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Women's college basketball 2023-24: South Carolina vs. Notre Dame in Paris among top non-conference matchups – CBS Sports
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The women’s college basketball season is rapidly approaching, so it’s time to start marking those calendars to avoid missing the action. The road to a national title starts in November, and even though teams like LSU and UConn are entering the season with high expectations, everyone has to prove themselves in the fall.
There will be plenty of non-conference matchups that could give us a preview of the 2024 NCAA tournament, so here is a look at 10 of those must-watch games.
Is there a better way to start the season? This matchup will be the first college basketball game ever played on French soil. While Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks are adjusting to life without 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, the Fighting Irish are figuring out how to hold down the fort while Olivia Miles recovers from her knee injury. This matchup will help both programs answer a lot of questions.
The Trojans had a breakout season in 2022-23, and they grew stronger heading into this campaign by adding four grad transfers along with JuJu Watkins, the No. 1 recruit in 2023. The Buckeyes are also on the rise as they are fresh off their first Elite Eight appearance since 1993. Ohio State is returning key pieces in Jacy Sheldon and last year’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year Cotie McMahon, and the addition of ACC Player of the Year Celeste Taylor makes them even more dangerous.
Women’s college basketball fans are getting a treat early in the season with a battle between two teams that made last season’s Final Four. The Hawkeyes were only one win away from a national title, but they’ll hope to get back to that national championship stage with the return of the Naismith Player of the Year Caitlin Clark. All eyes will be on her, but Iowa’s experienced players also include fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall and sixth-year guard Kate Martin. Meanwhile, the Hokies returned several key players from their NCAA Tournament run, including Elizabeth Kitley, Georgia Amoore and Cayla King. Virginia Tech also added three solid transfers in Olivia Summiel, Matilda Ekh and Alanna Micheaux.
After failing to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007, there are a lot of questions about how the Cardinal will bounce back now that Haley Jones left to the WNBA. However, coach Tara VanDerveer can still build around WBCA Defensive Player of the Year Cameron Brink. Hosting Indiana — VanDerveer’s alma mater — early in the season will be a good test early on. The Hoosiers are returning All-American MacKenzie Holmes, one of last year’s top scorers in the nation at 22.3 points per game.
Indiana was having a promising season as the Big Ten regular-season champion, but it all ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a heartbreaking 70-58 loss to Miami. What better way to bounce back than a Thanksgiving date with a Sweet 16 team. The return of Rickea Jackson will help the Lady Vols tremendously, while Belmont transfer Destinee Wells and Wake Forest transfer Kellie Harper help create a solid backcourt.
The Huskies have an incredibly talented roster, if they can stay healthy — which has been a major issue for the past two years. The biggest headline will be the return of Paige Bueckers, who tore her ACL last summer. The struggles have helped Geno Auriemma’s squad become deeper, with players such as Azzi Fudd and Aaliyah Edwards taking on bigger roles. Meanwhile, the Bruins reached the Sweet 16 last season and are bringing back their leading scorer and rebounder, Charisma Osborne. UCLA coach Cori Close helped fix her team’s rim protection and post defense issues over the summer with the addition of Stanford transfer Lauren Betts.
LSU eliminated Virginia Tech in the Final Four by a close 79-72 result, and now the Hokies get a rematch. All eyes are on LSU after the Tigers won the school’s first ever basketball title. Kim Mulkey’s squad returns their star player, Angel Reese, while adding some extra power with prized Louisville transfer Hailey Van Lith. Other top returners include Flau’jae Johnson and Kateri Poole, but just in case Mulkey needed a little more firepower, she also brought in the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. Success will be all about chemistry, so a solid opponent like Virginia Tech should provide them with a good test.
Tennessee leads their all-time series 10-2, but Ohio State won their most recent encounter last November. Tennessee wasn’t quite the same after Tamari Key had to sit out due to blood clots found in her lungs, but now that she’s back the Lady Vols could be even more competitive. Both of these teams are talented enough to make the Sweet 16 again, but an early December matchup should help them get a good idea of what they’ll need to work on for another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
The Utes are coming off their best season as they climbed to a program-best No. 3 ranking and made their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2006. They are continuing that momentum by returning all five starters, including Pac-12 Player of the Year Alissa Pili. South Carolina might not be entering this season with the same hype as last year, but Raven Johnson, Kamilla Cardoso and Bree Hall will be taking on bigger roles. It doesn’t hurt that Staley added five-star point guard Milaysia Fulwiley.
Ohio State has one of the most exciting women’s basketball schedules for the 2023-24 season. Welcoming the Bruins to the Schottenstein Center will be perhaps one of the Buckeyes’ most challenging non-conference tests, but it will be a good step in preparing to challenge Iowa in the Big Ten. UCLA is joining the conference next season — along with USC, Oregon and Washington — so this could be a fun preview of conference play in 2024 and beyond.
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