2025 NCAA Women's Basketball: Top Valentine's Weekend Matchups
by Tyler Doty | by Tyler Doty
NCAA Women’s Basketball: Testing the Huskies
Connecticut is the rare team that’s still playing non-conference games at this point. And that’s for a specific reason: UConn isn’t going to get scratched in the Big East, and it knows it. Geno Auriemma’s goal with his team is always to compete for a national championship, and the Big East just isn’t as strong in women’s basketball as it is in men’s. Over the past 12 years, since Notre Dame left for the ACC, the Huskies have lost just three games in the league.
And that’s why Auriemma loads his schedule with SEC opponents near the end of the road. He doesn’t have the Irish around to test his team, and nobody in the Big East except Creighton even comes close. When you’re holding Xavier to 27 points one night and giving up 36 to Seton Hall, you’re going to win games whether you play well or not.
The Huskies aren’t trying to win the Big East; they’re trying to win a title. And Tennessee helped expose some weaknesses that Auriemma now has time to correct. The same idea holds with Connecticut facing South Carolina this weekend, which should be a big learning experience for both teams.
Here’s a look at this weekend’s slate for your basketball predictions.
Connecticut at South Carolina
Are the Gamecocks ready to get out and run? That’s the big question for South Carolina after Texas put the squeeze on them last time out, ending South Carolina’s 57-game win streak in the SEC. Unlike Connecticut, the Gamecocks do get quality competition in the SEC; Dawn Staley’s program has just been that good that it’s able to win and win consistently. But with Texas now in the league, South Carolina has to work harder to maintain its dominance.
Connecticut will have to determine how it wants to play this, because it’s more offensive-minded than Texas. The Huskies have a good defense, but that might have more to do with poor play from the Big East than their own skills. In their three defeats, the opponent got above 70 points and Connecticut couldn’t keep up. Azzi Fudd will definitely present a different challenge to South Carolina than Texas did: the Longhorns didn’t make a single 3-point shot in beating the Gamecocks. Fudd is coming off sinking eight against St. John’s.
Cincinnati at West Virginia
The Mountaineers can afford no more mistakes. At 9-4, West Virginia is two games out of first place in the Big 12, and their hopes at a double bye took a serious hit with a loss to Baylor. West Virginia still has a shot at a high seed in the NCAA tournament, but it’s likely going to need some extra work in Kansas City to make that happen.
Above all, it can’t lose games at home against middling opposition. Cincinnati is in the third tier of Big 12 opponents, and it showed how far behind it is last time out in falling by 37 to Kansas State. The Mountaineers need to get off to a fast start and quickly put this one in the rearview mirror. With Kansas State and TCU up next, opportunity exists for West Virginia to get back in the race — if it doesn’t take a bad loss.
NC State at North Carolina
This is a two-game stretch before the big one for the Wolfpack. After racing past Florida State in Tallahassee, State now makes the short drive over to Chapel Hill to try to keep the pressure on Notre Dame. The Wolfpack got a breather at home against Miami, or at least, what should have been a breather against the depleted Hurricanes. But State was clearly feeling the pressure and barely escaped with a two-point victory.
Carolina is good enough to punish the Wolfpack if they’re not ready to go. The Heels aren’t likely to win the ACC, but at 10-3 in the league, they’re still in the mix for a double bye and probably looking at two home games in the NCAA tournament. State has to get through this and Georgia Tech before it welcomes in Notre Dame for the big one.
LSU at Texas
Suddenly, the SEC title race is open. Texas came up big in handing South Carolina its first loss, and the Longhorns shook off any thoughts of a letdown in handling Kentucky immediately after that. Vic Schaefer’s team is every bit as good as advertised, and when they can win without hitting a single deep shot, that says a lot about how many things they do well.
LSU is right up there with the Longhorns and the Gamecocks, but there’s a sense that the Tigers are the third team behind the big two. The Bayou Bengals have just one loss, but it was South Carolina and there was never a sense Kim Mulkey’s team was going to find a way to win. Beating Tennessee was a solid addition to the resume, but an 11-point win over Missouri before that didn’t really impress anyone. The Tigers need a win here to get off the No. 2 line.
Michigan State at UCLA
USC’s upset of UCLA couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Spartans. Michigan State’s a good team in its own right, but the Spartans were really hoping to catch the Bruins after a win over the Trojans and possibly catch them in a letdown.
No such luck, as UCLA took its first loss on Thursday night against USC. And now Michigan State’s got to fly cross-country for a meeting with a motivated Lauren Betts. The Spartans are in a no-lose situation here, but they’ve probably missed a golden chance to add to their resume and build their seed. Instead, this game likely becomes a measuring stick for what Michigan State needs to do to make noise in the Big Ten tournament.
