Who wins this weekend? #6 Notre Dame at #3 U$C, #1 SCAR at #5 fUCLA

[TheFarmFan]

We've got the two biggest games to date (and two of the best non-conference games period) this weekend, when #5 Notre Dame travels to #3 U$C on Saturday, and then #1 South Carolina tries to keep its unbeaten streak while visiting #5 fUCLA on Sunday.

Who you got? Let's discuss. (And yes, the PAC-12 Homer in me will continue to besmirch fUCLA & U$C at least until Scott Rueck has a proper conference again!)

 

[cancontent]

We've got the two biggest games to date (and two of the best non-conference games period) this weekend, when #5 Notre Dame travels to #3 U$C on Saturday, and then #1 South Carolina tries to keep its unbeaten streak while visiting #5 fUCLA on Sunday.

Who you got? Let's discuss. (And yes, the PAC-12 Homer in me will continue to besmirch fUCLA & U$C at least until Scott Rueck has a proper conference again!)

It will take me a little while to figure out who I'm going with, but I'll all for the besmirching in the meantime.

 

[Floridaduck]

Home teams win is my rule of thumb for even match ups. Expect both home teams to draw well for these two.

 

[Stagnant]

Choosing both home teams seems a bit boring. So, I will pick Notre Dame and South Carolina. USC hasn’t looked great so far. And Notre Dame has looked like world beaters. Look for the Notre dame backcourt to dominate.

 

[visitingcock]

Will Los Angeles support college women's basketball?

What kind of attendance will there be? The ucla/scar game would draw 18,000 in Columbia, but what will LA do for a top 5 matchup - on a Sunday with a Rams game? UCLA's attendence has been pretty dismal ffor the level they have played at the last 10 years. U$C showed a significant increase in attendance in Juju's freshman year and LA loves their stars. Plus, there are alot of Notre Dame fans in the area. Could we see a sellout

What kind of TV viewership will there be? Let's face it PAC viewership sucked because, if for no other reason, their network sucked. But these games will be on FS-1 and NBC. I wish it was Fox instead of FS1, but it's still a huge improvement over the PAC Network. Will Cali tune in?

Anyway, hoping to see attendance and viewership increases for these two potential giants and all of wbb.

 

[BruinGold]

Juju gets all the attention and $C/ND is a rivalry in any sport. So, that's where people will go. I don't think that UCLA has much "buzz" in the city at the moment.

I'm expecting a large crowd by UCLA standards, and I will be showing up early in expectation of that crowd. I have no expectations for this game. I really like this Bruins team, but as has been discussed elsewhere, the backcourt play hasn't been great. Rice and Jones are coming off injuries, Leger-Walker is still out, and Aarnisalo is four games into her college career, playing out of position. Also, it's November, so who really knows what kind of team you'll have by March? I'm very excited, though!

 

[Stagnant]

I do want to say. The crowds for UCLA and USC have been disappointing so far. Maybe they are still only at a point where they can draw crowds for top 25 matchups? They can’t sell out the games when a team like Boston University comes to town.

 

[visitingcock]

I do want to say. The crowds for UCLA and USC have been disappointing so far. Maybe they are still only at a point where they can draw crowds for top 25 matchups? They can’t sell out the games when a team like Boston University comes to town.

Only about five ( or less) schools can. UConn, SCar, Iowa and Iowa State. Oops. That’s 4. I think only those 4 and LSU averaged over 10k for home
games last year.

 

[jdote33]

I'm so high on Notre Dame and not as high on USC. Sonia Citron is as good of a matchup there is for Juju. I think Hidalgo could terrorize TVO in terms of putting pressure on the ball. I do like USC's size and athleticism at the 4 or 5. So I think ND will win and I don't think it will be particularly close. Like they'll win by +6.

