Top Five Title Contenders for Women's College Basketball

There’s still plenty of time for teams to change their fortunes before March, but these 5 teams have built up a resume that projects strongly for success all season. My top 5 title contenders for this women’s college basketball season are as follows:

5.     UConn Huskies (17-2, #6 in the AP Poll)

The Huskies are led by senior guard Paige Bueckers and freshman forward Sarah Strong under the all-time winningest coach in college basketball Geno Auriemma. Bueckers and Strong both average over 15 points per game (ppg) with Bueckers leading the team with 19.4 ppg. Strong leads the team in rebounds per game (7.7 rpg), steals per game (2.3 spg), and blocks per game (1.1 bpg). Kaitlyn Chen leads the team in assists per game (apg) with 3.8 closely trailed by Bueckers and Strong who average 3.8 and 3.7 apg. Senior guard Azzi Fudd will look to provide a third scoring option on offence averaging 10.9 ppg including a 4-game stretch where she has been averaging 18.75 ppg. The Huskies gain some depth and veteran leadership with senior forward Aubrey Griffin returning to action today after missing the beginning of the year with injury. UConn’s two losses are to #4 Notre Dame in Indiana and a 2-point loss in a back-and-forth battle against the Juju Watkins led USC Trojans in Storrs. UConn also holds three ranked wins (all ranked wins are over teams ranked at the time of matchup) against North Carolina, Ole Miss, and a huge 33-point slaughtering of Louisville. UConn has added two non-conference ranked away games to keep up play against higher level of competition that they lack in their conference. The Huskies boast the second-best scoring defence limiting opponents to a stingy 51.3 ppg to accompany an offence that has the highest field goal percentage. UConn will hope to stay sharp before the gauntlet of March Madness and use their suffocating defence to counter any offensive dry spells.

4.     USC Trojans (17-1, #4 in the AP Poll)

The Trojans are led by superstar sophomore guard Juju Watkins who will look to build on a historic freshman year that saw her shatter the freshman scoring record, finish second in the country in scoring, and leading her team to the Elite Eight. Watkins is continuing her torrid scoring pace averaging the third most points per game in the country with 25.5 ppg. Watkins and senior forward Kiki Iriafen are the only two players on this USC team to average over 10 ppg. USC does have a distinct height advantage with 4 of their 5 starters above 6’0 including a frontcourt of 6’3 forward Iriafen and 6’4 center Rayah Marshall. Marshall leads the team in rebounds and blocks with 8.8 rpg and 2.2 bpg. Despite a steep scoring drop-off behind Watkins and Iriafen, Watkins is the team’s most consistent and lethal weapon scoring over 20 points in every game but one in a 90-35 dismantling of Cal Poly in their second game of the season. USC is the tenth highest scoring offence in D1 this season. USC will be a lethal offensive team to matchup with in March and barring an injury to Watkins will look to make another deep run. If you want to beat USC, you need to find a way to attack Juju on the defensive end and limit her supporting cast on the offensive end. Their two matchups against UCLA later in the season will be excellent barometers for the two teams to see who holds the stronger title chances.

3.     Notre Dame (16-2, #3 in the AP Poll)

Notre Dame is led by a trio of terrific guards. Sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo leads the team with 25.5 ppg, good for second highest in the country. Senior guards Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron are the second and third leading scorers for the Fighting Irish with Miles showing flashes of brilliance in producing a team leading 7.1 apg (4th best in the country). Citron is shooting 92.9% at the free throw line. The Notre Dame offence is extremely deep with five players averaging close to 10 ppg. The Fighting Irish are a tenacious defensive team with six players averaging at least 1 steal per game, including Hidalgo who possesses the second-best steals per game in the country with 4.2 spg. It is not just steals that the Fighting Irish excel at defensively. 6’5 freshman forward Kate Koval averages 2.5 bpg good enough for fifth in the nation. Notre Dame has a well-rounded team ranked fifth in both field goal percentage and rebounds per game as a team. The third ranked team in the nation has five ranked wins including marquee wins over UConn and USC. The Fighting Irish have the two losses as well coming to ranked TCU, and at the time of their matchup an unranked Utah team which has climbed into the AP Top 25 over the past couple weeks. Both these loses were on a neutral court in the Cayman Islands and should not be too worrying to Fighting Irish fans moving forward. Another key contributor for this Fighting Irish team is senior forward Liatu King who leads the team with 11.1 rpg. The Fighting Irish also recently returned senior forward Maddy Westbeld who was the third leading scorer on last year’s team and looks to add an extra element to this Notre Dame team adding to an already deep rotation. Notre Dame looks poised to make a deep run in March with an elite backcourt and an imposing frontcourt that not only rebounds but can also provide secondary scoring if the guards falter.

2.     UCLA Bruins (18-0, #1 in the AP Poll)

The Bruins have been dominant to begin the 2024-2025 season. They are one of two undefeated teams remaining in the country and have won 17 of their 18 games by double digits. The only game decided by single digits was a 7-point win in their season opener against a ranked Louisville team. This ranked win is accompanied by three more including wins over Michigan, Baylor, and a resume defining 15-point victory over the second ranked Gamecocks. The Bruins are led by 6’7 junior center Lauren Betts who averages 20 points per game and just under10 rebounds per game. Betts has achieved a double-double (10 or more of two stats in a game) in 10 of the 16 games she has played in this year including an 11 point and 14 rebound effort in knocking off the Gamecocks in November. Betts also leads the team averaging 2.8 bpg, a key contributor to UCLA’s dominant paint defence. Freshman guard Elina Aarnisalo leads the Bruins with 4.7 apg. The Finnish guard provides an offensive spark off the bench averaging about 24 minutes per game. The Bruins are fourth in the nation in both field goal percentage and rebounds per game. UCLA also ranks third in the nation in point differential highlighting their dominant start to the season. It will be interesting to see if the Bruins can continue this dominance as they play more ranked teams during their conference schedule including two matchups with in-state rivals USC.

