This is a look at the week ahead in women's college basketball. Each week Skim Milkey will be providing five players to keep an eye on, five teams to watch this week, five stats, five games you wouldn't think to keep tabs on, and five tweets.
5 Players I Have My Eye On
Madi Morson
Morson has been quite a bright spot this year for Central Michigan, and she's a blast to watch on the court. She has notched five straight games of 18+ points and is seemingly rounding into form as the conference slate gets underway. She has been extremely efficient with her touches and is shooting over 40% from the perimeter. Central Michigan is going to need her to continue to be excellent if they want to make a run in the MAC this year.
Sharnecce Currie-Jelks
Currie-Jelks has been very good so far this year, as she is scoring more than 20 points a contest. Once Murray State entered conference play, she elevated her game to a new level. She has scored 18+ points in all but one conference game this season, and in the game that she didn't, she still put up a double-double. Currie-Jelks has been a huge impact player for Murray State, and there have been no signs of her slowing down.
Ellie Brueggemann
Brueggeman is one of the best shooters in the country and is an extremely key player for Lindenwood with her floor spacing ability. She's shooting over 50% from the perimeter since the calendar turned to 2026, and she's hit three or more 3-pointers in four games in a row. She has made multiple 3-pointers in all but one game this season. While she is a knockdown shooter, she has the highest assist percentage on the team, showing that she has good court vision too. Brueggemann is going to be a key factor in the OVC race.
Amanda Barcello
Barcello has been excellent at getting off shots from behind the arc over the past two seasons at Utah Valley. She shot 45% from behind the arc last season and has only gotten better this year, knocking them down at a 46.2% rate. She is enjoying one of the best individual seasons in the WAC this season, and with a tough game against UT Arlington coming up, she'll need to be on her hand to spring an upset.
Rashunda Jones
Jones has found her footing after an off-season transfer from Purdue. She's averaging career highs in nearly every category and is fresh off of her season high of 23 points in a road win against Oregon. Her assist numbers are up, she's shooting the ball at a higher rate, and she has nearly a 2.5:1 assist ratio. Jones is a big part of the engine for Michigan State, and she'll need to keep it going this week with tough games against Nebraska and Iowa.
5 Teams to Watch This Week
Maryland
Maryland has a big week ahead for their chances of winning a Big Ten title. They sit at 4-2 in conference play, and it doesn't seem like UCLA is going to lose many games in Big Ten play, if any. They head on the road this week to face off with both USC and UCLA in a pair of games that they must win if they want to stay alive in the race for a regular season title.
George Mason
George Mason is one of two teams that are unbeaten in the A10 this year. They have a big weekend upcoming if they want to continue to solidify their standing in the A10 and continue to strengthen their resume for an at-large bid. They host Loyola Chicago, and then they travel to Saint Joseph's for a game that George Mason needs to win badly.
UTSA
The American is an extremely tough conference this season, and UTSA has put themselves in a great position to compete so far. After a rocky start to the season, they have now won three games in a row and are tied for first place in the American. They travel to South Florida on Tuesday, which is a game that UTSA will look to steal on the road. They also play Florida Atlantic this week, which will be a game that they can't afford to drop.
Stanford
Stanford is in a critical part of their season, with their ACC record sitting at 3-2. They need to finish down the stretch for seeing purposes, and it needs to start this week for the Cardinal. They play Boston College, which should be a win, and then they also face off with Syracuse. This is going to be a tough trip across the country, but these are the types of games that you are going to need to win if you want a chance to win the conference.
Georgetown
Georgetown is at a bit of an inflection point in their season as they sit at 9-7 and are 2-5 in the Big East. They have a pair of games against St. John's and Marquette this week, which are two games that are going to be tough for Georgetown. Georgetown has put up three of their worst four game scores of the season over the last few weeks. This is a team that needs to start playing better, or the season will be tough to recover from.
5 Stats to Know
1
That is the ranking of UConn on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Their adjusted offensive efficiency is at 132.2 and ranks as the best in women's college basketball. Their adjusted defensive efficiency is 66.8 and leads the nation by a wide margin. The gap defensively from UConn to #2 is the same as the gap from #2 to #14.
62.0
This is the adjusted tempo for Albany, which is the slowest pace in the country. Albany is maximizing the time that they have the ball in their hands. It's working for them, as they sit at 11-5 and are top 10 this season in 3-point percentage. Albany loves to slow down the game and play a game in the 50's or 60's.
3
This is the number of teams who are still without a loss. UConn sits at 17-0, as does Vanderbilt. Texas Tech is the lone team at 18-0 this season. UConn is likely going to be the last unbeaten team, but do they ever lose? Texas Tech has a solid chance of getting to February without a loss, and Vanderbilt has a tough upcoming schedule that includes a random non-conference game with Michigan.
1.000
This is the shooting percentage of Azzi Fudd and Aniah Alexis at the free throw line this year. Fudd is 30/30 from the free throw line, while Alexis sits at 39/39 this year. They are the only two players who have made all of their free throws while attempting more than 30 this season.
3
There are three teams left who have yet to win a game this season. Central Connecticut and Niagara are both 0-15, while Valparaiso is 0-17. Per BartTorvik, Niagara's best chance for a win is this week against Canisius with a 22% chance. Central Connecticut is projected to have three wins this year and has a good chance to stop their streak this upcoming week. Things are looking bleak for Valparaiso, as they are projected to go winless this season.
5 Games to Monitor
1/13 - Tulsa @ East Carolina
This game is going to be an excellent game between two of the top teams in the American. There are six teams in the American with one loss or less, and this game features two of those programs. East Carolina sits at one loss already and will need this win to keep from needing to do some work to get back up near the top. Tulsa has solid momentum and a favorable schedule the rest of the season.
1/14 - Washington @ Indiana
Washington just lost to Purdue in overtime and prior to that fell to Michigan State. They are on a bit of a slide right now and need to notch a win on the road against Indiana to keep their Big Ten conference title dreams alive. Indiana just put a scare into Iowa but at some point will need to capitalize and win a Big Ten game. This seems like a perfect game to notch their first win in conference play against a solid team.
1/15 - Texas @ South Carolina
Not much to say on this one. Texas and South Carolina are two of the best teams in the SEC and in the country. They are going to be dueling for the #1 seed this year. This is a must-watch game.
1/17 - North Dakota State @ South Dakota State
A huge game in the Summit League race between the best and second-best teams in the conference. This will likely be the first of three meetings between the two teams this year, as they also have a high likelihood of meeting in the conference championship game. These two teams both have a solid shot of being tournament teams this year, and whoever wins this one will have the upper hand in the race for a potential at-large bid.
1/17 - Baylor @ BYU
This is a big game in the Big 12 race, as both Baylor and BYU need to win this game. Baylor had knocked off some good teams already and has built a solid resume. BYU is playing better as of late with the return of Delaney Gibb. BYU's defense might pose some problems for Baylor, but regardless, this game should be an excellent Saturday Big 12 contest.
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