I think South Carolina will beat UCLA. I think SC has so much big game experience and UCLA is still kinda in the process of figuring things out. For example,I think Cori Close will start Kiki, even though Elina has been big time all season. I remember probably in 2023 there was a regular season game that was really good between the two schools. And UCLA lost. I think it may have been the game Kiki got a technical late. After the game Charisma Osbourne was super emotional. It was interesting to see how much that game meant to them. So it's undoubtedly a bigger game for UCLA than it is for SC. I do think SC has to lose eventually and it will probably be on the road. I just think it won't be this particular game.

 

[JellyBean]

I went with USC and UCLA. UCLA looking to make a statement and what better way to do it than by beating the defending champs & #1 team in WBB. For USC, their size & athleticism is going to wear Notre Dame down. The LA teams are looking to make a statement. A huge statement this weekend.

 

[packwrap]

I picked ND and SC.

ND will have coming out party. The 3 guards plus Koval playing really well.

SC has plenty of posts to contain Betts.

 

[visitingcock]

I picked ND and SC.

ND will have coming out party. The 3 guards plus Koval playing really well.

SC has plenty of posts to contain Betts.

SCAR playing unbelievably bad at Clempsun right now. So is Clempsun. Just awful.

 

[triaddukefan]

SCAR playing unbelievably bad at Clempsun right now. So is Clempsun. Just awful.

Go Tigers

 

[visitingcock]

Go Tigers

I’ll put up with a lot from our pet devil, but

Meet me in the alley

 

[The deacon]

We've got the two biggest games to date (and two of the best non-conference games period) this weekend, when #5 Notre Dame travels to #3 U$C on Saturday, and then #1 South Carolina tries to keep its unbeaten streak while visiting #5 fUCLA on Sunday.

Who you got? Let's discuss. (And yes, the PAC-12 Homer in me will continue to besmirch fUCLA & U$C at least until Scott Rueck has a proper conference again!)

Thanks for setting this up, The Farm Fan.

I picked USC and SC, without great conviction in either case. However, I just want to note that, as of six-plus hours after your posting, not a single response has mentioned by name the player who just might be the best from all four of the teams: Kiki Iriafen. I expect plenty of you could justifiably disagree, but IMHO.

 

[Vowelguy]

SC 76% over UCLA

ND 51% over USC

 

[TheFarmFan]

Thanks for setting this up, The Farm Fan.

I picked USC and SC, without great conviction in either case. However, I just want to note that, as of six-plus hours after your posting, not a single response has mentioned by name the player who just might be the best from all four of the teams: Kiki Iriafen. I expect plenty of you could justifiably disagree, but IMHO.

Well, at least in my case, that's because, from this Stanford fan's perspective, she is "she who shall not be named." Not bitter, not bitter at all...

 

[Gamecockfan77]

It will be the first time South Carolina has faced a team with any size.

Should tell us a lot.

I am excited to see Notre Dame. But I'm going to disagree that Citron is the best defensive matchup for her. I love Citron though.

 

[triaddukefan]

Hopefully ND and Little Carolina pull out victories.

 

[maple]

I picked ND and SCar both to win. I have a bias against California teams.

 

[Jumper33]

It will be the first time South Carolina has faced a team with any size.

Should tell us a lot.

I am excited to see Notre Dame. But I'm going to disagree that Citron is the best defensive matchup for her. I love Citron though.

They should put Prosper on Juju. Not a lot of people talk about Prosper but she is quite an athlete, with very long limbs relative to her height. Her brother, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, made an NBA team on the strength of the upside and athleticism he offers. Could be a family thing?

Anyway, that’s off topic. I picked SC and ND. As much as people thought that Hidalgo and Miles wouldn’t be good together, they look…phenomenal.

 

[cancontent]

They should put Prosper on Juju. Not a lot of people talk about Prosper but she is quite an athlete, with very long limbs relative to her height. Her brother, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, made an NBA team on the strength of the upside and athleticism he offers. Could be a family thing?

Anyway, that’s off topic. I picked SC and ND. As much as people thought that Hidalgo and Miles wouldn’t be good together, they look…phenomenal.

