Twelve teams remain undefeated in Division I, including UConn and Texas. Deciding which is the best of the unbeatens has been a dilemma in ESPN’s women’s college basketball Power Rankings since the Longhorns beat UCLA and South Carolina during Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas. The Huskies are the defending champs and have dominated every opponent minus a fourth-quarter rally by Michigan. But since those two wins against top-5 teams, Texas jumped past the Huskies to the No. 1 spot.
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It’s time for another flip. Not only did the Huskies beat Iowa this weekend at the Champions Classic in Brooklyn, they never gave the Hawkeyes a chance. The same happened to USC in Los Angeles the week before. Texas had a solid win on the road at South Dakota State — and bravo to the Longhorns for going to Brookings, South Dakota — but in this razor-thin, week-to-week competition, UConn looked better and reclaims the top spot.
And while this question has been posed before, the talk now gets more serious: Will the Huskies go undefeated this season? Now that they have vanquished the Trojans and Hawkeyes, only two nonconference games remain — Notre Dame on Jan. 19 and Tennessee on Feb. 1 — and both are at home.
It seems unlikely UConn will even be challenged in conference play this season. The Big East might not have another NCAA tournament team (Villanova is currently in the field in the latest Bracketology as a No. 10 seed).
Texas, meanwhile, has the gauntlet of the SEC to navigate over the next two months. As good as the Longhorns are, it would be difficult to finish with a zero in the loss column. Their toughest tests come back-to-back on Jan. 11 and Jan. 15 with road games at LSU and South Carolina. If Texas survives those two, a path to an unbeaten regular season would open and an inevitable return to the top of the Power Rankings would follow.
Previous ranking: 2
Next seven days: @ Butler (Dec. 28)
Could the Huskies have the two best players in the country? Sarah Strong entered her sophomore year as the consensus preseason favorite for national player of the year and has played at or above those expectations. Azzi Fudd has reached a new level beyond even her Most Outstanding Player performance at this past April’s Final Four. Her 3.4 made 3-pointers per game and 50.4 3-point field goal percentage rank third and sixth in the nation, respectively, and her steals (2.3) and assists (3.0) are career highs. Players like Hannah Hidalgo, Audi Crooks, Olivia Miles and Madison Booker certainly are also in the mix, but a case can be made that the Huskies are the nation’s top team because they have its two most talented players.
Previous ranking: 1
Next seven days: vs. SE Louisiana (Dec. 28)
In the Longhorns’ past five games, senior point guard Rori Harmon has 51 assists and three turnovers. Those numbers are staggering. Her worst statistical game during the stretch came on Sunday against South Dakota State — and that was still a seven-assist, one-turnover performance. In the middle of the 2023-24 season, Harmon injured her right knee and then struggled with consistency upon her return this past season, especially as a shooter. Now, she might be the best two-way point guard in the country. Harmon’s 9.4 PPG is near a career low, but she’s shooting 42.9% from 3-point range and 52.9% overall. A 5.67 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the nation, and her 3.1 steals per game is a career high for arguably the best on-ball defender in the country.
Previous ranking: 3
Next seven days: vs. Providence (Dec. 28)
Visiting the state of Florida was good for the Gamecocks, who beat two respected mid-major programs in South Florida and Florida Gulf Coast by a combined 121 points. Madina Okot returned from an illness with a pair of double-doubles, and Joyce Edwards followed a 34-point performance against the Bulls with 29 more against the Eagles. She only missed six shots in the two games (28-for-34). Dawn Staley said over Thanksgiving that her team still had some things to figure out. Edwards and Okot appear to have done just that.
0:52
Joyce Edwards describes No. 3 South Carolina’s strengths vs. FGCU
Edwards reflects on her double-double performance of 29 points and 10 rebounds against the Eagles as she discusses the factors that have made the Gamecocks successful so far.
Previous ranking: 4
Next seven days: @ Ohio State (Dec. 28)
With nothing but Big Ten play remaining, the Bruins got their final tuneup with a 62-point win over Long Beach State on Saturday. The biggest takeaway might have been the 14 points scored by freshman Sienna Betts in her just her second game. The first month of nonconference play — which included playing four ranked teams — was challenging for UCLA, and its jump back into conference action will be as well. Four of the Bruins’ next five games are on the road, and three of the next four are against ranked opponents: Ohio State, Nebraska and USC.
Previous ranking: 5
Next seven days: vs. Alabama State (Dec. 28)
The Tigers are still scoring at unprecedented levels. Their 110 points against UT-Arlington in another lopsided win Sunday was only LSU’s eighth-best output of the season. At 107.9 points per game, the Tigers are 13.4 points better than the next highest-scoring team in the country (Michigan State). They also lead in field goal percentage and have six players, three of whom are guards, shooting over 60% on 2-point attempts. The caveat is the schedule, which has only had two teams with a winning record on it (Georgia Southern and Louisiana Tech). One more nonconference game awaits against 3-7 Alabama State before SEC play begins against Kentucky on Jan. 1.
1:18
UT Arlington Mavericks vs. LSU Tigers: Game Highlights
UT Arlington Mavericks vs. LSU Tigers: Game Highlights
Previous ranking: 6
Next seven days: No games
Since coach Jennie Baranczyk’s arrival in 2021, the Sooners’ mission has been to play fast. Mission accomplished. Oklahoma leads the country in possessions per 40 minutes. But the key isn’t just the speed and aggressiveness. The Sooners also top the nation in defensive rebounds. They get the ball first and they do it better than anyone else. North Carolina Central was the latest to feel that dominance. On Monday night, Oklahoma pulled down 37 defensive rebounds and five players scored over 20 points in a 126-54 win.
