The other day I was chatting on the phone with my editor, and she asked me if I still thought the Big Ten was the top conference this season. When your editor questions your thinking, it’s usually a good idea to reevaluate. So, that’s what we are going to do today.

While the Pac-12 currently has three teams in the top 25, there are four conferences that can make a true case for being No. 1: the SEC, the ACC, the Big 12 and the Big Ten. Let’s break it down.

The SEC

Ranked teams: No. 1 South Carolina, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 15 LSU, No. 14 Georgia

Let’s start with the obvious: The No. 1 team in the country being in your conference gives you major points in this competition. I also count Tennessee as part of a small group of teams I think could win it all come March. Rae Burrell’s injury near the beginning of the season only helped the Vols become more well-rounded. When she was out, the rest of the team had to step up. Now that the senior is back, they will be a better, more experienced team than they were when she went down.

LSU gets points for beating Georgia and sticking with South Carolina in a 66-60 loss. The Tigers also have two losses to conference foes Florida and Arkansas that do nothing for them personally, but make the SEC look more well-rounded. Georgia’s resume is similar to that of LSU. The Bulldogs made some non-conference noise by defeating No. 3 NC State, the ACC’s top team, and then made the SEC look tougher by losing to a struggling Kentucky squad, 84-76 on Jan. 6.

Other teams of note: Ole Miss, Missouri

Ole Miss had a brief stint in the top 25 thanks to a win over Georgia, and Missouri is the only team in the country to defeat South Carolina. Not bad, SEC.

The ACC

Ranked teams: No. 3 NC State, No. 4 Louisville, No. 12 Georgia Tech, No. 20 Notre Dame, No. 24 North Carolina

When it comes to body of work, NC State is one of the most consistent teams in the country. The Wolfpack are 10-0 in the conference and have lost only to No. 1 South Carolina and No. 14 Georgia in overtime. Losing to Georgia was an upset of sorts, but going wire-to-wire with a good, ranked opponent doesn’t scream “bad loss” to me. NC State being the ACC’s top team is a great start for the conference, while Louisville continues to trend in a positive direction. The Cardinals have also lost only two games to good teams (N.C. State and No. 8 Arizona). So at the top of the ACC, we have two teams that are performing exactly how they should be, if not a notch or two better.

Now, here’s where things get interesting to me. NC State and Louisville are the conference’s best teams, but the squad who has the best chance to make a deep run this postseason? That’s Georgia Tech. Defensively, the Yellow Jackets play a gritty, intense style that is hard to replicate in practice. That means they can upset virtually anyone, and I would hate for my team to meet them in the postseason. Notre Dame and North Carolina round out the ranked ACC teams and have yet to get upset this season.

Other teams of note: Duke, Virginia Tech

The Blue Devils and Hokies have each spent weeks in the top 25, and the rest of the season at least flirting with the rankings. But Virginia Tech has some bad losses (Liberty to name one), and Duke hasn’t been healthy enough yet to show their full potential. So, we have some pros and cons for the ACC.

The Big 12

Ranked teams: No. 9 Baylor, No. 11 Iowa State, No. 13 Texas, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 25 Kansas State

To me, the Big 12 isn’t on the same level as these other three conferences, but for the sake of the argument, let’s dissect it all the same. Baylor has played some tough teams this season, but the problem for the Bears is that they haven’t beaten those teams. Maryland, Michigan, Kansas State and Oklahoma have all downed Baylor. Baylor did beat Iowa State, but to be considered among the elite, you need at least one or two more victories over top squads.

Iowa State has been more consistent than Baylor with just three losses, but their high-caliber wins (other than against Iowa) have come over conference opponents, which makes it challenging to judge the Cyclones outside of the Big 12. Texas’ win over No. 2 Stanford early in the season is something the Longhorns hung their hats on. They have suffered two conference losses since then to Texas Tech and Kansas, but other than that, they have been pretty consistent. Oklahoma has two solid wins outside of the conference, having defeated Oregon and BYU, and Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee has essentially played the Wildcats into the top 25.

Other teams of note: None

Here’s where the conference falls off for me. Outside of the top teams, I haven’t seen anything from the bottom half of the Big 12 that tells me one of those teams has a chance of going on a run or earning an upset win.

But don’t fret too much, Big 12. I’ve been wrong before.

The Big Ten

Ranked teams: No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Michigan, No. 17 Maryland, No. 23 Ohio State, No. 25 Iowa

Hello to my preseason darling, the Big Ten! I wanted to save the Big Ten for last because, up to this point, you’ve essentially been reading the contents of my brain. I didn’t do any prep work for this because I wanted you, the readers, to be able to follow along as I genuinely worked out my thoughts about these conferences. And now that I’m here, I must confess that I loved this conference going into the season, but three of these teams — Maryland, Ohio State and Iowa — have underperformed.

In my preseason rankings, I had Maryland at No. 4, Iowa at No. 5 and Ohio State at No. 13. I still think these are three solid teams, but they aren’t what they had the potential to be, so that is a point in the negative column for the Big Ten. Indiana and Michigan, meanwhile, have been as advertised. Both teams are consistent and mature, with a roster of players who know how to compete together. They are a great one-two punch when it comes to analyzing the strength of the conference.

NAZ HILLMON DOING NAZ HILLMON THINGS 😤

Michigan up 48-36 over Indiana entering the 4th. pic.twitter.com/Nymm14ZF4N

— ESPN (@espn) February 1, 2022

Other teams of note: Nebraska

Nebraska has been a nice surprise for those of us playing attention to the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers were undefeated until the start of conference play, and they are the only conference team to defeat Michigan so far.

Conclusion

I think this is a two conference race. The Big 12 doesn’t hold up in my book, so it’s the first conference I’ll eliminate. And as much as it pains me to say, neither does the Big Ten, so it’s also got to go. That leaves me with the ACC and SEC. I love the overall consistency and depth of the ACC, but the SEC has two teams at the top that I think have a legitimate chance to win a national title. I think that gives the SEC a slight edge. So for now, it’s won me over. Congrats, SEC, you reign supreme.

Poll talk

I’m going to keep this short this week. Maybe it’s because I just humbled myself with the above process, but I don’t have too many problems with the current AP Poll. I so think it’s time for Tennessee to move into the top 5 — I’ve seen enough from the Vols to vault them over Indiana, Michigan and Louisville. Their recent upset at the hands of Auburn is what dragged them down, but the overall body of work is good enough for me to overlook it.

Other than that, I’m glad to see Oregon, Ohio State and North Carolina back in the poll, and Kansas State has definitely earned its place.

JWS’ Top 25 in Week 13

1. South Carolina (20-1)
2. Stanford (16-3)
3. NC State (19-2)
4. Tennessee (19-2)
5. Louisville (18-2)
6. Indiana (14-3)
7. Michigan (19-2)
8. Arizona (15-3)
9. Iowa State (18-3)
10. UConn (13-4)
11. Georgian Tech (17-4)
12. Baylor (15-4)
13. Texas (15-4)
14. BYU (18-1)
15. Georgia (16-4)
16. LSU (18-4)
17. Oklahoma (18-3)
18. Maryland (15-6)
19. Iowa (14-5)
20. Notre Dame (16-4)
21. Florida Gulf Coast (19-1)
22. North Carolina (16-4)
23. Oregon (14-5)
24. Kansas State (16-5)
25. Ohio State (16-4)

Eden Laase is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. She previously ran her own high school sports website in Michigan after covering college hockey and interning at Sports Illustrated. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.