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


Jasmyn Lott

Lott is enjoying the best season of her career so far and is an excellent piece for this UNLV team. She is on the upswing over the past few games, as she has notched double-digit scoring in her last four games and scored 16 points in her last outing on the road against Cincinnati. UNLV has Grand Canyon and New Mexico on the schedule this week, and Lott will need to continue to step up if UNLV wants to escape with a 2-0 week.

Lexus Bargesser

Bargesser is leading Colorado State this season in points, assists, and blocks while being second on the team in rebounds. After three years at Indiana, Bargesser is having a breakout season and has been excellent thus far for her team. Bargesser scored 45 points in two games against Southern Utah and San Francisco this past week. Nevada and Utah State are on the docket for Colorado State this week, and Bargesser will need to be at her best to win this week.

Lauren Whittaker

Whittaker is one of the best freshmen in the country this year, and she's playing like it so far this season. She is scoring 19.5 points per game on the year, and it's not like they have just played easy competition. Whittaker is showing that she's a player who can score at all three levels for her team this year, and with 3 games this week, she'll need to continue her pace to help Gonzaga out to a 3-0 week.

Savannah Catalon

Catalon is a rare case where she is shooting the ball from deep better than she's shooting it from inside the arc so far this season. She's shooting it at a 43% clip from behind the arc and is knocking down quite a few big shots. She has been heating up over the past week or so as well; she's knocked down six in her last two games. Seton Hall has a big conference meeting with Villanova this week, where she's going to need to step up once again.

Caliyah DeVillasee

DeVillasee has been excellent in her freshman season thus far for Cincinnati, as she's scoring 16.5 points per game and just put up 20 points in a game against Xavier. She has a 27.2% assist rate while also looking to score the basketball. With four 20-point outbursts under her belt thus far this season, she is gaining consistency in being one of the most important freshmen in the country for her team.

5 Teams to Watch This Week


Montana State

Montana State has a big week ahead of them as they play Oregon State and Hawaii back-to-back this weekend at a neutral site. They are coming off of a week that saw them lose to Oregon in a game where they played their worst basketball of the season. They have some solid wins so far this season, but they would benefit greatly from being able to bet Oregon State and then taking down Hawaii as well before heading into conference play.

Southern

Southern continues to take on Power Four opponents and compete with them this season. In their last two games against D1 competition, they beat both Arizona and Houston on the road. This upcoming week they are going to have two more opportunities to notch upsets for themselves as they take on Baylor and SMU. Southern has been clicking on all cylinders their last three games, and they have a shot to pull an upset this week.

Arizona State

Arizona State now sits at 12-0 on the season and has continued their hot streak to begin the season with two wins on the road this past week. After beating Penn State and Oregon State, there is a sense of legitimacy to the start of the season, but this week for Arizona State doesn't get any easier. They travel to take on Gonzaga and then host their Big 12 opener against Colorado this week. A 2-0 week would be quite the feather in the cap for coach Molly Miller and crew.

Texas Tech

Texas Tech sits at 12-0 this season and has played some excellent basketball thus far. They have been a bit of a surprise this season and are going to look to continue that this week when Jacksonville comes into town. Texas Tech should be able to easily win, but wins are never easy, as evidenced by some results this season so far. Texas Tech is a program that is having a great start and will look to continue that into conference play.

South Florida

South Florida has tested themselves greatly this year so far, as evidenced by playing four Top 40 teams thus far, according to Bart Torvik. However, this week might be their toughest yet as they travel to Vanderbilt and host South Carolina this week. Winning these games is never easy, but as long as South Florida shows some fight and can stay in the game during the second half, I believe that they are doing all they can do.

5 Stats to Know


10

This is the number of teams in NCAAW D1 basketball that have not won a game thus far this season. All of them have a chance for a win this week before they get into conference play. Let's hope each of them notches a win before the turn of the calendar!

3

The number of teams in the BartTorvik Top 5 (Texas, South Carolina, LSU) who are shooting less than 23% of their shots from the perimeter. The average for a D1 team is 34.4%, and all three of these teams are #353 in the country or worse at getting shots up. That is bound to change a little bit as we get into conference play and teams pack it in, but even still, these three teams are getting to the rim and finishing with elite pace.

60.8

This is the pace that Cornell is playing at so far this season. It is the slowest pace in the country, and they are only getting 60.8 possessions a game. They are trying to slow the game down, and it is working by getting nearly 10 less possessions per game than the average D1 team.

72.6%

Grace Knox has been lighting it up this year on the floor and holds the best shooting percentage for a freshman inside the arc with more than 2 field goal attempts a game. She is 45-for-62 from around the paint this year and underscores how effective LSU has been inside the arc so far this season.

0

And still...Emma Shumate has not turned the ball over in 10 games this season. She is the only player in the country who plays more than 14 minutes per game and hasn't turned the ball over in the NCAA. She's on the floor 45% of the time and has done an excellent job of protecting the ball thus far this season for Michigan State.

5 Games to Monitor

12/18 - Virginia Tech @ Florida State

Even though it's only December, this game is critical for both of these teams in ACC play. Both sit at 0-1 this year in conference play so far, with neither team having a marquee win this season. Virginia Tech has won their last two games, while Florida State has dropped their last four games. This is a big one for morale reasons.

12/18 - South Dakota State @ Duke

South Dakota State is one of the best mid-majors in the country and will look to notch an excellent road win at Duke this week. Duke's offense has been better this season than people think, and their defense is still very good. This game is going to be an uphill battle for South Dakota State, but if they are clicking on the offensive end, they can pull the upset.

12/19 - Washington @ Stanford

Formerly a conference battle, this game has quite the implications in the non-conference slate this season. These two teams are a combined 18-3 this season, with no loss coming by more than nine points. For Stanford, it will be an excellent opportunity to notch a marquee win in the non-conference, while for Washington, it would give them a bit of momentum as they head into the thick of Big Ten play.

12/20 - Louisville vs. Tennessee

This is going to be a good old-fashioned battle on Saturday morning at the Barclays Center. Louisville has three losses this year, all of which have come at the hands of Top 10 programs. This is a chance to grab another marquee win for their non-conference schedule after beating North Carolina to move to 2-0 in conference play. Tennessee needs to come away with a victory after a shaky start to the season as they move into conference play. They notched a solid win against Stanford, but could use this one as well. This should be a tight game, with both teams having a real chance to come away with a win.

12/20 - Princeton @ George Mason

One of the top mid-major tests of the season, both of these teams have performed well this season. Princeton has started to look like the best team in the Ivy League this year, and a win here will heavily solidify them as a team with an excellent chance to grab an at-large bid. George Mason has struggled a bit this year in the non-conference slate and will look to notch a win at home for their best non-conference win of the season.

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