One of the most anticipated showdowns of the season is this week when UConn and USC are scheduled to face off in a rematch of the 2024 Elite Eight in Hartford, Connecticut. Both teams boast top-10 offenses and defenses, according to Her Hoop Stats. This generally refers to candidates for national titles.
During the preseason, the game was touted as a battle between two national player of the year candidates, Paige Bakkers and JuJu Watkins. But another player took their place in that conversation. This is the same player who handed the Huskies and Trojans their only losses of the season. Bueckers and Watkins both beat Hannah Hidalgo against Notre Dame as Hidalgo took pole position in the NPOY race.
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Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo has UConn's number (again)
It's too early in the season to draw any conclusions, but the fact that these three athletes are putting together such a solid case stands in stark contrast to their racing accomplishments over the past two seasons. Lauren Betts and Madison Booker are also among the top national favorites (UCLA and Texas also rank in the top 10 on offense and defense), so Hidalgo may not be a favorite for long. do not have. The relative parity between the teams at the top of the rankings also extends to the best players in the country.
This makes the featured matchup between UConn and USC even more intriguing. In addition to undergoing pre-tournament testing, each team's star players will be able to put in great performances to make up for the loss against Hidalgo.
Dropouts: Iowa State (21)
Almost Famous: Iowa, Utah, Vanderbilt.
3 teams making great progress
southern california
While Kiki Iliafen is adjusting to an offensive role at USC, her frontcourt partner Raya Marshall is developing her skills. Marshall has always been a dominant force defensively, and that hasn't changed as a senior. Her block rate is in the 99th percentile nationally and she will stop even more shots. Opponents are shooting a whopping 23.9 percent from the field with Marshall as their primary defender because of his ability to protect the post and cover ground on the perimeter. USC's defense improved by 16.7 points per 100 possessions with Marshall on the court.
However, Marshall has become more versatile offensively this season. Playing next to the excellent Iriafen near the basket, Marshall was forced to start possessions on the perimeter. Marshall isn't exactly a threat from long range, as he has made two field goals outside the paint all season (although he did make one against Elon on Sunday). But her drive game has improved, allowing her to get into the lane, break down defenses and dump the ball to Iriafen. Check out how Marshall creates easy looks for Iriafen on these two possessions. The second one occurs after the opposing trademark block.
As a center, she has the third-most assists for USC behind Watkins and Talia von Olhoffen. Marshall had a below-average assist-to-turnover ratio in his first two seasons at USC and had a below-average assist rate last year, but he has now become one of the most capable frontcourt passers. The Trojans need that ability from Marshall to create space for Iliafen to function. If the two can amplify each other, it will raise the ceiling of USC's offense.
kentucky
Georgia Amoore's 3-point shooting has fallen off a cliff this season. The career 35.3 percent shooter has made a quarter of his shots from beyond the arc. As the alpha and omega of Kentucky's offense, Amoore will need to be an individual scoring threat if the Wildcats are to win games against tough opponents. Two weeks ago against North Carolina, Amoore missed all five 3-pointers and Kentucky lost by 19 points.
But Amoor seems to be rediscovering his groove. In the Wildcats' two wins last week, the fifth-year guard made 5 of 14 shots from deep, a huge improvement from his dismal start to the year. She was especially crafty in the midrange in the 2024-25 game against Purdue, where Kentucky won its first real championship. The Wildcats ran Amoore off the ball and used her as a screener in reverse pick-and-rolls. She was able to turn and face larger defenders and use her speed to crush them on her way to the hoop.
It was fun to watch Kentucky train how they want to attack the zone this season
Really good offensive team, but got a little stuck in zone early this year.
The counters against Purdue yesterday were great. Takes the ball out of Amoor's hands and nails her pic.twitter.com/r8mMxHprMM
— Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) December 15, 2024
Kentucky got off to a slow start against the Boilermakers, scoring two points in just over seven minutes. Amoor then scored 13 points in the next 10 minutes, turning an early deficit into a three-point lead. Amoore is already an outstanding floor general and playmaker for the Wildcats, averaging a career-best 7.2 assists per game. If Kentucky adds another shooting incident, it could cause some commotion in the SEC.
