After No. 20 Kansas fell to unranked Nebraska last week, just six teams remain unbeaten in NCAA Division I women’s college basketball this season.

No. 1 South Carolina, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Indiana, No. 10 LSU, No. 12 Utah and No. 25 St. John’s are all perfect thus far — but as conference play heats up, those perfect records will become harder to maintain.

Which undefeated team will be the last one standing?

No. 1 South Carolina (12-0)

In 2021-22, the Gamecocks seemed to have a high probability of making it through the regular season without a loss after they topped No. 2 Stanford on Dec. 21. But they were upset just one game later, in a surprising 70-69 loss to Missouri.

South Carolina ended up losing one more game, to Kentucky in the SEC tournament, before going on to win the NCAA title.

Last season’s loss to Missouri was shocking because of the opponent, but also because South Carolina looked essentially unbeatable up to that point. This season is different. I don’t expect the Gamecocks to make it to the tournament with a perfect record because we already have seen the formula to beat them.

While South Carolina scored a 73-64 win against UCLA on Nov. 29, the Bruins’ game plan was nearly perfect. They opted to put a defender on Aliyah Boston in the paint while running a four-man zone around her. While Boston still recorded 18 points, packing the paint disrupted South Carolina’s flow. The Gamecocks weren’t able to play inside out, and they went 1-of-14 from the 3-point line.

A fourth-quarter collapse kept UCLA from an upset win, but another team could put the same plan into practice for a chance to topple South Carolina. Of course, even if the plan is executed well, South Carolina still has enough talent to pull out a win – they have perhaps the deepest team in the country. But UCLA proved it is possible to upset the Gamecocks.

Still, of all the teams on this list, the Gamecocks have the best shot at a perfect record.

No. 3 Ohio State (13-0)

The Buckeyes had a scare against USF, as they trailed by as many as 18 in Tuesday’s contest. Even after making a comeback and forcing overtime, they trailed by 6 with 1:10 remaining.

But Ohio State scored eight straight to grab an improbable victory. Then the team followed that up with a convincing 84-67 win over No. 16 Oregon to preserve its unbeaten record.

No. 3 Ohio State rallied late and escaped an upset in OT last night ‼️ pic.twitter.com/YnSSEoTJrq

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) December 21, 2022

The win over Oregon also stands out as impressive, as the Buckeyes did it with a depleted squad.

Point guard Jacy Sheldon has been out with a leg injury since Nov. 30 and remains week-to-week. Sheldon is not just the team’s second-leading scorer but also its best defender, with six steals per game. Without Sheldon, the point guard duties fell to Madison Greene, but she was hurt in the win over USF. So the Buckeyes head into Big Ten play without two of their key players.

The Big Ten is full of talented opponents, and getting through it without a loss would be a tall order. The challenges start on Dec. 31 with No. 19 Michigan. Then, two weeks later Ohio State plays a Nebraska team that just topped previously undefeated Kansas.

The non-conference portion of the season closed on Wednesday with our 12th win! pic.twitter.com/BEXUqWBcwK

— Indiana Women’s Basketball (@IndianaWBB) December 22, 2022

No. 4 Indiana (12-0)

The Hoosiers started the season with a win over Tennessee. Then they topped No. 6 North Carolina in dominant fashion, and they did so without injured star Grace Berger.

But Big Ten play will make their perfect record hard to keep. The Hoosiers have to play Michigan, Maryland, Ohio State and Iowa twice each. There’s pretty much no way they make it through the conference slate without a loss.

That being said, Indiana has been able to maintain its perfect record thus far because of a balanced attack and a plethora of talent. Since Berger’s injury, everyone else has stepped up. Mackenzie Holmes leads the way with 19.8 points per game, followed by Sydney Parrish with 12.5, Sara Scalia and Yarden Garzon with 11.9 each. Chloe Moore-McNeil has slid nicely into the point guard spot, averaging 9.9 points and 5.2 assists per game.

No. 10 LSU (12-0)

Angel Reese is crazy talented, and LSU scores a lot of points. But the Tigers’ perfect record is largely because of the their opponents.

So far, the best team LSU has played is a 7-4 Oregon State squad. Other than the Beavers, their opponents have included: Bellarmine, Mississippi Valley State, Western Carolina, Houston Christian, Northwestern State, George Mason, UAB, Southeastern Louisiana, Tulane, Lamar and Montana State.

