This week, we are talking about teams on the outskirts of the women’s college basketball rankings. These are the kinds of squads that aren’t necessarily getting recognition, but are the ones you don’t want to see as the opponent on your favorite team’s schedule.

Let’s dive into the five unranked programs worth keeping an eye on as the NCAA season ramps up.

Nebraska

The Cornhuskers surprised a lot of people by being one of the last undefeated teams. They started the season 11-0 before losing four of their last five games. Two of those losses came to an Iowa team that has crept back into the top 25, and one was against No. 6 Indiana. No shame in falling to either of those opponents. The one win in the five-game stretch was a double-digit victory over No. 8 Michigan, a team whose only other loss came against No. 3 Louisville. That’s an impressive resume if you ask me.

I’ve been pretty vocal about my appreciation for the Big Ten this year, and I still believe it’s the best conference in college basketball right now. Nebraska is likely to lose at least a couple of other games before the season is done. But the Huskers also have another chance to upset Indiana as well as games against Maryland and Ohio State to showcase their talent. Nebraska is eighth in the country with 81.4 team points per game and is giving up just 62.1 points per game, so the foundation for success is there.

Oregon

I’ll admit this is somewhat of an obvious pick, especially since I doubt Oregon goes another week without being ranked. Regardless, I think the Ducks deserve some recognition. After opening the season ranked in the top 10, Oregon fell out of the top 25 altogether while dealing with injuries to key starters. The Ducks hit a low point on Dec. 1 when they lost to UC Davis, but after beating No. 7 Arizona and No. 9 UConn this past week, Oregon appears to be realizing its potential at last.

Sophomore guard Te-Hina Paopao — who missed nine games earlier in the season with a knee injury — was a notable bright spot during the two-game stretch, scoring 24 points against Arizona in overtime and notching 22 points and eight rebounds against UConn. Coach Kelly Graves has a knack for getting the most out of his players, and I expect Oregon to have a strong finish to the season.

Take what's ours. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/Pg0VU1sCaH

— GoDucks (@GoDucks) January 18, 2022

Virginia Tech

The Hokies have had a relatively unremarkable 12-4 season thus far, with the high point being two wins over Duke (ranked 15th and 16th in those contests), but they have the pieces to contend in the ACC and into the postseason. With one of the best posts in the country, Elizabeth Kitley, leading the way with 18.6 points, 7.4 rebounds per game, and the skilled guard duo of Aisha Sheppard and Kayana Traylor, Virginia Tech has the potential to beat some of the ACC’s top teams. The Hokies have ranked teams NC State, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Louisville all left on their schedule, so more upsets and an ascension into the top 25 are within reach.

Kansas State

If Kansas State was on your radar before the season started, it was likely because of Ayoka Lee. The junior center has been as good as advertised, averaging 23.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game and scoring over 30 points on six occasions. Kansas State as a team, however, has remained relatively under the radar despite having only one bad loss (Texas Tech), a major upset (Baylor) and two other solid wins (West Virginia and Oregon).

🔁 Turn & Score 🔁#KStateWBB x @Yokie50 pic.twitter.com/5sBNP39UIE

— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) January 12, 2022

The Wildcats were probably four points away from being in a completely different national conversation, but ultimately lost to No. 9 Iowa State 73-70 on Jan. 11. If that game went the other way, Kansas State would have had a chance to vault into the top 20 even with their subsequent loss to Texas Tech on Saturday. As it stands, Kansas State is a sleeper team to keep an eye on.

South Florida

Maybe it’s wishful thinking at this point, but I think South Florida is a solid team that’s capable of making noise in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulls are currently 12-5 and were ranked as high as 13th this season. Losing to Tennessee by three points and to a full-strength UConn squad by seven are what I would consider “good” losses. Victories over Oregon and Stanford are both good wins. But losing to Ole Miss is bad, and losing to UT Arlington is terrible.

At this point, I think South Florida is the kind of team that can beat almost anyone, but also lose to almost anyone. That kind of inconsistency makes it hard to evaluate the Bulls, but it also means they could be a strong upset candidate in March.

AP Poll talk

As discussed in my last notebook, I’m happy with South Carolina at No. 1, but I still think Louisville should be in the No. 2 spot rather than Stanford. Indiana and Tennessee are a toss-up for the No. 5 spot, and UConn should be out of the top 10 at this point, but the top of the poll is in good shape overall.

I’ve been a Maryland believer for most of the season, but right now the Terrapins are consistently inconsistent, and it’s been tough to get a read on them. Their loss to then-No. 11 Michigan on Sunday can be forgiven, but against ranked opponents generally, Maryland has yet to really impress me. The Terrapins’ best win came against Baylor in November, but the Bears haven’t done much to win favor since then. So, for me, Maryland is out of the top 15. They need to win one of their upcoming rematches against Michigan and Indiana to regain some of the hype they had at the start of the season.

Last time, I argued that South Florida was a top-20 team. The Bulls haven’t lost since then, but my opinion has changed. As I outlined above, I think the Bulls are capable of doing damage in the postseason, but I’ve been overselling them as things stand now.

I’m happy to see both Colorado and Florida Gulf Coast in the rankings this week. The Buffs have been on the outskirts for a while now, but I think they’ve been consistent enough for a low-level ranking. As for FGCU, I thought their lower-level competition in the Atlantic Sun would keep them out of the rankings, but I’m glad to see AP voters no longer holding that against them.

