Greatest upset of the season to date belongs to USC. The Trojans shocked Last 4 favourite Stanford and ranked #2, 55-46Sunday on the Galen Heart in Los Angeles. It was one among 4 matches wherein an unranked staff knocked out a ranked staff within the Related Press High 25.
The 46 factors Stanford scored had been the fewest since February 2017 when the eighth-ranked Cardinals misplaced to no. 10 Oregon State, 50-47, In line with ESPN Stats & Information. The result’s 55% of a mean of 82.5 factors per recreation. Their earlier season low was 60 towards Cal every week earlier of their smallest margin of victory, 60-56.
Stanford (17-2, 5-1 Pac-12) and No. 1 South Carolina (18-0, 6-0 SEC), the opposite staff to beat the Cardinals, began the season as clear favorites returning to the Last 4. The opposite two factors have been the topic of a lot debate. Now Stanford seems extra more likely to come again.
A couple of issues go properly for the Cardinal. Cameron Brink was the one participant with a double digit tally of 11 factors on a poor 3-of-14 day that included all 5 missed 3-pointers, though she did add 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. Talana Libolo (9) and Haley Jones (8) are the one different gamers to go over 5 factors.
They trailed from the beginning, heading into the second quarter trailing 11-4, and had been 29.2% (7-of-24) from the sphere, together with making 1 of 9 3-point makes an attempt. By the tip of the sport, they’d made 17 baskets on 55 makes an attempt, each season-lows, and made 4 three-pointers, tying Cal’s recreation for the fewest.
In six Pac-12 contests, Stanford has shot 42.9%. However of their final three video games, which embrace a 60-56 win towards Cal and 72-59 Within the win over UCLA, the Cardinals have averaged 35% taking pictures share and averaged 12 assists per recreation when they’re at 17.5 for the season.
Stanford shall be on excessive once more on Friday when it hosts Utah (15-1, 5-1), which beat No. 14 Arizona, 80-79. Stanford has but to face Oregon State (January 29).
USC (13-4, 3-3) is closing in on the 2021-22 Pac-12 with a complete of 5 wins towards Oregon State and Cal earlier than Sunday’s victory. Second 12 months head coach Lindsey Gottlieb used seven gamers led by Future Littleton with 18 factors (5-of-15) and 6 assists. USC additionally struggled offensively, taking pictures at 27% however made up for it, hitting 8 of 19 3-point makes an attempt and double-doubling Stanford on the free throw line.
Loser: Iowa State and Stephanie Soares
Iowa State, ranked No. 15, was one of many high 25 groups within the AP that suffered an upset loss, 68-53towards a Texas staff that was already out of the rankings.
The loss was nasty, however not as damaging because the information from earlier within the week, as middle/ahead Stephanie Soares struggled He ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and would miss the remainder of the season. It is the identical ACL that I tore earlier.
Soares is a 6-foot-6 graduate switch from The Grasp College, an NAIA college in California, that has made her manner onto the radars of WNBA groups. She is a two-time NAIA Participant of the Yr and averaged 14.4 factors, 9.9 rebounds and three blocks in 22.6 minutes per recreation. Her 25.5 factors in 40 minutes ranks thirty third within the nation and her block common is the third finest.
The Cyclones (11-3, 3-1 Huge 12) entered the convention schedule as a favourite and rebuilt themselves round Soares to take the following step off an NCAA Candy 16 berth. Soares’ loss to Texas (12-5, 3-1 Huge 12), confirmed the staff with Defensive-minded, who had much less menace of tension after Ashley Jones. Jones scored 21 and was the one double-digit Hurricane.
Winner: Construct Technology
Ladies’s and ladies’ sports activities are very younger. It wasn’t that way back that ladies had been discouraged from taking part in informal sports activities, not to mention doing so on knowledgeable degree with salaries and advertising {dollars} on the desk.
