This week, the women’s college basketball schedule is jam-packed with must-watch games, including five huge matchups between ranked teams.
Welcome back to FanSided’s weekly round-up of the world of women’s basketball. Looking for matches to watch this week? We’re going to highlight three that should be on your radar.
Whether you’re a long-time viewer looking for a shortcut to what you should watch or you’re new to the sport and want to experience the thrilling storylines, we’ve got you covered. And at the end, I’ll include a short “other games to watch” section, if you want to take your basketball observation a step further.
Let’s take a look at week eight of the women’s college basketball season!
Here are the women’s college basketball games you won’t want to miss this week:
3. No. 9 LSU @ No. 24 Arkansas
Thursday, December 29, 7:00 p.m. – ESPN2
It’s finally time to see what LSU has in store.
The Tigers are 12-0 on the season, but according to Her Hoop Stats, the team’s .423 average opponent’s winning percentage is 290th out of 361 teams. LSU has yet to be tested. They’ve only faced one team from a powerhouse conference, beating Oregon State by 32 points, but it’s playing in the SEC that we’ll really start to see what Kim Mulkey’s team is all regarding. .
The Tigers lead the nation in points per game (94.8) and they win their games by an average margin of 44.0. But once more, timing strength is important here. Can this team continue to smother teams now that they face high quality opponents night following night? Angel Reese is averaging 24.6 points and 14.7 rebounds per game for the Tigers, along with 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks.
As for Arkansas, Mike Neighbor’s teams have always been known for their offensive qualities and the Razorbacks are 32nd in Division I in offensive scoring, led by Samara Spencer’s 16.3 points per night. Arkansas is playing pretty fast and will try to control the pace of this game. But the team also enters Thursday’s game on a two-game losing streak, narrow losses to Oregon and South Florida.
2. Michigan n°14 @ Ohio State n°3
Saturday, December 31, 1:00 p.m. – Big Ten Network
Michigan and Ohio State will both be in the College Football Playoff, but whether the two teams meet will depend on whether or not they win in the first round. This is not the case this weekend in women’s basketball where we have a guaranteed meeting between the two teams.
The Wolverines are 11-1, with only one loss, earlier in December, once morest a very good average team, Toledo. The team has since had a win over North Carolina, as well as victories over Miami, Baylor and South Florida, all good teams.
Michigan was highly effective, ranking 21st in the nation in field goal percentage and 12th in points per attempt to score. Emily Kiser is the team’s leading scorer with 18.4 points per game.
On the other side, the Buckeyes are 13-0 this season and have been very effective offensively, scoring 89.4 points per game, the third-best mark in Division I. The team is shooting 50.1% from ground, the sixth-best mark in the nation, and it ranks in the top 10 for effective field goal percentage, points per attempt to score and points per play.
Taylor Mikesell is on her third stop at college. After two years at Maryland and a year at Oregon, she arrived in Columbus last year and immediately averaged a career-high 18.6 points per game. She’s slightly below this year with 18.1 points, but overall Mikesell has been an important piece for this team.
1. N° 13 North Carolina @ N° 7 Virginia Tech
Sunday, January 1 at 4:00 p.m. – ACC Network
We’ve talked a lot regarding the Tar Heels this year. The 9-2 team won once morest Oregon and Iowa State, and lost once morest Indiana and Michigan. Maybe that’s the secret to beating UNC – being a Big Ten program?
Either way, the Tar Heels haven’t been great on defense, but the offense is ranked 22nd in points scored, and the team has managed to avoid turnovers, ranking 12th in rate. in turnovers and 26th in assists to turnovers ratio. Deja Kelly and Eva Hodgson both did a good job handling the ball and keeping it on the Tar Heels side. Kelly ranks in the top 50 in the nation for assists-to-returns ratio.
As for the Hokies, they lost only one game, 62-52 once morest Notre Dame on December 18. The team was brilliant on both ends, earning them the sixth-best average margin at 36.3.
Like UNC, Virginia Tech does a great job avoiding turnovers, ranking 15th in assist-to-turnover ratio. Both of these teams know how to keep the ball, which should make for a very nice battle between these two teams. But considering the Hokies are one of the worst teams in the nation when it comes to steals — they’re 317th in steals per game — this game might end up favoring UNC.
Other matches to follow
- Michigan #14 @ Nebraska – Wednesday, Dec. 28, 7:00 p.m. – Big Ten Network
- UConn (8) @ Creighton (21) – Wednesday, December 28, 8:30 p.m. – SNY
- Tennessee @ Florida – Thursday, December 29, 6:00 p.m. – SEC Network
- Duke @ No. 6 NC State – Thursday, Dec. 29, 8:00 p.m. – ACC Network
- No. 11 Utah @ Washington State – Friday, Dec. 30, 7:00 p.m. – Pac-12 Network
- No. 10 UCLA @ No. 17 Oregon – Friday, Dec. 30, 9:00 p.m. – Pac-12 Network
- #15 Iowa State @ Texas Tech – Saturday, December 31, 3:00 p.m. – ESPN+
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