Games to Watch Week 3

The good games are all over the map.

This week, we know it’s early, but it’s the best one, competition-wise, we’ve had so far, and we’ve got games in three of the four US time zones. As a result of the strong schedule, it was hard to pick just five games.There were eight games in serious consideration for the five spots. Just missing the cut were №18 Indiana at Florida, №6 Texas A&M at USC, and Boise State at №8 Louisville.

#22 South Florida at #2 Baylor— 11/19 at 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPN+*)

It’s a battle of green and gold teams as USF travels to Waco for a Tuesday night clash. Even with the matching school colors, it will be a battle of teams at different places, as the Bears are coming off a national title last season, but the Bulls are hoping to bounce back from a tough 2018–19. Not only that, the Lady Bears only have one freshman and return most of their roster, while the Bulls only have one senior.

South Florida has already taken down one highly-ranked Lone Star State team, as it opened the season by beating then-No. 15 Texas 64–57. So far this season, the Bulls are led in scoring by juniors Enna Pehadzic (15.5 PPG) and Bethy Mununga (12.8 PPG). Mununga is also leading the team in rebounding, averaging 10.8 per game, and total blocks, with six. This will be the Bulls’ first road game after taking down Texas, Jacksonville, Howard, and VCU at home at the Yuengling Center, and it will be interesting to see how they handle a big road game with such a young roster.

Baylor, similar to the Bulls, has not left home this season, but the Lady Bears get this one at the Ferrell Center, too. So far this season, the Lady Bears have outscored opponents 329-117. That’s +212 or +70.7 points per game. That said, this will certainly be Baylor’s first real test, as not only did their three prior opponents (New Hampshire, Grambling State, and Houston Baptist) come from weaker conferences than either the Big 12 or the American, but they also went a combined 31–59 last year and none reached the postseason. Thanks in part to the weak schedule so far, the Lady Bears have six players averaging double-digit scoring and two in double figures in rebounds, although one of those players, senior Lauren Cox, missed the HBU game with a foot injury, and it is not clear when she will return.

Notre Dame at #21 Michigan — 11/23 at 1:00 p.m. ET (BTN+*)

This game will be interesting as the Wolverines are undefeated on the season, while the Irish enter the week 2–2, with tough losses to ranked teams Tennessee and Michigan State. Both teams are looking to replace the majority of their starters: Notre Dame’s need to replace their whole starting lineup has been well-documented, while Michigan has had to replace three of their five after losing two to graduation and one, Deja Church, to a transfer to DePaul.

Notre Dame’s struggles seem to center around the three-point line, as the Irish are only connecting on 23.6% from beyond the arc. Even with all the losses, if the Irish can get better from three, especially from defending Powerade Jam Fest 3-point champion Sam Brunelle, they can continue to build on last year, despite the roster turnover. It may be a tough ask in this game, however, as Michigan is holding opponents to just 24.5% from three.

Michigan’s four wins on the season are all impressive, but the Wolverines have not challenged themselves the way the Irish have. Michigan has taken on three MAC teams, Western Michigan, Kent State, and Akron; and one Missouri Valley team, Bradley, on their road to 4–0. The strongest suit so far for the Wolverines this season has been blocks. Team block leader Izabel Varejão’s 16.7% block rate is good for sixth in the country, while as a team, Michigan’s 13.8% block rate and 5.0 BPG are good for 29th and 44th in the country, respectively.

#4 UConn at Ohio State — 11/24 at 3:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Both UConn and Ohio State have been tested already this season, as the Buckeyes dropped a close game to Ohio, 74–70, and needed overtime to beat Cincinnati 78–73. At the same time, the Huskies have won their first games by a margin of 17.7 points, compared to their margin of 26.2 in 2018–19, which was second in the country. Both teams are also returning a solid percentage of last year’s experience, which should make for a great game for the national television audience. (For more on what the 2018–19 HHS top 25 teams are returning or losing, go here.)