Georgia Tech
The last undefeated team in the ACC was Georgia Tech, and no one would have expected the outcome coming into the season. The Yellow Jackets had quality wins over South Dakota State, Oregon State, and now play North Carolina State on the road, but they were absolutely strong in the first half.
Georgia Tech will work hard to win the battle for possession. The Yellow Jackets attack the offensive glass and don't turn the ball over, resulting in 12.8 more shot attempts per game than their opponents. With this margin, they don't even have to shoot that well to win, but their effective field goal percentage ranks in the 86th percentile nationally, meaning their 11-0 record is the best in program history. This will be the start. It is also less dependent on individual players. Seven of the Yellow Jackets' teams average at least 20 minutes per game, but no team averages more than 30 minutes per game, and they rank fourth among power conference teams in bench points behind South Carolina, Texas and Tennessee.
What stood out about their win over the Tar Heels was that nothing looked out of the ordinary. They put a lot of pressure on the rim in the half court and in transition, and Tony Morgan and Zosha Smith were great at scoring in the paint. Dani Carnegie is as good as any freshman in the ACC, leading the team in scoring while threatening a 50/40/90 shooting season. They are also aggressive on defense, speeding up opponents even if they don't force turnovers at an elite rate. And they play hard, so that depth helps. After 11 games, it's time to clean up the preseason projects. Georgia Tech is no longer a fluke and is much better than the No. 10 team in this conference.
2 teams eliminated
texas
This is troubling since the Longhorns won two games this week by a combined 69 points, including a road game against Richmond, which ranks 25th in the NET. But there's something about the Texas offense that sticks.
Madison Booker is the only consistent scoring threat, and her offense relies on some difficult shots, and to her credit, she makes them at a high clip. However, the Longhorns are a little more isolation-heavy and don't make many 3-point shots, limiting their advantage over the best teams. Ideally, Aaliyah Moore or Laila Feria would be the second offensive line behind Booker, but neither has been effective this season. It's understandable that the paint is packed, but it's even more so now that Lori Harmon, who isn't considered a shooter, replaced Shaylee Gonzalez in the starting lineup.
Against the Spiders, Texas forced 24 turnovers and made 20 more field goals, but won by just 10. It's similar to the season-ending loss to North Carolina State in 2023-24, when the Longhorns had a plus-20 field goal advantage but lost. While advanced stats say Texas is superior offensively, the process looks far too difficult, something to keep an eye on as SEC deliberations begin.
iowa
The Hawkeyes keep putting on a show, but they need to find a way to close out games. A week ago against Tennessee, they collapsed in the fourth quarter, giving up 14-1 and suffering their first loss of the season. In Sunday's game against Michigan State, Iowa State blew a nine-point lead and trailed 14-0 in the fourth quarter. Those two games were sandwiched by the Hawkeyes' comeback against Iowa State, but the ending was more about the Cyclones' struggles than Iowa State.
Turnovers are getting out of control for the Hawkeyes, giving them the ball on 25 percent of their possessions in the clutch. This came despite Iowa often going smaller late in the game and playing with more ball handlers. Instead, the Hawkeyes struggled to control possession as their five-man batting lineup featuring Hannah Stuelke couldn't get enough stops, hurting their defense in the process. Some of the perks are just comical, such as the errant pass that fell into the hands of coach Jan Jensen in the final period against Michigan State.
Iowa has some young players this season, but the turnovers are coming from the veterans — Lucy Olsen had seven points against the Spartans and fellow senior Kylie Feuerbach had five. Stuelke and senior Addison O'Grady are averaging 4.9 turnovers from their frontcourt positions. With the Hawkeyes' fast-paced style, some mistakes are to be expected, but this level of carelessness shouldn't continue in the Big Ten.
(Raya Marshall Photo: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
