We have barely scratched the surface of what the next five months will hold. All eyes will be on Sunday's pair of top 10 games, which will give us a better idea of who could be a legitimate challenger to South Carolina.
The NC State-UConn game is at 1p.m. The time is Sunday. It is the second top 10 opponent in a row for the Huskies. The last time these two teams met was in the Elite Eight in the year 2022. None of the major contributors from that team will be on the floor Sunday.
On Sunday, South Carolina takes on the second ranked team in the country. A repeat of the national semifinal won by the Cardinal and an early-season nonconference game won by the South Carolina. In the preseason, it was thought that this pair might be a step above the rest of the field, and they might meet again in Dallas this spring. South Carolina beat the No. 1 team in the world. The Gamecocks have not lost to a ranked opponent since the Final Four in 2021.
Here are 10 things we have learned about the season through its first 10 days, from star players to intriguing conference races.
Geno Auriemma couldn't ask for more than two top 10 wins by next week. If Azzi Fudd maintains her current level of productivity, she will be in the national player of the year conversation.
In its 83-76 win over Texas, there were obvious places to clean up in order to reach a 15th consecutive Final Four: post defense, taking care of the ball, eliminating unnecessary mistakes, and identifying who will be in the Final Four.
"'We could be really, really good, and we could be really, really bad'" is what junior point guard Nika Mhl said when asked what he learned about his team against Texas, according to Auriemma. A win over a top-five team might indicate that the Huskies are better than they were thought to be. There's still a lot of uncertainty as to how Auriemma's team will fare.
In the Bluejays' win over Nebraska, Mogensen went 4-of-5 from the 3-point line.
The AP Top 25 had the same number of Big East and SEC teams. No Big East team has been as good as the one in Omaha. Following last season's Elite Eight run, the Bluejays have met or exceeded expectations. Both South Dakota State and South Dakota are on the road. The Cornhuskers were chosen by Big Game Boomer as the best women's basketball team in Nebraska. The Bluejays had a good time poking fun at the decision on social media.
2 in the world, as well as knocking off then-No. 1 in the world. To get into the AP rankings. As dominant as Aneesah Morrow has been, the prospects for the season are not good. If they continue on their current trajectory, there is still a chance for them to get into the tournament.
In his latest update through Monday's games, Charlie Creme projected that Creighton would be a 4 seed in the tournament. There is a 7 seed in this picture.
Aliyah Boston said crashing the boards and South Carolina's depth was important in the win over Maryland.
If the Gamecocks play with the intensity that they did in the Maryland game, they will be able to shoot 3-pointers like they did in that game.
If no one exists, it's hard to say who will be the greatest challenger in the SEC. In the last four games, LSU has put up 100 points, with Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson leading the way. How much can one read into the results when the Tigers have had a cupcake schedule and will not play a Power 5 program until the 13th game of the season?
The past two games, Tennessee has not had JordanHorton. The Lady Vols weren't at their best against Ohio State and UMass. Tennessee has an average of 20.7 turnovers per game. Most players have struggled with efficiency so far, and they have yet to assert their will defensively as they did last year.
There is good news. Tennessee has an opportunity to make up ground at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament and later against Virginia Tech and other teams, if Horston can't go.
The game was out of reach as Louisville won.
It's too early to say which team will have an advantage in the race. Louisville, fresh off a Final Four appearance, has had the most intriguing non-conference run so far, playing Cincinnati, IUPUI and Belmont -- the last of which went down to the wire before the Cards pulled out a 75-70 win. There are still growing pains for new players as they get used to the system.
The Bruins were able to get to the basket because of Louisville's lackluster perimeter defense. Van Lith hasn't had a lot of help so far from the other players, who are all scoring less than 10 points per game.
Jones is a candidate to become a more impactful scorer. "She's going to get better," he said after the victory. I have no doubt in my mind.
Iowa was our preseason pick to win the Big Ten, but Indiana and Ohio State might get more consideration if we did the poll again now. Grace Berger was four assists away from a triple-double in the Hoosiers' victory over Tennessee. Ohio State shined on the defensive end with its press against Tennessee, forcing 29 turnovers, while Rebeka Mikulasikova has been a great complement inside.
The teams are in the top 12. No one is saying that Iowa is in trouble, but its overtime win over Drake, along with the usual problems we've seen in recent years from the Hawkeyes, didn't instill confidence.
Aijha Blackwell led the Bears to victory over Incarnate Word with a game-high 23 points.
Not even two weeks into the season, we've already had four of our preseason top 25 players miss time with injuries. A number of players were deemed out for the year before the season began.
They are considered day-to-day, but their status isn't known. It's a shame that fans can't watch big games because of these issues, but hopefully they won't be a problem in the long run.
The attention will be on each team's likely lottery pick, as well as the post match between Boston and Brink. It's one underappreciated match up. New point guards are still finding their feet.
South Carolina wants to replace Destanni Henderson with two graduate transfers. Following Anna Wilson's graduation, the plan was for Jones to be the primary point guard, but freshman Talana Lepolo earned the start the past two games, boasting 29 assists and 10 turnovers. The position group has an important role to play in setting up the offense and getting their All-Americans the ball.
The girl knocked down the triple.
The average margin of victory for the non-conference opponents is 46.6 points. The Pac-12's first win over a ranked squad was not from the Cardinal. Four people finished with at least 20 points.
Arizona and Oregon are both in the top 20. It'll be interesting to see how the Oregon team does at the Phil KnightInvitational, where they will face either North Carolina or Iowa State.
Our panel predicted that the streak of 12 consecutive regular-season titles would end for the Bears. Iowa State has been the most consistent team so far, despite Northern Iowa taking them to the wire. Texas looked vulnerable against the University of Connecticut but were missing a key player. It's easier to see their pieces working together with her health.
Oklahoma could take a steep tumble in the rankings after getting trounced by Utah, while also dealing with a host of player absences.
Iowa State and Texas are the most likely to win the league. Texas might be the favorite if it progresses to the level that Vic believes it can.
The Missouri Valley Conference's automatic qualification was given to Belmont after it received votes in the latest AP poll. Is it possible the league will end up with multiple bids? He had Northern Iowa in the "Next Four Out" before they lost to Iowa State in overtime.
Drake's overtime push against Iowa caught some people by surprise. There are some upcoming games to keep an eye on.
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