The Huskies are coming off their 12th straight Final Four, where they lost to eventual national runner-up Notre Dame 81–76. The Huskies return 52% of their scoring from last year’s team. Returners Megan Walker, Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Crystal Dangerfield are the Huskies leading the team in scoring, and the only four currently averaging double figures.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are coming off a first-round 71–61 loss to Morehead State in the WNIT to end last season. So far this season, it has been a combination of returners and newcomers contributing, as sophomore Dorka Juhasz is leading the team in both points and rebounds, but right behind her 12.3 PPG average is Oklahoma State transfer Braxtin Miller with 11.0. Juhasz is also leading the team in rebounds, averaging 10.7 per game, ahead of sophomore Aaliyah Patty’s 5.7 and Miller’s 5.0.

#1 Oregon at #17 Syracuse — 11/24 at 4:00 p.m. ET (ACCN)

These teams have both started the season undefeated, but while Syracuse has done so largely under the radar, Oregon has been the talk of the women’s basketball world, after defeating Team USA in an exhibition 93–86.

The Ducks are only the the second collegiate team ever to beat the national squad after Tennessee did it, 65–64, in 1999. Oregon’s stats in the Team USA exhibition don’t count for the season, but even without them, Oregon ranks in the top two nationally in numerous categories. The most impressive stat may be that Oregon has had only a single shot blocked all season. The Ducks have four different players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Ruthy Hebard, who is averaging 23.7 per game (12th in the country), while also leading the team in rebounding, averaging 13.3 per game (8th). Another big point of note in this game, however, is that last season’s second-leading scorer, Satou Sabally, will be back for the Ducks after missing the team’s first three games to play on the German national team in FIBA Women’s Eurobasket 2021 qualifiers. Her timing will be perfect, as the trip to the Carrier Dome will be Oregon’s first time out of Eugene this season.

Syracuse so far has been fairly dependent on the three, as the Orange are getting 42.2% of their points from beyond the arc, 17th in the country, and their 41.4% three-point rate is 16th in the country. On the defensive side, Syracuse’s 15.8% block rate is 19th in the country. The Orange are looking to fill in the production of Tiana Mangakahia, whose 16.9 PPG led the team, and whose 8.4 assists per game led the team and were second in the country. Mangakahia was diagnosed with breast cancer in July. She completed chemo in October and had surgery November 7. She will sit out this season and petition the NCAA for an additional year. We at HHS send our ongoing best wishes to her.

Buffalo at #3 Stanford — 11/24 at 5:00 p.m. ET (PAC12N+)

The last Game to Watch of the week is Stanford’s second-consecutive appearance in the Games of the Week’s final slot. Both the Bulls and Cardinal are undefeated on the season so far and made last season’s NCAA Tournament, with Stanford advancing to the Elite Eight and Buffalo losing in the second round. The Cardinal return 71% of their points, while the Bulls only return 46%.

For the Bulls, a senior and a freshman are leading the way. The Bulls’ leading scorers are freshman Dyaisha Fair, whose 26.0 PPG is good for 3rd in the country, and senior Theresa Onwuka, whose 22.2 PPG is good for 23rd in the country. Onwuka also leads Buffalo in rebounding, steals, and blocks. Most notable, perhaps, is the giant gap behind Fair and Onwuka, as they’re the only Buffalo players averaging double figures. The Bulls will need another contributor or two to make up the 54% of points they lost if they want to win this game and, especially, go far this season. Some of those contributions will need to come from their younger players, as Onwuka and Summer Hemphill are the only seniors. The Bulls will play at San Jose State three days before heading to Palo Alto, so hopefully any effects of the long distance from home and time difference are worked out before tip-off.

The Cardinal ended up defeating newly-ranked №23 Gonzaga in overtime, 76–70, Sunday evening in their first true (intercollegiate/non-Team USA) test of the season. The Cardinal, as they have been all season, were led by sophomore Lexie Hull, whose 22 points were the game-high, and her eight rebounds were the team high. Like Buffalo, Stanford is getting solid contributions from both their under- and upperclassmen. Lexie Hull is leading the team in scoring with 15.3 PPG, followed by junior Kiana Williams’ 10.5 PPG, while highly-touted freshman Fran Belibi is leading the Cardinal in rebounds, averaging 7.5 RPG.

We know it’s hard to keep track of all the Games to Watch, especially the midweek ones, so we’ve started a Google Calendar. You can find it here, with the iCal link here. You can also follow Her Hoop Stats on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for your women’s basketball coverage.

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All stats (from Her Hoop Stats) are for games through November 17. AP rankings are up to date as of the November 18 poll.