Trouble could be brewing for UCLA, JuJu Watkins planted her flag as the face of the sport, and two powers are flexing as conference tourneys tip off.
There is no frontrunner leaving the pack behind in the race for the 2025 women’s national championship. No undefeated squad. No powerhouse trampling through the schedule.
The non-conference schedule featured matchups of title favorites and top teams. None of them swept their way through, a signal we could be in for a March of upsets and non-No. 1 seeds making their way to the season’s final weekend.
Here’s what we learned in the regular season:
JuJu Watkins is indeed the face of the sport
Watkins laid stake to a claim as the face of women’s basketball in a record-setting freshman campaign and then backed it up as a sophomore. The 6-foot-2 guard is more efficient, limited turnovers and broke out of a shooting slump in the biggest game of USC’s season.
Her performances against UCLA — for which she admitted having more motivation — will become legend. She’s now scored at least 30 points in four consecutive games against the Bruins, tied for the third-longest streak against any single opponent in Division I history since 1999-2000, per ESPN Research.
The defensive side of the ball has been more impressive. She’s averaging two blocks per game and racked up eight in the first win over UCLA, when the Bruins were ranked No. 1.
Both games brought stars out in L.A., as fans have done for Watkins around the country. In Iowa City, fans marveled at Watkins on the court and signs for her dotted the sold-out arena on the day of Caitlin Clark’s jersey retirement.
UCLA’s winning record masked concerns
UCLA, which ascended to the AP poll’s No. 1 spot with a November win over South Carolina, appeared to many as the best team in the country amid a 23-0 start. Those wins over inferior opponents masked weaknesses that were exposed in the final weeks of the regular season when their toughest conference opponents awaited. The sample size is small (three opponents ranked top 14 in Her Hoop Stats rating and top 16 in NET), but UCLA’s depth of talent hasn’t come together in the big games.
Though UCLA’s record only shows two losses, it had to battle hard for a win over Oregon and survived an upset bid by Iowa that went to the final play. Head coach Cori Close had been sending out calls that the team had to be better moving forward — none louder than after its second loss to rival USC that won the Trojans the Big Ten regular-season championship.
“We pretty much said, ‘Look, this is the way this train is going. And if you don’t think you can make changes to be on it, tell us now,’” Close said Saturday night. “I want to have everybody that goes with us to [the Big Ten tournament in] Indiana to be going in the same direction. So the way we turn it around is people make a commitment and a choice and they be counted on.”
UCLA folded defensively, was sloppy with the ball and failed to consistently feed center Lauren Betts, who has not been good enough as the team’s star player in big games. She shot 10-for-24 with three assists in two losses to USC.
Heading into the heart of March, the question is if there’s time to right the train.
South Carolina isn’t its usual dominant force …
South Carolina (27-3) lost as many games this regular season as it had the past three combined (109-3). The tight season-opening win over youth-laden Michigan in Las Vegas delivered a hint. A blowout loss to UCLA explained why this isn’t a typical South Carolina team. And losing two of three in February highlighted that the Gamecocks were vincible.
The Gamecocks lack the dominant center for which they’ve been known and have to find other ways to win. It has predominantly impacted their offensive efficiency and rim protection, and they aren’t making as many 3-pointers.
That slight drop doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of a Final Four berth or even a national title. They rank top 10 on both sides of the ball while maximizing rebounds and minimizing turnovers. Their depth is nearly unparalleled with head coach Dawn Staley able to dig deep for quality minutes. They also have experience in the weight of a full tournament run, exposure that can’t be replicated any other way.
It was this time last year questions abounded if a new starting five could lead South Carolina to a third title. And they did.
… And the SEC is the deepest conference in the country
The SEC tournament No. 1 seed came down to a coin flip on Sunday. That’s how close and competitive the SEC is this year.
South Carolina and Texas shared the regular season title with identical 15-1 records and a split of the two-game season series. The Gamecocks won the coin flip and will be the No. 1 seed. If they meet in the title game is far from certain given the depth of defensive juggernauts.
They lead the SEC’s deep roster of NCAA tournament teams that could make Elite Eight runs and, once again, take over the Final Four. Though the Big Ten is projected to put more teams in the tournament, the SEC has the power to finish further.
LSU is one of the league’s best rebounding teams running through its big three of Flau’jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams and Aneesah Morrow. They average a combined 53.9 ppg, but will be without Johnson (shin inflammation) during the conference tournament. Johnson became the first of the big three to miss a game this season and Ole Miss came back from a 15-point deficit to win their regular-season finale, 85-77.
Kentucky rose back to the top with first-year head coach Kenny Brooks, who brought WNBA point guard prospect Georgia Amoore and sophomore forward Clara Strack from Virginia Tech. Amoore is one of the nation’s best offensive leaders viable to heat up in the tournament, while Strack is one of the best rim protectors in the nation.
Alabama upset LSU, then fell to SEC rookie Oklahoma. Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State have all been ranked following major signature wins. And Georgia put a cap on the chaos by toppling Tennessee, a roster better than its record, on the season’s final day. The Bulldogs had a 1.7% chance to win, per ESPN Analytics, making it the second-biggest upset of the season.
And even as Tennessee tripped up late, the Lady Vols showed the nation Kim Caldwell’s high-octane hockey substitution system does work at the Division I level. Their pressure defense and ability to hit 3s early in the shot clock (as long as they’re hot from range) will cause problems in the NCAA tournament.
UConn’s ceiling as high as expected
The Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd era has been more potential than performance. They were barely on the court together since committing to UConn in back-to-back seasons due to a litany of injuries to each. The Huskies’ ceiling has always been about what the group could do together.
That ceiling is as high as most expected — a title — and showcased primarily in a dominating win against South Carolina last month. Fudd played two of her best games in wins over St. John’s and South Carolina, putting together six straight double-digit performances while shooting 50% or better from 3. Bueckers has been on her own scoring run. And freshman Sarah Strong is on track to win the national award for the best first-year player, averaging 16.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
Both Bueckers and Fudd could return to UConn for another year. They were both celebrated on Sunday for senior day, adding an urgency that this will be the final chance for them to win a title together. UConn made runs to the Final Four behind Bueckers with lesser teams.
More ball-handlers, fewer problems
It’s laughable to think back on the preseason’s major quandary that point guards Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo could thrive together in Notre Dame’s backcourt. The All-Americans thrived in the regular season, averaging a combined 30.7 points and 9.7 assists per game. Along with Sonia Citron, they make up one of the best backcourts in the nation and rely heavily on hitting beyond the arc.
Texas also welcomed its point guard back to the fold after Rori Harmon missed all of 2023-24 with an ACL injury. Madison Booker played out of her natural position to fill in at point guard. That experience and versatility aided both Booker and Harmon’s improvement, pushing Texas to be the No. 1 team in the country by season’s end.