1.     South Carolina Gamecocks (18-1, #2 in the AP Poll)

It may seem crazy to rank the Gamecocks ahead of an undefeated team that beat them by 15 points, but this Gamecocks team has looked unstoppable since that loss to UCLA in November. South Carolina has a whopping seven ranked wins all of which have come in landslide wins for the Gamecocks. The Gamecocks go into a game against undefeated LSU Thursday after demolishing #15 Oklahoma by 41 points on Sunday. After #5 LSU, South Carolina will play four more ranked matchups. The Gamecocks have an extremely deep rotation and do not possess a true #1 scoring threat on offence. #2 South Carolina has ten players that average over 15 mpg further highlighting their depth. Freshman forward Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring coming off the bench to average 12.1 ppg. Junior forward Chloe Kitts leads South Carolina averaging 7.6 rpg. Sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley and senior guard Te-Hina Paopao are the second and third leading scorers on this Gamecocks teams both averaging over 10 ppg. South Carolina is one of the best coached teams in the country with future Hall of Fame coach Dawn Staley looking to lead the Gamecocks to a third straight National Championship. The culture and team approach in South Carolina puts them as the team to beat again in March.

Honourable Mentions: Texas Longhorns (18-2, #7 in the AP Poll), TCU Horned Frogs (19-1, #9 in the AP Poll), Maryland Terrapins (16-2, #8 in the AP Poll), LSU Tigers (20-0, #5 in the AP Poll), Duke Blue Devils (15-4, #14 in the AP Poll)

Texas has played six ranked teams so far this year and are scheduled to play four more including their next game against Tennessee. The Longhorns sport a 4-2 record in their six ranked games with wins over West Virginia, Oklahoma, and two 40 plus point thrashings of #19 Alabama and #7 Texas. The two losses came in an overtime loss to the third ranked Fighting Irish and a 17-point loss at #2 South Carolina. Texas is led by their frontcourt that can pose a significant height advantage over many other teams with two of their prominent forwards standing at 6’4 and 6’6. Texas has an incredibly deep rotation with nine players averaging over 15 mpg and eleven averaging over 10 mpg. Forward Madison Booker leads the team in scoring with 15.8 ppg including a dominant 28-point performance against #8 Maryland Tuesday. 5’6 senior guard Rori Harmon facilitates the offence with 6.1 apg. Texas has struggled against teams with dynamic guards and a strong frontcourt, look for the Longhorns to bow out in the tournament if they encounter a team that possesses both of these characteristics.

TCU has only one loss on the season, but it was not a pretty sight losing by 35 to the second ranked Gamecocks. TCU does have 3 quality ranked wins, including a marquee win over #3 Notre Dame. TCU is led by the center/guard combo of Sedona Price and Hailey Van Lith. Price and Van Lith are the two leading scorers on the Horned Frogs, both averaging over 18 points per game. Price leads the team with 18.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg, and 3.5 bpg. Van Lith adds a team leading 6 apg and 1.4 spg. This dynamic duo is joined by senior guard Madison Conner who rounds out their offensive attack with 15.9 ppg. Depth could become an issue for TCU if any of these three become injured or run cold in tournament play.

A 5-point loss to the fourth ranked USC Trojans is a quality loss but the Terrapins got dominated by #7 Texas by 48. Texas has a tall frontcourt that wreaked havoc on the undersized Terps team. They also sport 4 ranked wins against Duke, Michigan State, Iowa and Minnesota. Maryland has a tough upcoming schedule with their next 2 games against top fifteen teams (#12 Ohio State and #1 UCLA) hoping to bounce back from the thumping laid on them by Texas Tuesday night. The Terps are led by a trio of guards who combine to lead Maryland in all their major statistics. Junior guards Kaylene Smikle and Saylor Poffenbarger lead the team in scoring (Smikle, 17.8 ppg), rebounds (Poffenbarger, 8.9 rpg), steals (Smikle, 1.8 spg), and blocks (Poffenbarger, 1.0 bpg). Senior guard Shyanne Sellers rounds out the statistical leaders leading the Terrapins with 4.7 assists per game. Maryland could struggle against teams with size as the tallest player in their rotation is 6’2.

LSU is one of two remaining undefeated teams, but they have yet to play in many challenging games. LSU has just two ranked wins against North Carolina State (now unranked) and a 2-point victory at #17 Tennessee. The Tigers have a high-octane offence averaging over 90 ppg as the third highest scoring offence in Division 1 (D1). The Tigers also excel in rebounding leading the country in rebounds per game with guard Aneesah Morrow leading the charge with a D1 leading 14.4 rpg. LSU is led in scoring by junior guard Flau’Jae Johnson who was a key contributor in her freshman year to help lead the Tigers to their first National Championship. Johnson has grown year-after-year and is averaging 20 ppg under the tutelage of legendary coach Kim Mulkey. LSU has yet to face any adversity and with six ranked conference matchups it will be interesting to see how LSU fairs with their first test coming Thursday at #2 South Carolina.

The Duke Blue Devils are a team that has had six ranked games this season resulting in a 3-3 record. The Blue Devils suffered close losses to Maryland, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The three wins came against Kansas State, Oklahoma and an emphatic 34-point victory over Cal. Duke slipped up for their 4th loss against unranked South Florida right before the Christmas break. The Blue Devils are led in scoring by electric, Canadian freshman Toby Fournier who has provided a scoring pop off the bench with 12.4 ppg. Duke will be an interesting team to watch for the remainder of the season and could provide an underdog run in March.