An undefeated No. 1 team. A new coach taking the throne with more wins than anyone else. Drama surrounding star players. Upsets, buzzer-beaters and a conference ready to go out with a bang.
The 2023-2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball season has been pure entertainment so far, and a lot more is on the way, as we pass the midpoint and barrel full speed toward March Madness.
It’s time to settle in and enjoy the ride. If you haven’t been following along closely, here’s the perfect chance to catch up. Here are some of the most interesting and intriguing storylines from the season thus far — and a few bold predictions for how March Madness may shake out.
Is South Carolina Unstoppable?
Credit: Stephane Mantey/Presse Sports
Two years removed from their last national championship, Coach Dawn Staley and her South Carolina Gamecocks are back atop the rankings and eyeing another title. Senior center Kamilla Cardoso leads the way, but South Carolina is a balanced squad with five players averaging double figures in scoring. Cardoso is averaging a double-double, wreaking havoc on the boards thanks to her tenacity and 6-foot-7-inch height. Can the nation’s only undefeated team keep their record perfect? It’s a tall task, but it’ll be fun to watch.
Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer Reigns Supreme
Credit: Troy Wayrynen/USA TODAY Sports
Move over Coach K. Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer is the new greatest coach in college basketball history. On January 21, VanDerveer won her 1,203rd career game when the Cardinal beat Oregon State, besting the mark previously held by Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Kryzewski. At 70 years old, VanDerveer is in her 38th season at Stanford after starting her career coaching at Idaho and Ohio State. Her win totals represent a mark of excellence that will be extremely difficult to top.
Can Caitlin Clark Will Her Team to the Top?
Credit: Tommy Gilligan/USAvToday Sports
After a temporary drop from No. 2 to No. 5 in the rankings, Iowa is back on top – well, almost. The aftermath of the upset loss against Ohio State made headlines when a Buckeyes fan stormed the court for a postgame celebration and collided with Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark. Fortunately, Clark was uninjured because she’s averaging more than 30 points per game and draining 3-pointers at a 40% clip. Iowa’s second-leading scorer, Hannah Stuelke, is averaging 13 points per game, so Clark will need to carry a heavy load, as usual, to keep the Hawkeyes in the national title mix.
Conference Battles Are Going to Be a Blast to Watch
Credit: AP Photo/Darron Cummings
Though it lacks a truly elite team, the ACC has five teams ranked in the Top 25. Three of them — Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and Louisville — have only two conference losses to date. With all three teams set to play each other in the coming weeks, it’ll be fun to see how the conference shakes out. In the Big Ten, Iowa, Indiana and Ohio State are battling for the regular season conference title. The SEC is top-heavy with just two ranked teams, but those two teams are South Carolina and LSU. Yet, the most exciting conference may be the Pac-12, in its last hurrah before dissolving later this year. It has six ranked teams, including three in the top 10; Colorado, Stanford and UCLA all have a chance to be the last Pac-12 champs.
Stars Shining Bright: Who Will Light Up March Madness?
Credit: Kansas State Athletics
Clark put on a scoring show for Iowa in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Angel Reese is always a threat. But there are plenty of high-scoring talented stars to watch out for as the intensity ramps up on the way to tournament time. Keep an eye on Kansas State center Ayoka Lee, Stanford’s Kiki Iriafen and Cameron Brink, Virginia Tech’s guard Georgia Amoore, and Notre Dame’s electric guard Hannah Hidalgo. Any one of them is likely to take over a game and light up the scoreboard along the way.
3 Bold Predictions for the Second Half:
A Pac-12 Team Wins It All
South Carolina is the heavy favorite, but the Pac-12 isn’t going out with a whimper. UCLA is no stranger to national titles on the men’s side, but this year the Bruins women will hoist the trophy when the final buzzer sounds.
New Stars Will Emerge
Clark and Reese will continue to make headlines, but new names will rise to the forefront in March Madness. USC freshman guard Juju Watkins is averaging more than 26 points per game. You’re going to hear a lot more about her very soon.
South Carolina-LSU Will Be an Epic Battle
The Gamecocks and Tigers played only once in the regular season — resulting in a South Carolina win — but they’ll likely meet again in the conference tournament and, perhaps, once more in the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks will remain on top, but it’ll be their biggest test yet.
DIRECTV Insider brings you our views on what’s happening in streaming, t.v., movies and sports. Companies and persons mentioned are not necessarily associated with and do not necessarily endorse DIRECTV. We will disclose sponsored content on our site when we show it to you, and some of the links on the site may be ads or affiliate links which means DIRECTV may earn compensation from your purchases.
