On a Thursday night that saw several top NCAA basketball teams stumble, No. 6 LSU narrowly managed to keep their perfect season intact, though No. 16 Tennessee took the Tigers to the brink in a close 89-87 conference battle.

The SEC's rising parity was fully on display as stars Jewel Spear and Talaysia Cooper posted 25 and 24 points, respectively, to try and put their surging Tennessee side on top.

Though the Vols chipped away throughout the game at LSU's nine-point first-quarter lead, it was Tiger junior Kailyn Gilbert who cemented LSU's win with a wild, last-second bucket, putting a bow on her 22 points off the bench.

LSU senior Aneesah Morrow also shined, registering 23 points and 21 rebounds — her NCAA-leading 16th double-double and second 20+ point, 20+ rebound performance this season.

Now 18-0, LSU is one of just three undefeated Division I college basketball programs this season, joining just No. 1 UCLA and No. 9 Ohio State in remaining unbeaten.

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Seven top 25 NCAA teams fall on Thursday

LSU's victory over Tennessee was just one of seven NCAA basketball games to see ranked teams fall on Thursday night. No. 5 Texas annihilated No. 18 Alabama to the tune of 84-40, while No. 19 UNC and No. 24 Cal registered upsets of No. 14 Duke and No. 21 NC State, respectively.

Unranked teams also did damage in the Top 25, with Illinois downing No. 23 Iowa and Mississippi State bouncing back from the 95-68 shellacking they took at the hands of No. 2 South Carolina on Sunday by taking down No. 10 Oklahoma 81-77.

That said, No. 13 Georgia Tech suffered the most consequential defeat after seeing their unbeaten season disappear in a 105-94 double-overtime loss to unranked Virginia Tech.

Yellow Jacket junior Kara Dunn's game-leading 33-point, 10-rebound double-double and teammate Tonie Morgan's 28 points kept Georgia Tech alive throughout much of the back-and-forth battle.

However, 17+ point showings from Virginia Tech's entire starting lineup, not to mention a late, stifling defense that allowed them to outscore Georgia Tech 13-2 in the second overtime period, ultimately secured the win for the Hokies.

NCAA basketball weekend rife with upset potential

With 23 ranked NCAA teams facing unranked opponents this weekend, the potential for upsets is high, though the lone ranked pairing is a highly anticipated Top-5 affair.

The SEC will take center court again, as No. 5 Texas takes on defending national champions No. 2 South Carolina on Sunday.

Ahead of the tense matchup, guard Rori Harmon promised that the Longhorns are "going to make sure it's a knockdown, drag out."

"It's going to be a battle, and we look forward to the battle," said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, referencing her team's tough conference slate.

How to watch top-ranked NCAA basketball this weekend

No. 5 Texas will visit No. 2 South Carolina on Sunday at 1 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN.

The WSL hit some opening day snags over the weekend, with a last-minute media deal causing broadcasts Stateside to generate confusion and widespread technical difficulties as the UK league's big-name US talent pool took the pitch.

First, in Friday's 2025/26 season kick-off match, ESPN+ served fans an error screen during the first 15 minutes of six-time defending WSL champion Chelsea's 2-1 win over Manchester City.

Then on Saturday morning, skips and lags continuously interrupted Arsenal's 4-1 victory over the recently promoted London City Lionesses.

Notably, the WSL media rights extension deal with ESPN+ — the 2024/25 US carrier of the top-flight UK league —came together at the very last minute.

As such, the WSL left fans in the dark by omitting US coverage details from all promotions in the lead-up to the 2025/26 season's opening weekend — possibly missing out on a big Stateside moment as USWNT stars like Naomi Girma, Catarina Macario, Emily Fox, and Alyssa Thompson kick off their club campaigns in the UK.

"The delays weren't about lack of interest so much as the sheer number of changes the league has been managing," former head of broadcast at WSL Football Andrea Ekblad told The Athletic this week.

"Of course, nobody wants a broadcast deal announced only hours before kickoff. That's not ideal," she continued. "But continuing the [ESPN] partnership makes great sense."

USWNT prospect Jaedyn Shaw is on her way to New York City, with ESPN reporting late Monday that the No. 11 North Carolina Courage is sending the rising NWSL star to No. 6 Gotham FC in an intra-league-record $1.25 million trade deal.

North Carolina's return nearly doubles the NWSL's previous $600,000 transfer record, set when the No. 1 Kansas City Current acquired forward Ally Sentnor from the last-place Utah Royals in early August.

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As for Shaw, this will be her second major move this year, after the attacker requested a trade to the Courage from the San Diego Wave last January — a deal in which the Wave received a combined $450,000 in allocation money and fees.

During her time in San Diego, Shaw shattered the NWSL record for most goals scored by a teenager, but the now-20-year-old has only logged three in her 10 starts for North Carolina this season.

With this trade to Gotham, Shaw will exit a Courage side sitting three spots below the postseason line as North Carolina regroups following the abrupt firing of head coach Sean Nahas.

She instead will join a NJ/NY side in the midst of a serious playoff push, with ESPN reporting that Gotham is going all in on Shaw with plans to sign the young talent through the 2029 season.

The No. 8 Seattle Storm are only one win away from making the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, shooting to oust the No. 9 LA Sparks from the postseason race by claiming a victory over the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday night.

"Our team has changed from the beginning of the season until now," Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said earlier this week. "Part of that is finding some consistency with one another: minutes, reps, all of those things."

Should the Storm lose to the already-clinched Valkyries in their final 2025 regular-season game, Seattle will still have a shot at the playoffs: The Sparks must still win both of their remaining two games to secure a playoff berth and bounce Seattle from the postseason — starting with their own Tuesday night matchup against the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.

"[We're] not talking about things we can't control," Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said over the weekend. "Whether Indiana wins or loses or Seattle, we can't control that. We just have to focus on what we're doing and see how it all shakes out."

How to watch the Storm and Sparks on Tuesday

Both No. 8 Seattle and No. 9 LA will take the court at 10 PM ET on Tuesday, with the Storm battling No. 6 Golden State on WNBA League Pass while the Sparks face No. 4 Phoenix on NBA TV.

Bay FC is shifting gears as the NWSL's 12th-place team's postseason hopes slip away, with the 2024 expansion side announcing a plan to part ways with inaugural head coach Albertin Montoya at the end of the 2025 season.

"I have so much love for these players, staff, and fans," Montoya said in Monday's club release. "We've built a culture and a style of play that I believe will compete for championships for years to come."

Brought on in 2023, Montoya led Bay FC to 11 victories in 2024, setting a league record for wins by an expansion team in its debut season.

Under Montoya, Bay FC also became just the second expansion club to qualify for the NWSL Playoffs in their inaugural campaign, but the team has fallen down the table this year amid accusations of fostering a toxic work environment.

The team also recently lost a high-profile player in Nigerian star Asisat Oshoala, who signed with Saudi Premier League side Al Hilal last week.

Bay Collective CEO Kay Cossington and club sporting director Matt Potter stated that they will work together to hire a replacement for Montoya prior to the 2026 NWSL season.

"Bay FC's startup phase is ending and we're moving to our next phase of growth," Bay FC chair Alan Waxman added in the team's statement.