JWS’ Top 25 in Week 11

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

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.

Seattle added some new hardware on Sunday, installing an eight-foot, 650-pound bronze statue of Storm icon Sue Bird outside Climate Pledge Arena — making Bird the first-ever WNBA player immortalized by a former franchise.

Unveiled ahead of Sunday's Storm clash with the Phoenix Mercury, the statue depicts Bird mid-layup in a nod to the legendary player's first and last made-shots for Seattle.

"People keep asking me what it feels like to be the first, and the truth is I never set out to be first at anything," Bird said during the ceremony. "But if being the first means that I won't be the last, if this statue means that 20 years from now there will be statues of other WNBA greats... then I'm proud to be the first."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Bird played her entire 21-year WNBA career with the Storm, leading the team to four championships (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020) before calling it quits at the end of the 2022 season. The 13-time All-Star still stands as the league's career assists leader.

"I hope [this statue] tells a simple story that greatness isn't about being perfect. It's about being persistent," added Bird, who purchased a minority stake in the 2000 expansion team after she retired. "That you can be true to yourself and still achieve extraordinary things, and that when a city believes in you, anything is possible."

"Sue's legacy isn't just written in championships — it's woven into the fabric of Seattle," Storm president and CEO Alisha Valavanis said in a statement. "Her leadership transcended basketball and helped shape a cultural shift — one that expanded who gets to lead, who gets seen, and who gets celebrated."

The WNBA is taking a weekend road trip, as the No. 2 Atlanta Dream and No. 8 Seattle Storm head across the border to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the league's first-ever in-season Canada Game on Friday night.

The game features a rematch of Atlanta's 85-75 win over the Storm on Wednesday, with the win propelling the Dream up the WNBA standings — and threatening to drop Seattle out of postseason contention entirely.

"Time is running out, and the team knows it," Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said earlier this week. "I didn't want to put so much pressure on them, but they know the situation, and they understand the urgency."

While Friday marks the first regular-season WNBA matchup played outside the US, the league has previously staged two preseason games in Canada, tipping off in Toronto in 2023 and Edmonton in 2024 — both in front of sold-out crowds.

Toronto's 2023 exhibition appeared to serve as a trial run for expansion, with the league awarding the Canadian city its first franchise — the 2026-incoming Toronto Tempo — earlier this year.

While plans for a formal move to Vancouver hasn't yet surfaced, the WNBA's explosive popularity and rapid growth outlook provide plenty of room for new markets to enter the conversation.

How to watch the 2025 WNBA Canada Game

The No. 8 Seattle Storm and No. 2 Atlanta Dream will square off inside Vancouver's Rogers Arena at 10 PM ET on Friday night.

Live coverage of the WNBA Canada Game clash will air on ION.

Coming off a series of strategic transactions, the No. 10 Washington Mystics will forge ahead on Friday night, taking on the short-staffed No. 6 Indiana Fever with a chance to play spoiler as they reshape their 2025 expectations from below the postseason cutoff line.

"There's just so many different success stories with this group," Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson said following Washington's 88-83 loss to the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday.

The Mystics have lost five of their last six games, and will take the court on Friday without injured new addition Jacy Sheldon and starting center Shakira Austin.

While Washington exceeded this year's early-season projections — skyrocketing above the playoff line behind leading scorer Brittney Sykes and the dynamic rookie duo of Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron — the now-fading Mystics chose to shift gears at the trade deadline, sending Sykes to the No. 8 Seattle Storm and shipping second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards off to the No. 13 Connecticut Sun.

With their natural 2026 draft pick secured, Washington has a shot at adding a top first-round prospect should they play out the rest of the regular season at the bottom of the WNBA standings — in other words, by strategically tanking the final weeks of 2025 play.

On the other hand, the injury-laden Indiana enters Friday's action eyeing a win after falling to the No. 11 Dallas Wings by just one point on Tuesday.

How to watch the Washington Mystics vs. Indiana Fever on Friday

The No. 10 Mystics will take on the No. 6 Fever in Indianapolis at 7:30 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage airing on ION.

A top-table battle headlines the NWSL this weekend, as the No. 1 Kansas City Current hosts the No. 2 Orlando Pride for a possible postseason rehearsal on Saturday.

Led by Golden Boot frontrunner Temwa Chawinga, the Current enter the weekend with a full 12-point lead over the rest of the league, as reigning NWSL Shield and Championship winners Orlando push to make a statement.

"We are resilient. That is part of our identity. We never give up and we are always playing to win, and we always believe in ourselves," Pride defender Kylie Nadaner said following last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Racing Louisville.

More than just a clash between the top two teams in the NWSL standings, history shows very little love lost between these perennial heavy-hitters.

Last season, Orlando snapped KC's NWSL-record 17-game unbeaten streak on the Current's home turf, then took Kansas City down again in the pair's 2024 semifinal playoff match.

"We will remember the way they acted after the cameras were off," Current forward Michelle Cooper posted to social media after their July 2024 loss.

Kansas City has already issued some regular-season revenge on their way up the table this year, defeating the Pride 1-0 back in May.

How to watch Kansas City vs. Orlando this NWSL weekend

The No. 1 Current will kick off against the No. 2 Pride at 4 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage airing on CBS.