UConn stomps South Carolina | Notre Dame tops the list | WNBA taps Cleveland

Always know your angles.

UConn storms South Carolina

No. 5 UConn bagged their first Top 5 signature win of the season on Sunday, taking down then-No. 4 South Carolina 87-58 to snap the Gamecocks’ 71-game home winning streak.

• "They had their way with us," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said after the game. "There's no trying to find a silver lining to it. We got beat. We got beat bad."

Big picture: Despite dominating the Big East, UConn has struggled in non-conference play, most recently falling to rival program No. 19 Tennessee for the first time since 2007.

• "We needed to prove that to ourselves, that we could never let up for 40 minutes," Huskies guard Azzi Fudd said on Sunday, after contributing a game-high 28 points.

• "More than anything else, it was evident today that we played to win," echoed Uconn head coach Geno Auriemma.

Upsets abound: UConn wasn’t the only team showing out against Top 10 teams on Sunday, as No. 2 Texas took down SEC foes No. 7 LSU 65-58 to hand the Tigers their second conference loss this season.

• Texas is now in line for a shot at the SEC regular-season title, in addition to nabbing key seeding positioning heading into the postseason.

Bottom line: Fans can only expect the unexpected, with top-ranked contenders busting brackets before they’ve even been created while tossing any presumptions about March Madness out the window.

Notre Dame shoots to the top

Notre Dame is enjoying the view from the top, after a recent onslaught of NCAA upsets earned the Irish their first AP Poll No. 1 ranking since 2019.

• Formerly undefeated UCLA fell two spots to No. 3 after Thursday’s loss to crosstown rivals USC, with the Trojans leaping two spots to No. 4 in return.

• Reigning champs South Carolina also hit a skid, falling from No. 4 to No. 6 after Sunday’s high-profile loss to UConn.

On their heels: Notre Dame is flying high for now, but with an unranked loss amid their ranked wins, their grip on No. 1 is far from ironclad.

• UCLA and Texas both received multiple first-place votes this week, proving that the field is anything but set with just a handful of regular-season games remaining.

• However, the Irish did manage to cement their top-tier status with a 64-49 dismantling of No. 11 Duke just hours after Monday’s AP Poll update, flexing their national prowess with a sturdy ACC win.

Takeaway: With March fast approaching, conference tournament seeding will come down to Top 10 wins — and teams will need every bit of leverage they can muster as the NCAA tournament looms.

WNBA comes to Cleveland

Cleveland has reportedly won the bid for the WNBA’s 16th franchise, with Sports Business Journal putting the Ohio city’s chances of getting an expansion team “as high as 90%.”

• Cleveland’s ownership group is expected to revive the name and branding of the WNBA’s now-defunct Cleveland Rockers — active from 1997 to 2003 — ahead of the team’s 2028 debut.

• SBJ cited an estimated fee of $250,000,000, setting a new league record and surpassing bids by green-lit expansion sides Golden State and Toronto.

Big picture: The report also indicated that the WNBA has begun considering growth beyond their stated three-year, 16-team strategy, now looking at stretching to 30 teams by 2030.

• Houston and Philadelphia are said to be next in line, with Austin, Nashville, Kansas City, Denver, Detroit, and Charlotte also expressing interest in recent months.

Tipping point: Access to top-notch facilities likely elevated Cleveland’s odds, with an ownership group headed by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert announcing plans for the incoming Rockers to operate out of the Cleveland Clinic Courts ahead of the Cavs’ move to a new training center in 2027.

Bottom line: Seizing the moment after a banner 2024 season, the WNBA is appearing to fast-track expansion rather than put prospective owners with deep pockets on hold — while concerns about growing too big, too quickly have started to emerge.

Collier crowned 1v1 champion

Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier won Unrivaled’s inaugural 1v1 tournament on Friday, defeating Aaliyah Edwards in a best-of-three competition that earned the 3×3 offseason league co-founder the $200,000 first-place prize.

• “My entire WNBA salary is what I just got in 30 minutes,” Collier told reporters after the contest. “Which is insane to even say.”

Runner-up: 2024 Mystics rookie Edwards made it all the way to the 1v1 finals, riding her unlikely Cinderella story to the $75,000 second-place payday.

• “I was able to just showcase that and kind of let everyone know that, you know, I’m not one to play with,” Edwards said of her accomplishment.

Moore leads 2025 HOF noms

Several women’s basketball greats were nominated to the Naismith Hall of Fame on Friday, with Sue Bird, Maya Moore, and Sylvia Fowles among the Class of 2025’s 17 finalists for first-ballot induction.

• After leading UConn to two NCAA titles, Moore won four WNBA championships over seven years with the Minnesota Lynx before retiring in 2018.

• Bird also won two titles at UConn, later picking up four WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm ahead of her 2022 retirement.

• Fowles led LSU to four Final Four appearances, winning WNBA MVP in 2017 alongside two league championships throughout her 14-year pro career.

Judgement day: This year's winners will be announced in during the NCAA Men’s Final Four in San Antonio on April 5th, with in an enshrinement ceremony to follow.

Quote of the day

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley
grading her team’s performance after Sunday’s 29-point loss to UConn.