Aneesah Morrow’s numbers are astounding.

The sophomore forward is averaging a double-double per game. She leads her team in points per game (26.1) and rebounds per game (12.1). She paces the team in steals (33) and blocks (12) so far this season.

Morrow has posted two 40-plus point games and one 35-point game. She has scored less than 22 points just twice in 11 contests.

Those numbers place her among the best in the country – her points average is fourth in the NCAA, while her rebound mark is sixth. On paper, Morrow is a clear player of the year candidate. In reality, she looks like one, too.

Also important: Aneesah Morrow is the #BIGEAST Player of the Week for the fourth time in her career!

Two big-time performances in a pair of wins last week#DePaulBall x #BlueGrit pic.twitter.com/rIKc9RjRsA

— DePaul Women's Basketball (@DePaulWBBHoops) December 12, 2022

But Morrow finds herself overshadowed by players like Aliyah Boston of South Carolina and Caitlin Clark of Iowa.

Last season, her numbers were similar, and she led the country in rebounds. But her problem then is her problem now. The Bostons, Clarks, Cameron Brinks and Azzi Fudds of the world – all of whom have a shot at the POY award – play for national powerhouses, or at least programs who are in the spotlight.

Morrow plays for DePaul. And that is why her name is rarely brought up as a legitimate contender for the ultimate college basketball award. Fair or not, that is the reality of the basketball landscape.

Just look at the last 10 Naismith winners. UConn appears four times, South Carolina twice, and Oregon, Baylor and Iowa once each. The only school that may come as a surprise is Washington, thanks to 2017 winner and Huskies great Kelsey Plum.

An incredible performance now etched in the record books#DePaulBall x @AneesahMorrow24 pic.twitter.com/KhYuCYcNA0

— DePaul Women's Basketball (@DePaulWBBHoops) December 11, 2022

Circumstances would have to align in a very specific way for Morrow to win the award, but there is a path. Morrow is good enough, but her circumstances may not be – at least not right now.

For starters, each winner since the trophy’s creation in 1983 has come from a ranked team – generally one in at least the top 10. The same is true of the Associated Press POY award, which was first handed out in 1995.

The path for Morrow to gain traction in the POY race starts in the team rankings. 

No matter how strong a player may be – even if they are 26.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game good – if their team isn’t winning against top competition, then they will not secure major awards. And that’s fair. The objective of basketball, after all, is to win games.

DePaul is not in the AP Top 25, and the Blue Demons received just two votes in the most recent poll. The team did creep into the national conversation with a win over Maryland on Nov. 25, in which Morrow recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead her team to victory.

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But the Blue Demons followed that game with a loss to Towson. And making matters worse for Morrow, the sophomore finished with just 16 points, fouling out and committing six turnovers, though she did still grab 16 rebounds for a double-double.

Luckily for DePaul, and for the Morrow for POY campaign, the Blue Demons have plenty of big-name opponents on their schedule. They play a struggling Louisville on Dec. 21, and though unranked, the Cardinals have name recognition, which DePaul needs. Then comes Big East play, where the Blue Demons will have cracks at No. 16 Creighton, Marquette, No. 9 UConn and No. 25 Villanova. 

For Morrow to have a real shot at the POY award, she will have to continue at her current pace – posting double-doubles game after game.

The Blue Demon star went down with an injury against Howard on Dec. 12, which could impact her chances. But if she returns quickly and has a few big games – one of those 40-pointers would do the trick – against some of those teams, and DePaul is able to secure upsets, then she would transform from a long shot to a true POY contender.

The first two rounds of the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament saw a lot of chalk last week, as the four No. 1-seeds — Nebraska, Texas, Pitt, and Kentucky — all rolled to spots in this week's Sweet Sixteen.

The Longhorns ousted reigning national champion No. 8-seed Penn State with a second-round sweep last Saturday, while Kentucky became the only top seed to drop a single set through the first two matches when the Wildcats defeated No. UCLA 3-1 on Friday.

"I think what I liked is the concentration throughout the entire match. There were no letdowns," said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott following his team's win over the Nittany Lions. "There's so many good teams right now. The sport continues to grow and continues to be dominant. I told them we don't need to play perfect, but we need to be good enough to win each night, and so that's what we did."

Along with the No. 1 squads, nearly every Top-4 seed advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, with the only Cinderella story coming from the unseeded Cal Poly Mustangs.

The 2025 Big West champions stunned their Power Four opponents last week, taking down No. 5-seed BYU and No. 4-seed USC in five-set thrillers to book a third-round matchup against No. 1 Kentucky — the Mustangs' first Sweet Sixteen berth since 2007 and second since the 1980s.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this week

The 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament resumes when No. 2-seed Arizona State and No. 3-seed Creighton face off in the first of the two-day Sweet Sixteen slate at 1 PM ET on Thursday, with the Elite Eight then set to compete in the Regional finals on Saturday and Sunday.

