The relatively steady women’s top 10 saw its first major bumps in the road this past week. USC ran into a middling Iowa team that played inspired basketball in front of Caitlin Clark before the NCAA all-time leading scorer’s jersey retirement. Then on Thursday, UConn couldn’t withstand a third-quarter flurry from Tennessee and lost to the Vols for the first time since 2007.
Though neither result will singularly change the shape of the season, they served as a reminder that even some of the best teams are susceptible on any given night. With at least three more matchups between top-10 teams this upcoming week, here’s how to watch those games and a number of others worth keeping an eye on:
Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Apart from a rough shooting afternoon in Boulder, Colo., that came right after the loss of star center Ayoka Lee to a foot injury, Kansas State has been nearly unstoppable, but not because of outbursts on offense. The Wildcats, who rank 11th in the country with 54 points per game allowed, locked back in on defense against No. 9 TCU. Senior guard Serena Sundell has picked up the scoring mantle with Lee out, scoring 27 points in the win over the Horned Frogs. Plus, Kansas State will get Oklahoma State right after the Cowboys scored a whopping 37 points in a loss to West Virginia. A win may cement the Wildcats as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament—and perhaps more importantly a real threat, even without their best player.
Sunday, 2 p.m ET, ESPN
If last week was a setup for the national title contenders, these two teams didn’t get the memo. Texas beat Texas A&M on the road and No. 24 Vanderbilt by a combined 41 points. South Carolina knocked off Auburn and Georgia by a combined 49. These programs are playing their best basketball of the season right now, resulting in a clash of the titans in Austin on Sunday. The Longhorns may have the best player in this game in sophomore forward Madison Booker (16.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 48.8% three-point shooting), but the Gamecocks’ depth is staggering. Dawn Staley isn’t afraid to go eight or nine players deep—and experiences very little drop off when she does. The last time these two teams met, a 67–50 South Carolina win, seven Gamecocks scored seven points or more. South Carolina also turned the ball over 22 times and took 28 fewer shots than Texas … and still won by 17.
Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, CW Network
NC State has quietly maneuvered its way up the ACC ladder the last few weeks and announced itself as a legitimate threat to Notre Dame with Monday’s win over Duke. Aziaha James scored a career-high 36 points on an efficient 15-of-19 from the floor. The win put the Wolfpack in second place in the conference going into a matchup with another opponent in the upper echelon of the ACC. The Seminoles have similarly carved up conference competition in recent weeks, thanks to the steady play of NCAA leading scorer Ta’Niya Latson (26.2 points per game). The ACC stakes of this game already make this one of the more intriguing tilts of the week, so having two pure scorers like James and Latson puts this matchup in elite territory.
Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Volunteers stopped their small, three-game slide with Thursday’s win at home against UConn, which should go a long way in getting the team back on track toward a No. 4 seed, or better. But Tennessee gets no rest, having to go back on the road to take on Kim Mulkey & Co. LSU still has only one loss on the ledger, but has largely avoided having to play the top teams in the SEC—except for South Carolina and Tennessee. The last time these two teams met, they combined for 47 points in the fourth quarter and Kailyn Gilbert hit the game-winner for the Tigers with one second left. Expect another back-and-forth contest with LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson and Tennessee’s Talaysia Cooper leading the charge for their respective teams.
Thursday, 10 p.m. ET, Peacock
UCLA keeps humming along, and did so by stifling No. 8 Ohio State on Wednesday. The game was close for a while, but Gabriela Jaquez—younger sister of former UCLA star and Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.—dashed any hope of an upset by outscoring the Buckeyes 11–10 in the fourth quarter. Center Lauren Betts is still the engine that makes the undefeated machine run, and is doing so by impacting games in different ways. Against Ohio State (19 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks), she scored early. Against Minnesota, she took just five shots but facilitated the offense and ended with 11 assists. USC doesn’t have the size to slow her down and will have to rely on the speed of JuJu Watkins in the backcourt to keep up in the first of two L.A. rivalry games this regular season.
No. 21 California Golden Bears (19–5) at No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (20–2)
Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, ACC Network
Cal seems like a team that can beat just about any other team in the ACC, but also has its fair share of duds mixed in—like a 38-point showing against Duke in mid-January. The Golden Bears have a relatively easy road after Sunday’s game against the Fighting Irish, so if there was a team that was finally going to put a dent in Notre Dame’s 15-game tear, this volatile Cal group trying to solidify its standing in the bracket may pose a threat.
No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (20–2) at No. 7 USC Trojans (20–2)
Saturday, 9 p.m. ET, Fox
The Trojans had no hangover from last weekend’s loss to Iowa, blowing out Wisconsin on the road and having five players score in double figures. It’s that sort of balanced attack that can keep USC from two losses in a week, especially against the Buckeyes, who boast four players who average more than 10 points a game on the roster.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (16–7) at No. 16 Maryland Terrapins (18–5)
Thursday, 6:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
Bubble alert! Nebraska has been solid this season, but had two losses to Indiana and Michigan last week that crippled its résumé. The Cornhuskers now get a Maryland team that has lost four of its last five, but mostly against some of the other top teams in the Big Ten. Suffice it to say, both of these teams sorely need a win.
No. 4 Texas Longhorns (23–2) at No. 11 Kentucky Wildcats (19–2)
Thursday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Georgia Amoore delivered for the Wildcats against Oklahoma, scoring 42 points on 7-of-12 from three and posting eight assists. Kentucky will need another performance like that from the Virginia Tech transfer to take down the Longhorns, who are allowing just 28.4% from beyond the arc this season.
Virginia Tech Hokies (15–8) at No. 13 North Carolina Tar Heels (20–4)
Thursday, 7 p.m. ET, ACC Extra
UNC’s ACC-best defense, coupled with the fact that the Tar Heels don’t have a single player averaging 12 points per game, makes for a lot of ugly outings. But North Carolina has a habit of winning low-scoring games. That’s not the strong suit for the Hokies, who have also had their offensive struggles, but Thursday is the team’s last real chance to pad its résumé before March.
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