Here’s everything you may have missed in this women’s college basketball season, so far

Now is the time to get updated on all things women’s college hoops as we are 54 days from Selection Sunday.

For college sports fans everywhere, the football season is officially over and it’s now time to turn our attention to hoops.

It’s hard to find a better collegiate sports alternative to watch than women’s basketball. As viewership and support rises, so has the competition.

This season features stories already understood by fans of football, like realignment strengthening already impressive conferences like the Big Ten and ACC. For SEC fans, there’s still dominance on the women’s basketball court.

Then there are outstanding underclassmen making their presence known in big moments and a Player of the Year conversation surrounding a player who can play effectively on both sides of the ball.

Here’s what you need to know about the season so far, key matchups you can’t miss and what to look forward to as March Madness approaches:

Los Angeles Takes Over Big Ten

The No. 1 UCLA Bruins are one of only two undefeated teams in the nation, with 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts and junior guard Kiki Rice leading the way. Head coach Cori Close’s program isn’t only winning every game, but beating some impressive sides along the way.

UCLA has wins over four ranked opponents, but none bigger than the then No. 1 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. Betts and the Bruins gave head coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks their first loss in 43 games.

Go a few more miles south and there are the No. 4 USC Trojans. Led by National Player of the Year candidate JuJu Watkins, the Trojans slipped up once this season to a ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but responded in a big way with away wins over the UConn Huskies and Maryland Terrapins.

In preseason voting, USC and UCLA landed No. 1 and No. 2 in the predicted conference standings. Currently, the two sides are undefeated in conference play but the two LA programs still have two games against each other before conference tournaments begin in only seven weeks.

South Carolina Isn’t Gone

After defeating the Gamecocks, UCLA shot up to the No. 1 ranking and it hasn’t changed since their No. 24 matchup. Since then, South Carolina has made their way back to No. 2 and along the way have taken down stiff competition.

The biggest came Jan. 12, when the then No. 5 Texas Longhorns traveled to Columbia, SC for their toughest road matchup in their first SEC season. South Carolina stifled the Longhorns inside the paint, defeating them in an impressive 67-50 victory full of defensive stops.

Texas isn’t alone in joining the SEC this season, with the Oklahoma Sooners following their rivals into one of the new power conferences. Also like the Longhorns, Oklahoma traveled to South Carolina and it was even more lopsided. Sunday, South Carolina throttled the then No. 13 ranked Sooners to the tune of 101-60.

The win included five different South Carolina players scoring in double figures, and three of those were off the bench. Not included was Ashlyn Watkins. The 23-24 All-SEC forward is gone for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. Even so, South Carolina looks like a team not ready to lose another game for 43 games, or more.

National Player of the Year Candidates

It’s a tough few days for Notre Dame fans, expectedly so, but within walking distance of Touchdown Jesus is the Joyce Center, home to someone who is in the conversation for All-American selection and National Player of the Year.

Here are a few players to watch, along with some highlights to show what you’re missing:

Hannah Hidalgo - Notre Dame
24-25 Stats: 25.5 ppg, 6.3 rpgs, 4.2 spg

Notre Dame has a star who’s fast and intense on both sides of the ball. Sophomore Hannah Hidalgo is fresh off an All-American debut season, only the fifth freshman to win All-American First Team honors ever. While the guard has missed a few games with an ankle sprain, she’s still second in the nation in points per game and first in steals, coming off a freshman season where she led the nation with 160 steals.

JuJu Watkins - USC
24-25 Stats: 25.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.7 apg

Out west, Watkins runs the show in Los Angeles. Coming off an All-American season herself, Watkins is a shooting guard who can play inside and shoot from deep. At any moment the LA native can take over a game, making Watkins and Hidalgo a close race for best player in the nation.

Lauren Betts - UCLA
24-25 Stats: 20.0 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.8 bpg

The one player who has a challenge to Watkins in Los Angeles is Betts. The center is having a career year with the top team in the nation, and Betts isn’t a normal big. Sure, Betts rebounds in bunches and leads the Big Ten in blocks per game, but she’s also developed a midrange and turnaround jumper game. Teams can’t simply park in the paint to stop Betts. The 6-foot-7 center has developed into the premier big in the nation and it’s not really close.

Paige Bueckers - UConn
24-25 Stats: 19.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.9 apg

UConn guard Paige Bueckers returned from injury last season to have her first complete campaign since her freshman year. Bueckers numbers are down slightly this season, but her impact on the Huskies is immense. Watch Bueckers on the court and her ability to make the impossible look easy isn’t matched. If she’s not a finalist for Player of the Year, with UConn getting healthy again, they’re in a spot to win a National Championship for the first time since 2016.

Key Freshmen

It’s hard to match the impact of the 2023 class of freshmen like Watkins and Hidalgo, but the group from 2024 is doing its best.

In Columbus, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith isn’t the only dynamic freshman with skills way above their age. Stop by the Schottenstein Center and see No. 1 overall point guard Jaloni Cambridge take up her craft for the Buckeyes.

Cambridge is arguably the fastest player in the nation and can shoot at all three levels. If defenses are timid or give her space, she can attack in multiple ways. Cambridge started her freshman season scoring 31 in her debut and is now getting better after putting a minor injury behind her. The Ohio State freshman has two consecutive Freshman of the Week honors and the only game the Scarlet and Gray have lost the entire season came when she wasn’t available.

UConn is used to getting the No. 1 overall freshman in a class, and this year was no different. Sarah Strong averages 16.9 points on an astounding 73 percent from two-point range, good enough for second in the nation. The 6-foot-2 forward plays inside and out, and has room to work with Bueckers and Fudd starting alongside the freshman.

If you’re in Michigan and sad about the season you had, up until taking on the Buckeyes, then there’s a trio of outstanding freshman leading a ranked Wolverines team under head coach Kim Barnes Arico’s tutelage. Syla Swords, Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway are leading the Maize and Blue in creating what could be a dangerous Big Ten side for years to come.

These freshmen only scratch the surface, with names like Kiyomi McMiller at Rutgers and Dani Carnegie with Georgia Tech also up there in the conversation as some of the best in the nation.

As the season progresses, and the pressure situations become more frequent, it’s always entertaining to see how the new class reacts. Who will thrive? Who will take a backseat? More to come with this group of future stars.

Games to Watch

To get your fandom started back up, here are a few games in the last seven weeks of the season that cannot be missed, and where to watch them (rankings as of publishing date):

Jan. 23 - No. 5 LSU at No. 2 South Carolina - ESPN

Feb. 13 - No. 1 UCLA at No. 3 USC - Peacock

Feb. 16 - No. 6 UConn at No. 2 South Carolina - ABC

Feb. 23 - No. 3 Notre Dame at No. 20 NC State - ESPN

Feb. 27 - No. 13 UNC at No. 14 Duke - ESPN

Mar. 1 - No. 4 USC at No. 1 UCLA - FOX

Mar. 2 - No. 12 Ohio State at No. 8 Maryland - FOX