All games in the Regional finales of the 2025 Division I tournament will air live on either ESPN2 or ESPN.

Canada women's hockey will have revenge on their minds this week, as the 2025 Rivalry Series between the reigning Olympic champions and Team USA resumes on Wednesday.

After dropping two consecutive results against the US by a combined score of 10-2 to open the sixth annual showdown in November, the series now heads to Canada — with both of this week's games taking the ice in Edmonton, Alberta.

"They had a great start, they have a great team, but so do we," said Canada legend and team captain Marie-Philip Poulin after the first two rivalry tilts. "It's going to be a battle."

With the 2026 Winter Olympics looming less than two months away, both PWHL and NCAA standouts will be using this week's final international window of the year to make their cases for roster spots in Milan, Italy.

With both teams stacked with talent, those who make the final cut are likely to come home with hardware this winter, as five-time champions Canada and the two-time title-winning USA remain the only nations to ever win Olympic gold in women's hockey.

How to watch the 2025 Canada vs. USA Rivalry Series

The puck drops on Game 3 of the annual hockey Rivalry Series on Wednesday before Team USA and Team Canada face-off for the final time in 2025 on Saturday.

Both games will begin at 9 PM ET, with live coverage airing on the NHL Network.

The Big Ten showed off its depth in women's basketball this week, as a record-tying nine teams from the conference made Monday's AP Top 25 poll.

With three teams — No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Michigan, and No. 7 Maryland — still in the Top 10, the Big Ten has tied its own record for ranked squads set in December 2024, as No. 24 Nebraska joined this week's list following a 9-0 start to the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season.

"I've been honored to be a part of this league for the last 13 seasons, working on year 14, where I've watched the [Big Ten] just get better and better," said Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico after Monday's poll drop.

No Big Ten team had a more dramatic weekend than Maryland, who kept their season's unbeaten streak alive with a furious comeback to defeat unranked Minnesota 100-99 in double overtime on Sunday.

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Despite falling behind by nine points in the second overtime period, the Terrapins executed an 8-0 run in just nine seconds to put the game within reach, before guard Saylor Poffenbarger hit the game-winner with just 11 seconds remaining.

"Maryland has a standard," Poffenbarger said after her team-leading 30-point, 10-rebound double-double performance on Sunday. "When you come to Maryland, you know the things that come with it."

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 6

1. UConn (9-0, Big East)
2. Texas (10-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (9-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (9-1, Big Ten)
5. LSU (10-0, SEC)
6. Michigan (8-1, Big Ten)
7. Maryland (11-0, Big Ten)
8. TCU (10-0, Big 12)
9. Oklahoma (9-1, SEC)
10. Iowa State (10-0, Big 12)
11. Iowa (9-0, Big Ten)
12. UNC (9-2, ACC)
13. Baylor (9-1, Big 12)
14. Vanderbilt (9-0, SEC)
15. Kentucky (10-1, SEC)
16. USC (7-2, Big Ten)
17. Ole Miss (8-1, SEC)
18. Tennessee (6-2, SEC)
19. Notre Dame (6-2, ACC)
20. Washington (8-1, Big Ten)
21. Ohio State (7-1, Big Ten)
22. Louisville (8-3, ACC)
23. Oklahoma State (10-1, Big 12)
24. Nebraska (9-0, Big Ten)
25. Michigan State (8-1, Big Ten)

Florida State sits on top of the world of NCAA soccer once again, as the No. 3-seed Seminoles staged a 1-0 upset of overall No. 1-seed Stanford in Monday night's 2025 College Cup final to secure FSU's fifth national championship.

For the second time in two matches, sophomore forward Wrianna Hudson played hero by netting the Seminoles' lone goal, breaking Monday's deadlock in the 87th minute to snag the national title — and this year's Offensive Most Outstanding Player award.

"I'm honestly just so grateful. My team worked so hard and I'm so glad we got the [winning] outcome, because we really went through it this game," Hudson said after the match.

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Hudson's game-winner capped an impressive team-wide defensive performance that snapped the Cardinal's 17-game unbeaten streak, with goalkeeper and Defensive Most Outstanding Player Kate Ockene staging nine saves to keep Stanford — and their NCAA tournament record-breaking offense —— scoreless in Monday's rematch of the 2023 College Cup final.

The Seminoles now own five of the last 12 NCAA trophies, with their 2025 College Cup title marking FSU's third championship in the last five years, proving they haven't slowed down since legendary head coach Mark Krikorian left the program to join the Washington Spirit's front office in 2022.

As for the Cardinal, Stanford will rue missed chances after outshooting Florida State 18-8 in Monday's title game.

With a now 3-4 overall record in College Cup finals, Stanford's focus shifts to next season, when they will again aim to secure their first NCAA soccer championship since 2019.