on the game.
Iowa: It was a tough week for the Hawkeyes. They started Big Ten play with a 9-0 record, but suffered two losses this week. The first was to a struggling USC team and the second was a blowout at the hands of UCLA, the conference’s top squad. This is still an excellent Iowa team, but there is a clear gap between the Bruins and the Hawkeyes. UCLA will likely cruise to a Big Ten title, while Iowa will have to settle for second place.
Michigan State: The Spartans are playing high-level basketball right now. Despite losing to Michigan in overtime on Sunday, this team is one I wouldn’t want to face in March. MSU plays excellent defense and has five players who score in double-figures. Sophomore guard Kennedy Blair has been particularly impressive, averaging 13.4 points, 7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Against Michigan she carried the Spartans with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
MSU played close with both Michigan and Iowa in its last few games, showing that this team is close to turning a corner.
TCU: The Horned Frogs have the personnel to be one of the country’s top teams, but at times, they don’t show up. It happened in early January in an upset loss against Utah and again against Texas Tech on Sunday. TCU settled for too many threes against the Raiders, going 5 for 18 from beyond the arc. Defensively, the Horned Frogs couldn’t contain senior guard Snuda Collins off the bench, as she scored 28 points to lead her squad.
The Horned Frogs need to find consistency in the second half of conference play if they want to be ready for March Madness.
West Virginia: After playing close with two of the Big 12’s top teams this season – losing 71-66 to Texas Tech and 51-50 to TCU – West Virginia finally pulled off a big win, topping Baylor 70-60 on Sunday. Defense continues to be West Virginia’s calling card, as the Mountaineers forced 30 turnovers against Baylor, turning those miscues into 38 points on the other end.
Illinois: The Illini may be eighth in the Big Ten, but they can play with anyone. They lost to UCLA 80-67 on Wednesday in a game that was just an eight-point difference with 2:47 remaining. Illinois followed that up with a 75-66 upset over Washington. Freshman forward Cearah Parchment is emerging as one of the Big Ten’s newest stars. Over Illinois’ last three games, Parchment is averaging 24.6 points and 9.3 rebounds.
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