UCLA-USC TONIGHT!! Oh wait, it's on Peacock. Never mind.

[JstVisiting]

Notre Dame will be the new #1 come Monday.

Maybe, but there are four teams that can jump Notre Dame in the race for the #1 overall seed by winning out regardless of what the Irish do.

 

[willtalk]

I always believe that the value of rankings when dependent on single game outcomes should consider the factors that resulted in the win or loss. Basketball by nature is a game of hot and cold shooting and streaks. A player playing the best game of their life is not going to happen in every game. Neither is a player playing a sub par game. I always say that you are never as good as your best game, nor as bad as your worst. In their loss to ND Juji had a bad shooting night. While some could be attributed to ND defense, not all of it is to a player like Juju who when they get hot are unstopable. Too bad the National Championships are decided by a single elimination tournament. On any given night, any team can beat a better team as long as they are close enough in talent. All it takes is for them to catch the better team on a down day while they play one of their better games.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Get that bored monkey drummer ready

Coach should have guarded JuJu close.

Quite the game. For JuJu non fans, it was really tough to ignore the blocks, steals, rebounds and her Q4 help defense on Betts. She competed hard in crunch time.

JuJu Watkins is the only NBA, WNBA or Division I men's or women's player this century with 35+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists, 5+ blocks and 5+ made 3-pointers in a game. And she did it against the previously undefeated #1 team in the country whose scouting report had to have emphasized the importance of stopping her.
A performance for the ages.

 

[The deacon]

JuJu Watkins with one of the greatest performances I have ever seen

I do agree that having it on Peacock wasn't great, but this is the trend. There were a lot of good Iowa games last season that were moved the Peacock to leverage the Clark effect.

JuJu's performance was indeed very impressive, perhaps the closest thing she's offered yet similar to many of Caitlin Clark's games against top teams the past several seasons... and she spiced it up with those blocks!

I subscribed to Peacock a couple of years ago to watch lots of golf otherwise unviewable here... this is just a cool bonus having games like this on Peacock!

 

[Dillon77]

Maybe, but there are four teams that can jump Notre Dame in the race for the #1 overall seed by winning out regardless of what the Irish do.

OK, just to make sure we're talking about the same thing: you're referring to the #1 seed in the NCAA tourney, not the AP poll, correct?

Are you basing this on your analytics and/or your interpretation on how the selection committee will use said studies and their own instincts?

And, this will happen even if the Irish win out? That said, what four teams are those? And why?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

OK, just to make sure we're talking about the same thing: you're referring to the #1 seed in the NCAA tourney, not the AP poll, correct?

Are you basing this on your analytics and/or your interpretation on how the selection committee will use said studies and their own instincts?

And, this will happen even if the Irish win out? That said, what four teams are those? And why?

I don't really think at this point Notre Dame is a "lock" but they do probably have the best shot at the #1 over all seed. Their only losses were a long time ago, on neutral courts, to teams that are not chopped liver.

UCLA from the B1G, LSU or South Carolina from the SEC, none of which has lost to Notre Dame, if they win out, at least are in shouting distance by the smell test, but the numbers of Quad wins, etc. may tell a different story, especially LSU. Having lost to Notre Dame handicaps Texas and USC conceptually, but again, the committee will use analytics. I'm old fashioned, and really too lazy, to try and study analytics while I understand their value.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I think Notre Dame has more good wins, but also worse losses than most of the other teams in consideration. They aren't terrible losses, not saying that. Most of them have only lost to other Top 10 teams. USC losing to Iowa is of course an exception to that.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

From a basketball standpoint, this UCLA loss doesn't mean much as long as they don't drop another B1G game. They still have all of their goals ahead of them.