Maybe combination of Prosper, Hildalgo and Citron depending on their rotation. Prosper is a great athlete but she can also get herself into foul trouble. Especially if she thinks she can get the jump and Juju picks up on it.

 

[Dillon77]

It will be the first time South Carolina has faced a team with any size.

Should tell us a lot.

I am excited to see Notre Dame. But I'm going to disagree that Citron is the best defensive matchup for her. I love Citron though.

I'll bite. So, in your opinion, who is the best defensive match-up for Watkins?
(There's a debate on The Bench on this right now, so I'm interested in what a non-Domer fan thinks.....I have my opinion, too, which I'll share.)

 

[cancontent]

@TheFarmFan no idea why, but I just caught to the naming references. Damn that's hilarious

 

[Frankus]

I do want to say. The crowds for UCLA and USC have been disappointing so far. Maybe they are still only at a point where they can draw crowds for top 25 matchups? They can’t sell out the games when a team like Boston University comes to town.

There are a lot of ND alumni in LA. It's going to be interesting to see what the crowd looks like.

 

[Dillon77]

There are a lot of ND alumni in LA. It's going to be interesting to see what the crowd looks like.

ND travels well, as you probably know. Of the 2,300 or so at Lafayette in Easton, Pa., at least 2/3 of the folks there were wearing green or blue, supporting the Irish. Since the Irish won't make many other (any?) trips out to LA this season, Irish fans could be headed to USC.

 

[Dillon77]

I'm very bullish about this year's Notre Dame....when Maddy Westbeld and Liza Karlen are able to play. Right now, that's 2/3 of the Irish frontcourt rotation and, yes, the only ones with more than 4 games of collegiate experience. The freshman with four games -- Kate Koval -- will be playing next to either a very tall guard (Cass Prosper) or an undersized forward (Liatu King). That could be an issue with a talented USC front line (Iriafen, Marshall) and a bunch of tallish guards and wings, led by Ms. Watkins.

Even though it's been against "meh" competition, I think Koval offers a rebounding and defensive presence. If she can stay out of foul trouble, she takes up enough space in the right ways to allow King, Miles and Citron to rebound. And the USC guards are going to be stunned at just how much directed energy will come at them from Hidalgo and Miles. My hope: ND in a tight one. If USC wins in a competitive game, I've got the hope that adding Westbeld will put ND over the top later in the season.

UCLA, if they're going to make a mark, should win this game. Yet, I'm still picking South Carolina. Why? Because they get. it. done.

 

[The deacon]

Well, at least in my case, that's because, from this Stanford fan's perspective, she is "she who shall not be named." Not bitter, not bitter at all...

Wholly understood, my friend. For my part, I'll still enjoy watching her play, but rue that she's not finishing at your school, rather toiling to get the most from playing a lesser role in the JuJu Show.

 

[USMC(ret)]

Although I’m a Gamecock alum, I’m picking UCLA. South Carolina has not played a complete game yet… lots of missed layups, poor 3 point shooting, and we’re still figuring rotations. In our favor— great athleticism, stout defense, and Dawn Staley on the bench. Speaking of bench… we can play 12 without a talent letdown. That helps… but we need to play well in all phases to beat a top 5 team.

Notre Dame beats USC… the Irish are in a mission this year.

 

[visitingcock]

Although I’m a Gamecock alum, I’m picking UCLA. South Carolina has not played a complete game yet… lots of missed layups, poor 3 point shooting, and we’re still figuring rotations. In our favor— great athleticism, stout defense, and Dawn Staley on the bench. Speaking of bench… we can play 12 without a talent letdown. That helps… but we need to play well in all phases to beat a top 5 team.

Notre Dame beats USC… the Irish are in a mission this year.

This fellow Gamecock agrees that UCLA should beat us for the reasons you list plus luck is being stretched thin by the 43 game streak, playing in their home, Raven’s cold streak and Joyce’s inexperience against quality bigs. My eyeball test says that we are not a VERY high quality team - yet - but we can be one by tournament time.

My brain is going with with both home teams to win. Pulling for both visitors.