The game has now reached a degree the place 22-year-olds getting drafted into the WNBA have grown up watching their new teammates on TV. Kids {of professional} coaches are Being drafted into the leagues. So it was one other nice second to see these pictures hit my Twitter timeline over the course of the week.
Seimone Augustus was on the town for the revealing of her statue at LSU. the Live performance pictures And the sport was worthy of you folks who went out to see August. Additionally on the town was Sylvia Fowles, one other LSU nice who retired from the WNBA in September. And there is one other WNBA participant on board in Angel Reese, the second baseman who introduced her double-double complete to 18 in as many video games. She averages 23.9 factors and 15.4 rebounds per recreation.
In the future, Reese could possibly be in August’s boots taking a photograph with a little bit lady who hopes to make it to the professionals sometime. Though, on this new world, it most likely is TikTok.
Loser: Azzi Fad and Okon’s luck
UConn’s season took one other lunge down the camel’s again when Nationwide Participant of the Yr Azzi Fudd sat out the second half of a 65-50 beat Georgetown.
It appeared that Fudd had tweaked her proper knee, which dominated her out for eight video games after she sustained an harm in December. This was her second recreation again from that harm, however she went into the locker room alongside her coach with simply over 3 minutes left within the first half.
Coach Gino Auriemma, who returned to the staff final week after taking a while off, mentioned afterwards that the physician was trying on the knee. “It did not look critical in any respect,” he advised SNY, although that was the case for earlier accidents that turned out to be critical.
Dropping Vad once more is a blow to the Huskies (15-2, 8-0 within the Huge East) for greater than their scoring and game-making talents. With out it, UConn is all the way down to seven wholesome gamers, the minimal the Huge East must play a recreation. Okun I needed to postpone vs DePaul final week due to al Qaeda.
“If Azzi is out in any period of time, like she did not play on Tuesday, we’ll be again to sq. one, proper?” Auriemma mentioned.
Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady are out for the season. Caroline Ducharme and Ayanna Patterson nonetheless have concussions. UConn is ready to journey to Seton Corridor for Tuesday’s recreation.
Winner: Tennessee Yarns
This Mrs. Falls seems cute.
Extra groups ought to have a classic look to interrupt out, although few packages are arguably as iconic as Tennessee’s. The legend of Girl Falls Candace Parker was at dwelling (Graduate again dwelling was a development This weekend) and Summitt Blue appeared fairly clear in court docket proceedings. It was particularly sharp towards Black Georgia.
win, win.
Loser: Not supporting your hometown staff
There was plenty of sturdy crowd performances this weekend. North Carolina performed to its first sellout since 2015 and defeated top-ranked NC State, 56-47, in Chapel Hill. Indiana entertained 10,422 followers, the biggest common season crowd in program historical past and the second-most total, in response to 93-56 Wisconsin crush. Hook Nation continues to look in massive numbers.
This isn’t the case for different packages, comparable to at Syracuse the place 3,736 confirmed as much as watch the high-performance Orange (13-5, 4-3 ACC) high ten at Notre Dame (14-2, 5-1). A lot of these followers had been there for the Preventing Irish, packing the part behind the customer’s seat in navy blue.
Felicia Leggett Jack, Syracuse’s first-year head coach, was requested about it afterward 72-56 A loss that was nearer than the ultimate rating made it appear.
“It is actually cool and simple to get on a staff when it is already developed,” mentioned Leggett Jack, a 1989 graduate and native of Syracuse. “However getting in there on the grassroots degree and serving to them rise up, that’s a particular feeling. That’s the sensation I had once I was a pupil athlete right here they usually grew up from a spot the place [the men’s team] I needed to get out Manly Area Home As a result of plenty of followers needed it [watch]So the dome was constructed. Subsequent factor , 34-35,000 folks had been coming to see District 2-3, proper? And nice gamers. Effectively, we now have one of the vital thrilling gamers on our squad proper now and he or she’s going to want some help.”