From a perception standpoint, it's going to sting for a while. Until last night, the discourse centered around UCLA being "underrated" despite being undefeated, how we (as women's basketball fans) didn't appreciate the team enough, how they were a carbon copy of South Carolina 2023-24, etc. For them to lose by double digits to a team in the same city that has a bigger star than anyone UCLA's program has ever had--is damaging to how they are going to be perceived moving forward. There's no way around that. Now, people will be talking about UCLA. Unfortunately, for them, they'll be talking about UCLA in the context of how JuJu destroyed them. And because they play in the same city as JuJu and Southern Cal, it's not like they'll be able to block out the discussions. They will hear about it everywhere they go in that city. EVERYWHERE. That's rough, but you have to be careful what you wish for.

Only if they lose the rematch.

No one is talking about Texas getting blown out by SCar after Texas's win the second time.

 

[JstVisiting]

OK, just to make sure we're talking about the same thing: you're referring to the #1 seed in the NCAA tourney, not the AP poll, correct?

Are you basing this on your analytics and/or your interpretation on how the selection committee will use said studies and their own instincts?

And, this will happen even if the Irish win out? That said, what four teams are those? And why?

If UCLA wins out, they’d be the #1 overall seed.

If South Carolina, Texas, or LSU win out, they’d be ahead of Notre Dame for either 1 or 2 overall, pending UCLA.

Notre Dame is 4th in the NET today and those other teams have multiple games remaining against opponents better than anyone left on ND’s schedule.

ND is 5th at both Massey and Her Hoop Stats. Analytics matter much more to the committee than women’s AP voters.

 

[visitingcock]

I think Notre Dame has more good wins, but also worse losses than most of the other teams in consideration. They aren't terrible losses, not saying that. Most of them have only lost to other Top 10 teams. USC losing to Iowa is of course an exception to that.

They do not have “more” good wins than SCar or Texas. The Quad system is the method for determining “good win.” those two teams each have 10 quad one wins.! Notre Dame has only 6.

As far as losses go, you are right about losses. ND’s aren’t terrible but Utah is down around the bottom of the quad ones whereas Texas and SCar’s losses are all in the top ten

It is however, extremely close. If Texas loses to LSU and Scar loses to UConn, ND will surge to the lead.

A lot of tough BB to be played before the committee makes its final decision but at least we get a taste with Monday’s first reveal.

The NET Nitty Gritty Report for NCAA Women's College Basketball | WarrenNolan.com

The NET Nitty Gritty Report for 2025 NCAA Women's College Basketball. This Is a Duplication of the Report Used by the Tournament Selection Committee to Determine At-Large Teams with Quadrants

www.warrennolan.com

 

[Gamecockfan77]

not sure LSU can win enough games to have A better resume than ND.

Texas has the h2h loss. But overall better. SCar would be better.

moat wide open tournament in a long while. No one looks dominant.

 

[boontonbomber]

Silly talk about tournament seeding. When all is said and done , they have to go out there and play. Look at how the seeding worked in this year's football tournament.

 

[visitingcock]

I always believe that the value of rankings when dependent on single game outcomes should consider the factors that resulted in the win or loss. Basketball by nature is a game of hot and cold shooting and streaks. A player playing the best game of their life is not going to happen in every game. Neither is a player playing a sub par game. I always say that you are never as good as your best game, nor as bad as your worst. In their loss to ND Juji had a bad shooting night. While some could be attributed to ND defense, not all of it is to a player like Juju who when they get hot are unstopable. Too bad the National Championships are decided by a single elimination tournament. On any given night, any team can beat a better team as long as they are close enough in talent. All it takes is for them to catch the better team on a down day while they play one of their better games.

Should the National championship be best 2 out of three?

 

[JstVisiting]

Silly talk about tournament seeding. When all is said and done , they have to go out there and play. Look at how the seeding worked in this year's football tournament.

If sports fandom was entirely backwards looking, never forward, the boneyard and other forums wouldn’t last very long.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Only if they lose the rematch.

No one is talking about Texas getting blown out by SCar after Texas's win the second time.

Nobody is talking about Texas, period (they just beat a Top 10 team on the road--and all we hear is "UCLA/USC" and people finally joining me on the "Kentucky's SEC schedule is backloaded" train). Most people outside of those fan bases (Texas and South Carolina) do not care one bit about either Texas/South Carolina game. Also, the second Texas game took place on the day of the Super Bowl. Even Dawn didn't seem to care all that much at that time.

