There are some things so obvious it seems obnoxious to devote time and space to it. But what seems clear to some isn’t to others. And here we are reiterating what should be obvious.
“College GameDay” needs to do more women’s college games. Or there needs to be a weekly, heavily promoted show in the same time slot that focuses on women’s college basketball.
“To do that more often, like they do on the men’s side, I think would be fantastic,” ESPN analyst and former head coach Carolyn Peck said, via the Knoxville News Sentinel. “When you think about why do people know so much about men’s basketball? Well, because [LaPhonso Ellis] and Seth [Greenberg] and Jay Bilas get to tell you their stories.”
All of “GameDay” in Columbia, South Carolina, was fun. The lead-up, the sold-out crowd at 1 p.m. ET — though the “fams” at Colonial Life Arena are often close to it — the storylines, the promotion. The main frustration was knowing it’s the first time in 11 years and only the third time ever.
The majority watching on Sunday (and even reading this piece) are already deeply invested in the game. They know the big moments and that to keep pushing the sport forward means to support the big moments, such as a pregame show on ESPN ahead of a top-ranked matchup on ABC. That led directly into the United States women’s national soccer team’s match at the SheBelieves Cup, creating a huge day for nationally televised women’s sports. Finally.
Broken record time: Creating a “College GameDay” show for the women’s game — and we cannot stress this enough, properly promoting that show — would only lift up the entire sport and the broadcast company that invests in it. Because routine is the building block of life. Kids thrive on routine. Dogs become highly routined.
We live on a loose itinerary in our heads that tells us every Saturday there’s a show previewing the college football action or men’s college basketball action ahead. We watch football on Thanksgiving, men’s basketball on Christmas and baseball on the Fourth of July. Someone or something had to build those routines up to what they are in 2022. It’s time to add women’s basketball to the calendar.
Unlucky Tennessee; South Carolina carries on
The one downside, outside of it being a clear one-off, was that Tennessee isn’t the group it was a few weeks ago. And this matchup wasn’t as tight as it could have been. Jordan Horston, the Lady Vols’ leader in points, rebounding and assists, is out indefinitely with a fractured dislocation of her left elbow. Tennessee has lost five of its last eight games after peaking at a No. 1 seed in the first NCAA selection committee tournament reveal.
South Carolina defended its No. 1 title against an Associated Press Top 25-ranked team for the 11th time this season, winning 67-53 over Tennessee. It also gave them at least a share of the SEC regular season title and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. LSU (11-3) is the only team that could catch the Gamecocks.
Aliyah Boston, the leading candidate for National Player of the Year, tied the conference record with her 19th consecutive double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds). Sylvia Fowles, the Minnesota Lynx star who will play her final WNBA season in 2022, had as many at LSU, and Boston can break it against Texas A&M on Thursday.
Conference standings as tournaments near
Big Ten — Michigan in control
It’s been a wild one in the Big Ten and Michigan (21-4, 12-3) took control over the weekend behind a 71-59 win against Maryland at home on Sunday. The Wolverines can clinch their first Big Ten title in program history by defeating Michigan State on Thursday and Iowa on Sunday.
But there are three teams one-half game back of them in the standings, and a fourth that sits at one game back. Indiana, which came into the week leading the standings in win percentage, lost twice to Iowa and flipped with the Hawkeyes in the standings. Iowa is now one of those half-back teams and Indiana is a full game back. All five of those teams are in the AP rankings.
No. 6 Michigan (12-3): Thursday vs. Michigan State (8-6), Sunday at Iowa (ESPN2, 4 p.m. ET)
No. 17 Ohio State (12-4, .5 GB): Thursday vs. Penn State, Sunday at Michigan State (8-6)
No. 13 Maryland (12-4, .5 GB): Friday vs. Indiana
No. 21 Iowa (12-4, .5 GB): Thursday at Rutgers, Sunday vs. Michigan (ESPN2 4 p.m. ET)
No. 10 Indiana (11-4, 1 GB): Friday at Maryland
Big 12 — Top 4 switches up again
And it’s just as tight in the Big 12, which will take center stage next week with every other conference schedule completed. Baylor (21-5, 11-3) is back on top following back-to-back wins against TCU. The Bears are tied with Iowa State (22-4, 11-3), which split its week of ranked games by losing to Texas and defeating Oklahoma.
Kansas (19-5, 10-4, 1 GB) jumped up a spot, while Oklahoma is skidding on a three-game losing streak. The nation’s second-best offense (84.6 ppg) scored more than 67 only once in those three games. Texas (19-6, 9-5) is also two games back and Kansas State (18-8, 8-6, 3 GB) is still in top-four contention.
