It all comes down to USC and UCLA — a second rendition of the Battle for Los Angeles — to determine the Big Ten regular season champ on Saturday in Westwood. In the ACC, the Tobacco Road rivalry between North Carolina and Duke will certainly be one to watch on Thursday night. Tennessee has made a late-season push to improve its position in the SEC standings as well as to maintain its projection as one of the top 16 teams in this year’s women’s NCAA Tournament. However, the Vols get a critical road matchup on Thursday against Kentucky. Get ready for an exciting end to the regular season.
Here is the latest report on whose stock is up and down in women’s hoops.
Aziaha James and Zoe Brooks: Up
As the regular season winds down, North Carolina State is one of the hottest teams in women’s college basketball, especially after its epic double-overtime upset on Sunday against Notre Dame. The victory marked the program’s first home win against an AP No. 1 team since 1978. The Wolfpack have won 11 of their last 12 contests that includes Sunday’s win as well as a victory against Georgia Tech last week. The biggest catalysts behind NC State’s success are Aziaha James and Zoe Brooks. Brooks registered a double-double, pouring in a career-high 33 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while James notched 20 points that included a jaw dropping behind-the-back layup that sent social media into a frenzy. NC State head coach Wes Moore couldn’t ask for better play from his dynamic guards.
Duke: Down
Although Duke bounced back on Sunday with a blowout win against Syracuse, the Blue Devils came up short on Thursday when they lost to Louisville 70-62. Currently, Duke sits in a three-way tie with Florida State and Louisville for fourth place in the ACC with hopes of moving up in the standings to get a double-bye in the conference tournament. In addition to Duke’s loss to the Cardinals, the Blue Devils’ three other ACC blemishes include North Carolina, NC State and Notre Dame, the trio that currently hold the top three spots in the standings. Luckily for Duke, the Blue Devils still have a chance to shake things up heading into the final week of the regular season with contests starting Thursday against their Tobacco Road rival North Carolina and a tough road exam on Sunday against Florida State. Junior guard Reigan Richardson notched a productive performance in Sunday’s win after being in a slump. Her impact and production will be key for Duke down the stretch.
North Carolina: Up
The Tar Heels have won seven consecutive games, including Sunday’s 79-75 victory against Louisville. UNC tailed by 12 but came back despite being without its leading rebounder Alyssa Ustby, who has missed the last two games with a left knee injury. The Tar Heels knocked off both Louisville and NC State during the streak thanks to the play of Reniya Kelly, Maria Gakdeng and Lexi Donarski. The Heels also got huge contributions off the bench from Trayanna Crisp, who scored 19 points in her third game back after missing more than a month due to a lower-body injury, and Lanie Grant, who also had 19 points in Sunday’s victory. Let’s see if the Tar Heels remain as women’s college basketball’s only undefeated team on the road this season after Thursday’s contest.
Texas and Tennessee: Up
The Longhorns have won 11 consecutive games after defeating Georgia 57-26 on Monday. Texas survived its four-game gauntlet against AP-top 25 teams, propelling the Longhorns to the No. 1 spot in the women’s AP rankings this week for the first time in 21 years. Despite finishing well below their average in points per game against UGA, the Longhorns limited UGA to 26 points, tying for the fewest points scored by any team in SEC history. The Longhorns remain tied for first place in the SEC with South Carolina and are one of four projected No. 1 seeds in this year’s women’s NCAA tournament. Clearly, Vic Schaefer’s squad has all the pieces to make a run at a national championship.
As for Tennessee, the Volunteers have won four straight contests with their most recent wins coming against Alabama and Florida. The Vols were projected as one of the top 16 teams in this year’s tournament field. But the Vols are in eighth place in the SEC and are projected to get a first-round bye in the upcoming league tournament. A big game against Kentucky awaits Tennessee on Thursday with teams four through eight in the SEC separated by as few as one or two games max.
Illinois: Down
The Fighting Illini dropped two critical back-to-back games against the Big Ten’s crown jewels in UCLA and USC. The losses to the Bruins and the Trojans would have given Illinois two defining Quad 1 wins to bolster both their conference and NCAA tourney resumés. Instead, the Fighting Illini sit at fifth in the Big Ten standings, 3-6 in Quad 1 victories this season while being projected to be a No. 8 seed in the Big Dance. Currently, Illinois sits a half-game behind Maryland for fourth with a season finale on Sunday against Michigan, a team that is part of a three-way tie with Illinois for fifth in league standings.
Georgia Tech: Down
While it has been a record-setting year—wins against three top-25 teams this season—for Yellow Jackets head coach Nell Fortner, Georgia Tech lost two home games to NC State on Thursday and Florida State on Sunday. Those wins would have given Georgia Tech, which ranks No. 28 in the NET, two huge Quad 1 wins. Currently, the Yellow Jackets sit a game behind California for seventh in the ACC and will clash with the Golden Bears in a road contest on Thursday before remaining in California for Sunday’s season finale against Stanford.
Juju Watkins and Lauren Betts: Up
The second edition for the Battle of Los Angeles and the Big Ten’s best teams will square off once again on Saturday. However, this version will take place at Pauley Pavilion. The winner will claim the Big Ten regular season title. Saturday’s battle will only create more intrigue for the conference tournament should the two teams meet each other again. For now, much like the first contest, this game will be filled with star power in Trojans star JuJu Watkins and Bruins star Lauren Betts, two players vying for National Player of the Year. On Sunday, Watkins registered her 22nd game this season with at least 20 points. Meanwhile, Betts notched her 14th double-double performance in the Bruins’ win against Iowa.
Kansas State: Down
The Wildcats lost their first home game of the season on Monday against Baylor and were eliminated from the Big 12 regular season title race. Kansas State is still without star center Ayoka Lee, who underwent a minor surgical procedure on her foot, which will sideline her for the regular-season finale on Sunday against Iowa state as well as the upcoming Big 12 Tournament. Kansas State missed out on opportunities to collect signature wins in the month of February with losses to Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Baylor. While the Wildcats have shown they can win without Lee, it will be interesting to see how KSU responds after Sunday’s game and into the conference and NCAA tournaments.
Baylor: Up
The Bears enter the final week of the regular season on a nine-game win streak following their win on Monday against Kansas State. In addition to beating KSU, Baylor capped the month of February with key wins against West Virginia, Iowa State and Colorado. With the absence of leading scorer and rebounder Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who suffered a knee injury against Texas Tech, and now Bella Fontleroy (shoulder), the Bears will have to compete against TCU for the Big 12 regular-season title without two stars. Nicki Collen has gotten strong contributions from others like Sarah Andrews, Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh, Jada Walker and Yay Felder this season. Those players will be very important to the Bears’ desire to secure the program’s 14th Big 12 regular-season title and the school’s first since 2022.
West Virginia: Down
After a strong win against Kansas State, the Mountaineers suffered a 21-point loss to TCU. Credit the Horned Frogs’ defense for limiting the Big 12’s fourth-leading scorer, J.J. Quinerly (19.4 points per game) to 13 points as well as WVU’s second-best scoring threat Jordan Harrison to 11 points. While it was only WVU’s third loss in 11 games, the timing hurt the Mountaineers’ efforts to improve their seeding in the Big 12 tournament. West Virginia sits at sixth in the league standings, but the Mountaineers can shake things up in the standings on Wednesday with a victory against Utah before concluding the regular season Saturday on the road against Cincinnati.