UCLA/Southern Cal is different in that JuJu commands so much more attention than anyone on that court (and perhaps in the sport). Even if UCLA wins the rematch (and confirms what people believe--that UCLA is the superior team), most people will still point to that JuJu performance from a couple of days back (as they should--and folks on here really need to stop underselling the performance).

 

[JstVisiting]

not sure LSU can win enough games to have A better resume than ND.

Texas has the h2h loss. But overall better. SCar would be better.

moat wide open tournament in a long while. No one looks dominant.

An LSU road win at Texas would be the best win anybody has this season. LSU also has three other Q1 remaining, so if they win out, think they’d be 9-1 to ND’s 9-2 heading to conference tourneys, where LSU would presumably play at least two of Texas/South Carolina/Tennessee to win the SEC. And 1 loss at South Carolina vs 2 neutrals would matter too.

I expect LSU speculation to end Sunday afternoon, but if they do go on a tear, I think they’d get there.

 

[visitingcock]

Nobody is talking about Texas, period (they just beat a Top 10 team on the road--and all we hear is "UCLA/USC" and people finally joining me on the "Kentucky's SEC schedule is backloaded" train). Most people outside of those fan bases (Texas and South Carolina) do not care one bit about either Texas/South Carolina game. Also, the second Texas game took place on the day of the Super Bowl. Even Dawn didn't seem to care all that much at that time.

UCLA/Southern Cal is different in that JuJu commands so much more attention than anyone on that court (and perhaps in the sport). Even if UCLA wins the rematch (and confirms what people believe--that UCLA is the superior team), most people will still point to that JuJu performance from a couple of days back (as they should--and folks on here really need to stop underselling the performance).

Well, more people watched SCar v Tex II than any other WBB game this year at that point pond I doubt UCLA/U$C Peacock can come close

 

[WBBTakeover]

Well, more people watched SCar v Tex II than any other WBB game this year at that point pond I doubt UCLA/U$C Peacock can come close

"Watching it" and "talking about it/caring about it" are two completely different things. We don't know if the viewers were watching it while being actively engaged or if it served as a mere means of passing time prior to the Super Bowl. Even though Peacock doesn't have the viewership that ESPN has, that doesn't mean that the game wasn't streamed via other means. And given the media's and social media's reaction to JuJu's performance, I'd say that says a lot about what people thought about the UCLA/Southern Cal game.

JuJu is the main draw in WCBB right now (she still wouldn't be my NPOY, but that's a different discussion). The only other person that I can think of who comes close is...Dawn (and she's not pulling up from three).

 

[sivad40]

"Watching it" and "talking about it/caring about it" are two completely different things. We don't know if the viewers were watching it while being actively engaged or if it served as a mere means of passing time prior to the Super Bowl. Even though Peacock doesn't have the viewership that ESPN has, that doesn't mean that the game wasn't streamed via other means. And given the media's and social media's reaction to JuJu's performance, I'd say that says a lot about what people thought about the UCLA/Southern Cal game.

JuJu is the main draw in WCBB right now (she still wouldn't be my NPOY, but that's a different discussion). The only other person that I can think of who comes close is...Dawn (and she's not pulling up from three).

You're using semantics with the motives of why people were watching the Texas and South Carolina game.

 

[packwrap]

Should the National championship be best 2 out of three?

Will soon be a 7 game series when the football accountants turn their attention to hoops. That's 7 TV opportunities vs one, plus focused national attention on personalities like Paige, Azzi, Hannah, JuJu, Lauren for 1-2 weeks instead of 1 weekend.
Here comes the 2040 College Basketball Women's Finals! (NCAA missing here on purpose).

 

[WBBTakeover]

You're using semantics with the motives of why people were watching the Texas and South Carolina game.

No, there is a distinct difference between catching something while it's on and actively watching/engaging with it.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Yeah, maybe nobody is a lock for a #1 seed at this point. Certainly South Carolina isn't after today. Been beaten down twice, that is eye opening.