With the calendar about to show to the brand new 12 months, the true equalizer awaits in girls’s faculty basketball: convention play.
There’s an enormous vary in how tough girls’s basketball packages scheduled their nonconference slates. Some groups, comparable to South Carolina, lined up a litany of ranked opponents, together with NC State, UCLA (which beat the Gamecocks), Duke and TCU. On the opposite aspect of the scheduling spectrum is LSU, which remains to be undefeated however confronted solely three Power 4 faculties, together with only one Top 25 workforce.
League schedules also can fluctuate broadly, however they’re extra degree than nonconference motion. LSU, for instance, is now thrown into the SEC gauntlet of dealing with ranked groups Tennessee (dwelling and away), Oklahoma (dwelling) and Ole Miss (dwelling), and South Carolina, Texas and Kentucky (all on the street).
Like these of the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten, the SEC schedule additionally options new wrinkles stemming from realignment. Texas and Oklahoma be part of the league as packages seeking to problem perennial energy South Carolina. Coaching modifications make Kentucky and Tennessee intriguing groups to watch, too.
Nearly two months into the season and with league play on the horizon, ESPN breaks down every part you’ll want to know and solutions the largest questions concerning the main conferences.
ACC
Front-runner: Notre Dame. The ACC appears just like the Fighting Irish’s to lose. They boast nationwide participant of the 12 months front-runner Hannah Hidalgo, maybe the very best backcourt within the nation (Hidalgo, Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron) and arguably probably the most spectacular assortment of wins over top-5 squads (UConn, Texas and USC). Their probabilities of dominating the ACC solely enhance if Maddy Westbeld returns from a foot harm.
Top challengers: Duke, primarily. Behind the contributions of Ashlon Jackson, Reigan Richardson and freshman Toby Fournier, the Blue Devils seem to have a stronger offense to pair with their usually staunch protection. Wins over Kansas State and Oklahoma throughout Feast Week have been confidence-boosters that this Kara Lawson workforce could possibly be particular.
Others within the combine: NC State and Louisville have been picked to complete second and fourth, respectively, within the preseason ballot however have faltered in nonconference motion, with the Cardinals dropping out of the Top 25. North Carolina additionally has been a bit up-and-down, whereas Florida State, dwelling to the nation’s main scorer in Ta’Niya Latson, hasn’t but made a splash as a workforce. But convention play can provide groups a chance to ascertain better consistency.
Biggest X consider league race? Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have been picked to complete tenth within the league. Fast-forward to late December and so they’re undefeated with a program-record 13-0 begin, ranked thirteenth within the nation and fairly comfortably beat UNC of their ACC opener. Expectations are constructing that these new-look Yellow Jackets, identified for his or her high-powered offense and 3-point capturing, may make some noise within the ACC.
Three video games that might resolve it:
Feb. 17: Duke at Notre Dame (6 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Feb. 23: Notre Dame at NC State (midday ET, ESPN)
Feb. 27: UNC at Duke (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
— Alexa Philippou
Big 12
Front-runner: Kansas State. The Wildcats have been the preseason choose by the coaches to win the league, partially as a result of they’ve probably the most tough gamers to cease in middle Ayoka Lee. She is averaging 17.3 factors and capturing 65.0% from the sector. Ok-State ranks second within the Big 12 in factors scored and first in factors allowed. The Wildcats’ solely loss was to Duke.
Top challengers: TCU, West Virginia, Baylor. The Horned Frogs have the Big 12’s finest nonconference win, in opposition to Notre Dame. Their lone loss was to South Carolina. The Mountaineers have one of many Big 12’s finest backcourts. However, they opened Big 12 play falling at Colorado, dropping an 11-point lead after three quarters by being outscored 25-9 within the fourth. Altitude impact, maybe, but in addition a key win for the Buffs as they return to the Big 12. Baylor misplaced to unranked Oregon and Indiana, however began league play with a 20-point win at Kansas.