Previous ranking: 7
Next seven days: @ Oregon (Dec. 29)
The Wolverines got a lot of attention for their 39-point win over Notre Dame and the valiant comeback that fell just short against UConn. They moved into the top 10 — only to go largely unmentioned since. But their offense, led by sophomores Olivia Olson, Syla Swords and Mila Holloway, is explosive and versatile. They rank in the top 20 in field goal percentage, points per play and offensive rebound rate. That has led to Michigan scoring at least 80 points in all but one game and hitting 100 three times.
Previous ranking: 8
Next seven days: No games
The Horned Frogs fortified their unblemished nonconference season with a convincing 77-55 win over a solid Kansas State team in the Big 12 opener on Saturday. Olivia Miles had a season-low four assists but also a season-high 29 points as she continues the best season of her career. Marta Suarez and Clara Silva, who combined with Miles for 65 points on Saturday, are also having their best seasons at TCU, which doesn’t play again until New Year’s Eve against BYU.
Previous ranking: 9
Next seven days: No games
The only thing that seems to be able to stop Audi Crooks from scoring are off days, which the Cyclones will now have until Dec. 31, when they visit Houston. Sunday’s Big 12 opener in Ames against Kansas was more dramatic than expected. Iowa State needed a 3-pointer from Kenzie Hare at the buzzer and every one of Crooks’ 41 points to survive the Jayhawks, 79-76. That marked Crooks’ third 40-point game of the season.
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Iowa State takes down Kansas on buzzer-beating trey
Kenzie Hare’s winning 3-pointer at the buzzer lifts Iowa State past Kansas.
Previous ranking: 10
Next seven days: vs. Wisconsin (Dec. 28)
We still don’t know the full impact of Kaylene Smikle’s season-ending injury because the Terps’ schedule has been softer than in previous seasons. The latest example was Friday’s 98-30 drubbing of Central Connecticut State, when they were led again by Oluchi Okananwa. Now a starter after coming off the bench for two seasons at Duke, Okananwa has flourished in College Park. She has been Maryland’s best player and put up 22 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists against CCSU.
Previous ranking: 12
Next seven days: vs. Stonehill (Dec. 28)
The Commodores picked up two more wins against overmatched opponents, with star Mikayla Blakes putting up modest numbers by her standard (40 total points), but she remains fifth in the country in scoring (24.2 PPG). Another key asset to Vanderbilt’s unbeaten start: freshman point guard Aubrey Galvan, the former Illinois prep player of the year. Her 7.2 assists per game ranks 10th nationally and her 2.9 steals per game, along with Blakes’ 3.4, give the Commodores one of the country’s most opportunistic defensive backcourts.
Previous ranking: 13
Next seven days: vs. Hofstra (Dec. 28)
Clara Strack has taken another leap forward in her second year at Kentucky. She leads the team with career highs in points (16.2 PPG) and rebounds (9.8 RPG) after a 26-point, 7-rebound, 4-block performance in Friday’s blowout of Wright State. The Wildcats’ final SEC tuneup is Sunday against 2-8 Hofstra.
Previous ranking: 14
Next seven days: No games
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The Cardinals have come a long way since their season-opening loss to UConn. The improvement has been steady and incremental and manifested itself in the second-half domination of Tennessee. The balanced scoring that has become the hallmark of these Cardinals was front and center, but that Louisville dominated the glass (59-37) against a team whose entire game plan is built on rebounding might have been most impressive.
Previous ranking: NR
Next seven days: @ Boston College (Dec. 28)
One week after falling out of the rankings, the Tar Heels are back in after a business-like 93-74 win over Charleston Southern. North Carolina leads the ACC in 3-point percentage (36.7%) and 3s made per game (9.1), and it hit 11 of 25 against the Buccaneers. Freshman Nyla Brooks led the way with six 3-pointers on Sunday and is shooting 44.2% from deep on the season.
Previous ranking: 11
Next seven days: vs. Penn State (Dec. 28)
The 90-68 loss to UConn was discouraging, especially coming just 10 days after the loss to rival Iowa State, but there were encouraging signs with an important first month of Big Ten play looming. Considering the level of competition, Hannah Stuelke might have played her best game of the season with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. And point guard Chit-Chat Wright played 35 minutes against UConn’s relentless pressure and only turned over the ball three times while scoring 16 points.
Previous ranking: NR
Next seven days: vs. Pittsburgh (Dec. 29)
It wasn’t so much the 110-38 thrashing of Bellarmine that pushed the Irish into the rankings. Disheartening losses by Baylor, Tennessee and Ole Miss helped elevate Notre Dame. That isn’t to say Notre Dame hasn’t been impressive. Hannah Hidalgo recorded the program’s first 30-point triple-double in the 72-point win and had her second game of the season with double-digit steals (13). What might be even more important for the long-term success of Notre Dame, which has won six of its past seven games, is that senior Cassandre Prosper has scored 20 or more points in four consecutive games.
Moved in: North Carolina, Notre Dame
Dropped out: Baylor (No. 15), Tennessee (No. 16)
