Women’s Basketball Games of the Week 2/6 – 2/10
The women’s game is chock-full of strong early matchups, including four Monday games that will have bearings on three conference races. The rest of the week isn’t bad, either, as it is devoid of major-conference showdowns but full of games that could decide high-major and mid-major schools.
No. 23 NORTH CAROLINA at No. 7 DUKE (7 p.m. Monday at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina)
Before the mens’ teams go at it later in the week, the women get their turn at an Atlantic Coast Conference showdown. This is the first of two big ACC games on the Monday agenda and the start of a really difficult stretch of games for the Tar Heels (17-5, 7-2), who have lost to Maryland and Clemson in conference play. Two games against Duke and one against Miami, Georgia Tech and Maryland, all of which are either ranked AP or College Sports Madness top 25… now that’s a hard schedule. Chay Shegog’s 20 points helped North Carolina top Virginia 64-56 in its last game. Duke (18-3, 9-0) has lost to Notre Dame, Kentucky and Connecticut. Duke closes out with games against Maryland, Miami and North Carolina.
No. 18 MARYLAND at No. 24 GEORGIA TECH (7 p.m. Monday at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Atlanta, Georgia)
The second big ACC matchup features two top-25 teams a little further down in the league standings but still wanting to make an impact. Maryland (19-3, 6-3) throttled Boston College 86-44 in its last game to overcome losses to Duke and Virginia Tech, but the Terrapins have a difficult road ahead with four ranked teams among the last seven games on the schedule. Laurin Mincy and Brene Moseley’s 16 points were key in the contest. Georgia Tech (17-6, 7-3), a half-game ahead of Maryland in fourth place in the ACC, has won four in a row. The Yellow Jackets have lost in ACC action to Duke, Miami and to the Terrapins, but that 77-74 loss to Maryland proves Georgia Tech can play that team closely.
LIBERTY at HIGH POINT (7 p.m. Monday at Millis Athletic Center in High Point, North Carolina)
All of the action on Monday seems to be centered on the East Coast. This Big South Conference showdown pits the top two teams against each other. Liberty (14-7, 8-1) lost by four points, 73-69, in overtime. Since the loss to High Point, Liberty has won eight in a row to go above .500 in the standings. High Point (14-7, 9-1) is a half-game ahead of Liberty in the Big South standings, but the Panthers just suffered a 55-50 upset loss against Radford, a team barely above .500 in the standings. Those type of losses happen, but High Point can’t let that happen again if it hopes to get a berth in the NCAA tournament.
ORAL ROBERTS at SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (8 p.m. Monday at Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota)
The Summit League race could be finished if South Dakota State can win this game. With five games left in the standings, the Jackrabbits would be up by three games and would have trouble getting caught. Oral Roberts (15-8, 9-3) has won five of six, with only a three-point loss against South Dakota blemishing that record. South Dakota State (16-7, 11-1) lost 71-65 to Oral Roberts earlier this season, so there is proof the game can be a close one. The Jackrabbits have rolled off seven wins in a row since then, the closest one by eight points against South Dakota.
No. 3 CONNECTICUT at No. 17 LOUISVILLE (7 p.m. Tuesday at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky)
Another Big East quality showdown puts the Huskies in play on the road, where they have shown some signs of being vulnerable. The key word is some. Connecticut (21-2, 9-1) has lost twice on the road to Baylor and Notre Dame, the two teams above UConn in the CSM top 25. Connecticut has won nine in a row since the Notre Dame loss. The Huskies have games remaining against Georgetown and Notre Dame. As for Louisville (17-6, 6-4), the Cardinals are four games back in the standings and can’t win the Big East, but they can make life miserable for the conference leaders. Louisville has lost back-to-back games against DePaul and West Virginia. Louisville has five games left after this, but Notre Dame and DePaul are on the schedule. Life won’t be easy for the Cardinals.
AMERICAN at LEHIGH (7 p.m. Wednesday at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Including this contest, most teams have six games remaining in the Patriot League season, and this game may decide the regular-season title. American (16-6, 8-0) beat Lehigh 55-49 in the teams’ previous go-round on January 11, and the Eagles have won eight straight games since falling to George Washington on January 2. Lehigh (13-9, 6-2) is two games behind American in the standings and has recovered nicely from a 2-6 start to the season. The Mountain Hawks have had a couple close-call games as of late with a 66-64 loss to Army and a 75-73 win over Holy Cross, and they have won six of eight since the start of the year. This is going to be a good contest, with the winner having a leg up on competition for an NCAA bid.
DETROIT at No. 11 GREEN BAY (8 p.m. Thursday at Kress Events Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin)
In all likelihood, the Phoenix will rise again and the Horizon League title will be decided in this game. Detroit (12-11, 8-3) has a little misleading record, however. The Titans started out the season 1-8 before dramatically turning things around, and its loss to Green Bay was only by nine points, 68-59. Illinois-Chicago and Youngstown State have also beaten the Titans this season. Green Bay (20-0, 10-0) has beaten five straight opponents by 20 points or more since its closer game with Detroit. Look for this game to be a closer one than Green Bay has had recently.
No. 19 GONZAGA at BRIGHAM YOUNG (9 p.m. Thursday at Marriott Center in Provo, Utah)
The West Coast Conference is likely on the line with this game, as these teams are the only ones within a game of the top spot. Gonzaga (21-3, 10-1) lost to arch rival Saint Mary’s 66-63 for its only WCC defeat. Otherwise, the team is on a six-game winning streak with five games remaining in the regular season. Two of Gonzaga’s five remaining games are against Brigham Young (21-4, 9-2), which could make the NCAA as an at-large team if it doesn’t win the conference championship. The Cougars lost to Pepperdine 61-49 on February 2, breaking a nine-game winning streak, but BYU got back in the win column with an 83-47 win over Saint Mary’s.
FAIRFIELD at MARIST (7 p.m. Friday at McCann Center in Poughkeepsie, New York)
This game is for all the marbles in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Fairfield’s lone loss in conference play came 59-47 to Marist, and the Stags (18-5, 11-1) have also fallen to Vermont, Quinnipiac, Providence and Connecticut. As you might imagine, the UConn loss wasn’t pretty, but Fairfield has proven it can play with a lot of teams. Marist (15-7, 10-1) has a game with St. Peter’s on the schedule Monday, but since St. Peter’s enters with a 2-20 overall record Marist should be 11-1 in the league afterwards, barring a shocking upset. Marist lost to Manhattan, 48-44, in its last game.