Legette-Jack was referring to Dyaisha Honest, whose 19.6 ppg ranks third within the ACC behind Florida State freshman Ta’Niya Latson (24.3) and Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith (20.8). This star additionally has native roots as she grew up with 90 Minutes all the way in which. Two extra gamers from Rochester and Albany.
The boys’s staff averages about 17,000 followers on the recreation nowadays and 20,666 turned out the evening earlier than to observe Syracuse sneak previous a winless Notre Dame staff in ACC motion. That is largely as a result of watching the Males’s Video games was created as an occasion that ought to have been by way of years of progress, sure, together with profitable, however it additionally concerned different forces.
College help, fan teams, native companies bringing in celebrities, posters in enterprise lobbies for shoppers to see, small companies selling them whereas ignoring girls even when girls are higher off. It isn’t simply Syracuse’s drawback. It was an issue nearly all over the place till the ceiling was damaged, often by a lady punching it Till it lastly crashes.
Leggett Jacks, who developed this system in Buffalo, could possibly be that lady at Syracuse. Her callout pitting cities within the North towards one another is a good alternative. And the problem.
“I simply suppose in case you’d be part of us now, you would be very pleased with your self,” Leggett-Jack mentioned. “We’ll take you once we’re rising, if you wish to come up late. However we’ll see you were not in that seat once we had been rising this staff. I am Phil. I do not overlook. And so the problem is what we discovered in Buffalo. We requested the neighborhood out, and we advised them to try to be part of us.” As they constructed it, they usually did. And we have grown and grown and gotten higher…. And if you’d like Buffalo to overhaul you, simply preserve not exhibiting up. We’ll preserve profitable, although.”
Video games to observe
Wednesday
Indiana (16-1, 6-1 Huge Ten) at Illinois (15-3, 5-2), 8 p.m. ET, B1G
Thursday
Miami (12-6, 5-2 ACC) at NC State (13-5, 3-4), 6 p.m. ET, ACCN
Duke (16-1, 6-0 ACC) at North Carolina (12-5, 3-3), 8 p.m. ET, ACCN
Arkansas (16-3, 3-1 SEC) at LSU (18-0, 6-0), 9 p.m. ET, SECN
Friday
Utah (15-1, 5-1 Pac-12) at Stanford (17-2, 5-1), 9 p.m. ET, Pac-12
Villanova (16-3, 7-1 Huge East) at Creighton (12-5, 6-3), 9 p.m. ET, FS1
Saturday
Kansas (12-4, 2-3 Huge 12) at Iowa (11-4, 3-2), 6 p.m. ET, Big12/ESPN+
Oklahoma State (13-4, 3-2 Huge 12) at Oklahoma (14-2, 4-1), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Sunday
NC State (13-5, 3-4 ACC) at Louisville (14-6, 5-2), 1 p.m. ET, ABC
Arkansas (16-3, 3-1 SEC) at South Carolina (18-0, 6-0), 3 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Colorado (14-3, 5-1 Pac-12) at Stanford (17-2, 5-1), 5 p.m. ET
Texas (13-5, 4-1 Huge 12) at Baylor (12-5, 3-2), 5 p.m. ET, ESPN2
1 – South Carolina (18-0)
2 – Ohio State (18-0)
3. LSU (18-0)
4- Stanford (17-2)
5- Ocon (15-2)
6- Indiana (16-1)
7 – Notre Dame (14-2)
8. Utah (15-1)
9. UCLA (15-3)
10. Iowa (14-4)
11. Maryland (14-4)
12. Virginia Tech (14-3)
13. Duke (16-1)
14. Michigan (15-3)
15 – Oklahoma (14-2)
16 – Gonzaga (17-2)
17. North Carolina (12-5)
18- Iowa (11-4)
19. Arizona (14-4)
20- NC State (13-5)
21 – Illinois (15-3)
22 – Villanova (16-3)
23- Oregon (13-5)
24- Colorado (14-3)
25- Texas (13-5)