The Jayhawks have the most difficult stretch of their schedule coming up: vs. Iowa State (Wednesday), at Baylor (Saturday), vs. Texas (March 2) and at Oklahoma (March 5). The Sooners travel to TCU and host Kansas State this week.
SEC — South Carolina clinches title
The Gamecocks clinched a share of the title with their win over Tennessee, the program that, at the beginning of the week, had the best chances to share it with them. Now, it’s over to LSU (23-4, 11-3), which plays Alabama and Tennessee to close out the season.
Florida (20-7, 10-4) and Tennessee (21-6, 10-4) are currently No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Ole Miss (20-6, 8-5) is trying to break its way in.
ACC — N.C. State clinches title
The Wolfpack (25-3, 16-1 ACC) clinched a share of the regular season title with a 95-53 demolishing of Syracuse on Sunday. If they take care of a win against Virginia Tech on Sunday, it will be their title outright. Louisville (23-3, 14-2) has two games left against Pittsburgh and Notre Dame.
Notre Dame (20-6, 12-4) and Virginia Tech (20-4, 12-4) are currently in the final two spots that would clinch double byes in the tournament. North Carolina (21-5, 11-5) and Georgia Tech (19-8, 10-6) could upend it.
Pac-12 — Stanford wins title outright
The Stanford Cardinal are once again Pac-12 regular season champions. The No. 2-ranked program clinched it with a 87-63 win against Oregon State on Friday and narrowly extended its conference winning streak to 29 games on Sunday. Haley Jones finished an and-1 while nearly sitting on the floor with 37 seconds left to break a 60-all tie with Oregon. The Ducks added two free throws, making it 63-62, and Stanford added three for a 66-62 final score.
Oregon (18-9, 10-5) and Washington State (18-8, 10-5) are in second and third, respectively, with Arizona (19-5, 9-5) in fourth. It’s been a down year for the conference compared to seasons prior, but keep an eye on the Ducks after getting healthy this past month.
Upsets of the week
As always, for these purposes an upset is a lower or non-ranked team defeating a higher-ranked team. Rankings are as of the game, with Associated Press poll movement in parentheses.
-
No. 5 Indiana 55, Nebraska 72 (Indiana down 5)
-
No. 6 Iowa State 48, No. 14 Texas 73 (Iowa State down 3; Texas up 3)
-
No. 15 Oklahoma 87, Texas Tech 97 (Oklahoma down 5)
-
No. 3 Louisville 65, No. 24 North Carolina 66 (Louisville down 1; North Carolina to No. 18)
-
No. 12 Tennessee 64, Alabama 74 (Tennessee down 4)
-
No. 16 Georgia Tech 66, No. 19 Notre Dame 72 (OT) (Georgia Tech down 6; Notre Dame up 5)
-
No. 5 Indiana 91, No. 22 Iowa 96 (Indiana down 5; Iowa up 1)
-
No. 8 Arizona 67, Washington State 72 (Arizona down 4)
-
No. 16 Georgia Tech 39, Miami 51 (Georgia Tech down 6)
-
No. 21 Georgia 60, Auburn 65 (Georgia down 4)
What to watch in the final full week
Wednesday
No. 11 Texas at Kansas State, 7:30 p.m. ET on Big 12/ESPN+
Thursday
Michigan State at No. 6 Michigan, 6 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network
No. 22 Georgia Tech at Florida State, 6 p.m. ET on ACC Network
Miami at No. 23 Virginia Tech, 6 p.m. ET on ACC Network
Mississippi State at No. 16 Tennessee, 6:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network
No. 25 Georgia at Arkansas, 8 p.m. ET on SEC Network+
No. 1 South Carolina at Texas A&M, 8:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network
Friday
No. 10 Indiana at No. 13 Maryland, 8 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network
Saturday
Kansas at No. 5 Baylor, 3 p.m. ET on Big 12/ESPN+
Kansas State at No. 20 Oklahoma, 5 p.m. ET
Sunday
No. 4 Louisville at No. 14 Notre Dame, noon ET on ESPN2
Missouri at No. 15 Florida, noon ET on SEC Network
No. 8 LSU at No. 16 Tennessee, 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2
No. 6 Michigan at No. 21 Iowa, 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Duke at No. 18 North Carolina, 4 p.m. ET on ACC Network
No. 3 N.C. State at No. 23 Virginia Tech, 6 p.m. ET on ACC Network