Biggest X consider league race? We will see how effectively Iowa State — which was a preseason top-10 workforce and is now out of the rankings — bounces again from what’s been a disappointing nonconference slate and Big 12 opener. Last season, the Cyclones made the Big 12 match ultimate and gave Stanford an extra time scare within the NCAA match. So much was anticipated of them this season, however they have been blown out by South Carolina and UConn and began Big 12 play with a loss at Oklahoma State. Another X issue is how completely different the convention schedule is from simply two years in the past, with eight new members because the begin of the 2022-23 season and the departure of Texas and Oklahoma. There’s no historic body of reference for a number of of those new matchups.
Three video games that might resolve it:
Feb. 5: TCU at Kansas State (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Feb. 11: Baylor at West Virginia (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Feb. 23: West Virginia at TCU, midday ET, ESPN2
— Michael Voepel
Big Ten
Front-runner: UCLA. USC and Ohio State have lived as much as expectations. Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State and Iowa have exceeded them. But UCLA has been the very best workforce within the Big Ten — and maybe within the nation — for the primary two months and is the clear favourite heading into league play. The Bruins are deep, they’ve solved their perimeter capturing woes of the previous few seasons and so they have a flexible lineup anchored by middle Lauren Betts.
Top challengers: USC is in any recreation and any race due to JuJu Watkins. With Kiki Iriafen now discovering her means in Los Angeles, the Trojans are a nationwide championship contender. Ohio State’s full-court press is a high-risk, high-reward method, however it additionally provides the Buckeyes an opportunity in opposition to anybody.
Biggest X consider league race? Lauren Betts’ dimension. Betts shouldn’t be solely among the best gamers within the nation, she’s additionally 6-foot-7. None of the opposite contenders within the Big Ten has a participant who rivals Betts’ mixture of dimension and talent. The remainder of the league’s finest groups are pushed by nice guard play. Do any of them have a approach to decelerate Betts’ inside dominance? The reply will decide if UCLA will probably be severely challenged for the convention crown.
Three video games that might resolve it:
Jan. 23: Maryland at Ohio State (6 p.m. ET, BTN)
Feb. 2: USC at Iowa (1:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
March 1: USC at UCLA (9 p.m. ET, Fox)
— Charlie Creme
SEC
Front-runner: South Carolina. No shock right here. The defending NCAA champions have received or shared the SEC regular-season title eight of the previous 11 seasons. Despite dropping standout middle Kamilla Cardoso from final 12 months’s workforce, the Gamecocks are nonetheless loaded with expertise inside and outdoors. Their solely loss was Nov. 24 at UCLA, however they’ve rebounded effectively from that. South Carolina would not have one most important scoring menace; seven gamers common between 7.2 and 11.3 factors per recreation. It makes them very onerous to protect.
Biggest X consider league race? Texas and South Carolina need to face one another twice. LSU performs each of them simply as soon as (though these video games are on the street). There’s an opportunity the schedule might play into the Tigers’ arms, both for them successful the regular-season title — which LSU hasn’t achieved since 2008 — or ending second. There’s additionally the truth that the SEC virtually at all times has unpredictable upsets as a result of even the lower-tier squads may be harmful in the event that they’re hitting photographs.
Three video games that might resolve it:
Jan. 12: Texas at South Carolina, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Feb. 9: South Carolina at Texas, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN
Feb. 16: LSU at Texas, 3 p.m. ET, ABC
— Voepel
What different conferences may have the largest influence on the bracket in March?
The Big East and Atlantic 10 challenge to have a number of bids and are price keeping track of as a result of they are going to influence at-large berths elsewhere.
In the Big East, UConn and Creighton are locks. St. John’s and maybe a sizzling streak from Villanova are the wild playing cards to observe.
In the Atlantic 10, Richmond beat Oklahoma State and Columbia, however George Mason and Saint Joseph’s ought to stay in competition for an NCAA at-large bid.
The Summit, Ivy and Mountain West may additionally change into multiple-bid leagues. South Dakota State is a possible at-large workforce if the Jackrabbits do not win the Summit League match. A much less seemingly however equally attainable state of affairs may play out with UNLV within the MWC.
The Ivy acquired two bids a 12 months in the past and will do the identical this season if Harvard continues to rack up wins however would not win the league’s four-team match.
— Creme
