UCLA and UConn are two of the best teams in the country and will make it to the conference tournament unscathed this week.
UCLA defeated crosstown rival USC 73-50 on the road on Sunday, ending its undefeated league season. The Bruins’ only loss was a 76-65 loss to Texas in the Players Era Tournament on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas.
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It was the program’s first perfect conference regular season in the NCAA era and the Big Ten’s first undefeated season since Maryland in 2015. Purdue in 1999 (16-0) and Ohio State in 1985 (18-0) are the only other Big Ten programs to do that.
The Bruins reached their first Final Four a year ago and are in their second season as members of the coast-to-coast Big Ten Conference. They hope to continue to catch up with their predecessors and even surpass them in some aspects. The Bruins have never won a national championship in the NCAA era. (They won the championship in 1978 under the direction of the Women’s Interscholastic Athletic Association.)
Purdue won its only national championship in 1999 under head coach Carolyn Peck, with senior All-American Stephanie White leading the offense. The Boilermakers lost one game all season, falling by one to Stanford in nonconference play in late November.
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Maryland went undefeated in its first season in the league and reached the Final Four for the second consecutive season. But the Terps lost to UConn 81-58 in the semifinals. UConn won its third of four consecutive national championships.
The Huskies have grown accustomed to an undefeated conference record and ended their latest run through the Big East with an 85-49 victory over St. John’s on the final day of the regular season. The defending champions are widely considered favorites to reach the NCAA tournament, including player of the year contender Sarah Strong and WNBA lottery pick Azzi Fudd.
UCLA had no chance against UConn in last year’s Final Four in Tampa, losing 85-51. This Bruins team would be different if they met in the national championship game as the top two true seeds. Their offense is averaging 13 more points per 100 possessions, and when center Lauren Betts doubles or triples, they have more shooters around her and, most importantly, experience they can build heading into the Final Four. This allows head coach Corey Close to better prepare his team for March.
Both teams can join UCLA and UConn as undefeated regular-season champions, although their playoff prospects are less bright.
Rice (26-3, 16-0) wraps up her first season in Conference USA with Charlotte on the road and UTSA at home. The last time the Owls went undefeated in conference play was in CUSA play in 2019, when they were ranked No. 24 in the AP poll. They have reached the NCAA Tournament four times, most recently in 2024.
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Fairleigh Dickinson (26-4, 17-0) concludes its Northeast Conference regular season against St. Francis on Thursday. In the first game, the Cavaliers won 73-28. This will be their second consecutive undefeated season overall. The Cavaliers just clinched their first NCAA tournament berth in history.
The zeros next to UCLA and UConn’s names will be cleared this week, and the zeros next to Rice and Fairleigh Dickinson’s names will be cleared next week when the conference tournament begins. Everyone wants to play spoiler, and Notre Dame has embraced that role.
This week’s tally: 2
Twice in the history of NCAA DI women’s basketball, the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament has been among the four teams that reached the Final Four last season. That number would reach the top three if UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Texas remain as top-four seeds. In the committee’s second report released Sunday, Texas moved back above Vanderbilt in the rankings.
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In 1984, the teams that returned to the Final Four and earned a No. 1 seed were Georgia, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion and USC. In 2013, it was the University of Connecticut, the University of Notre Dame, Baylor University and Stanford University.
Performance of the Week: Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Hidalgo scored 30 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals to help Notre Dame upset the then-ranked college team 65-62. 10 Louisville. The junior picked up four fouls in the fourth quarter and made a steal with 14 seconds left to help decide the game. Louisville could have clinched the ACC regular season title with a win after Duke’s loss earlier in the day.
Honorable Mention: Elena Anisalo scored a career-high 22 points and made 4 of 5 3-pointers to lead UNC to a 74-69 victory over rival Duke, while teammate Nyla Harris shot 10 of 19 in the fourth quarter. South Carolina’s Medina Ocott (21 points, 13 rebounds) and Kentucky’s Clara Strecker (24 points, 9 rebounds) battled in the paint, and the Gamecocks narrowly defeated the team 60-56. Iowa’s Audie Crooks scored 41 points and 13 rebounds 93-79 victory over Kansas State University. It was her fifth 40-point game, tying her with former Baylor star Brittney Griner as the top scorer in the Big 12.
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Game of the Week: Conference Tournament
The SEC and Big Ten tournaments will dominate the headlines for their impact on the NCAA tournament seeding lines. The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC tournaments all begin on Wednesday. Big East play begins Friday. Most mid-level tournaments also begin this week, with the Ivy League being a notable exception. Ivy Madness is March 13-14.
Yahoo Sports AP Top 25 Poll
1. University of Connecticut
2. University of California, Los Angeles
3. South Carolina
4. Texas
5. Louisiana State University
6. Vanderbilt
7. Iowa
8. Oklahoma
9.Kentucky
10. Michigan
11. Ohio State University
12. Duke University
13. Traffic control unit
14. Louisville
15. Maryland
16. West Virginia
17. Minnesota
18. Michigan State University
19. Baylor
20.Princeton University
21. North Carolina
22. Ole Miss
23. Georgia
24.Tennessee
25. Notre Dame Cathedral
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Official AP Top 25
1. University of Connecticut
2. University of California, Los Angeles
3. South Carolina
4. Texas
5. Vanderbilt
6. Louisiana State University
7. Oklahoma
8. Michigan
9. Iowa
10. Traffic control unit
11. Ohio State University
12. Louisville
13. Duke University
14. Maryland
15. West Virginia
16. North Carolina
17.Kentucky
18. Michigan State University
19. Minnesota
20. Baylor
21. Texas Tech University
22. Georgia
23. Princeton University
24. Ole Miss
25. Fairfield