Because of that weak schedule, it’s hard to gauge just how good LSU is, and even harder to predict how long the Tigers can stay undefeated.

The Tigers could lose as soon as Dec. 29, when they take on a ranked team in No. 17 Arkansas — or, they could prove their doubters wrong and pass their first true test of the season. From there, the SEC will certainly provide better competition, including fellow undefeated team No. 1 South Carolina on Feb. 12.

Angel Reese's non-conference numbers are crazy 🔥

6th in PPG (24.6)
1st in RPG (14.7)
1st in double-doubles (12 in 12 games)
11th in FG% (63.5)

📷: @LSUwbkb pic.twitter.com/6l6qxGYi68

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) December 20, 2022

No. 12 Utah (12-0)

The Utes have played just one ranked opponent up to this point, but they made the most of it, topping Oklahoma 124-78.

The going will get tougher for Utah in Pac-12 play, especially in back-to-back games in January against No. 18 Arizona and No. 2 Stanford. Followed by No. 11 UCLA and No. 16 Oregon.

The Utes likely will not get through that gauntlet without a loss, but they have a chance to stay unbeaten until then. Before then, they face Southern Utah, Washington State, Washington, Colorado and Arizona State, and if one of those teams knocks them off, it certainly would be considered an upset.

The Utes have stayed unbeaten so far because of their high-powered offense. They average 93 points per game, with five-double digit scorers. Alissa Pili leads with 20.7 points per contest.

No. 25 St. John’s (12-0)

After playing a relatively light schedule, St. John’s worked its way into the AP Top 25 with a win over No. 21 Creighton on Dec. 4.

The Red Storm went up 9 points at the end of the first quarter and weathered runs from Creighton to secure a narrow 66-62 victory. The game was an impressive showing of maturity from an experienced St. John’s team. All five starters are fifth-year seniors or graduate students, and so are the first two players off the bench.

Because of this, I don’t expect St. John’s to drop a game to a team they should beat. Discipline is important in an undefeated season, and the Red Storm certainly have that. Their toughest test is yet to come, though, when they take on UConn on Jan. 11. There is a chance that Azzi Fudd is back for that game, so a loss is likely.

If St. John’s manages to get through the Huskies unscathed, they have to play Villanova, Marquette and DePaul twice, then they have rematches against Creighton and UConn. I imagine the Red Storm will have at least one loss on their record by the middle of January.

History made ✅ pic.twitter.com/gb2N8doqTx

— St. John's WBB (@StJohnsWBB) December 21, 2022

The Connecticut Sun is still on the chopping block, with reports surfacing Tuesday that the WNBA made a $250 million offer to buy the team in order to control its final landing place.

The Mohegan Tribe — the Sun's current owners — are reportedly still seeking clarity on the league's preferred relocation destination, after two prospective outside bids stalled in front of the Board of Governors.

Multiple offers remain on the table, including two $325 million bids from groups in Boston and nearby Hartford, Connecticut — as well as a plan to raise capital via minority investments rather than a full sale.

Recent reports point to the league's desire to control the Sun's fate while preserving certain markets for expansion, with the Mohegan Tribe under pressure to bend to the WNBA's interests.

The WNBA offer to buy the Connecticut Sun outright is reportedly part of a larger plan to flip the team to a different prospective ownership group without an additional relocation fee — and rumors say Houston is in the lead.

The Mohegan Tribe already turned down a low-ball bid out of Cleveland, with WNBA later awarding the Northeast Ohio city an expansion team for a $250 million fee.

NBA co-ownership was a clear priority during the league's most recent expansion, with officials now looking to force that strategy onto the Sun's future.

While the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx watch from above, the race for the No. 2 postseason seed is taking center stage, with teams like the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury eyeing 2025 WNBA Playoffs spots as the league nears the regular-season home stretch.

Big Tuesday wins helped boost the No. 2 New York Liberty and No. 5 Las Vegas Aces up the WNBA standings, while the Mercury refused to lose pace with a 98-91 victory over the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries.

"We're just continuing to try to build," Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters afterwards. "We're on the right step, but there's still work to be done."

Multiple talent-stacked teams are continuing to sharpen their form with the 2025 Playoffs looming, with only a half-game currently separating the New York Liberty, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, and Las Vegas Aces on the WNBA table.

The Mercury have benefitted a healthy Big Three — Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, and Kahleah Copper — with Copper leading Phoenix's five double-digit scorers by registering 25 points in Tuesday’s win.

"Our support staff has been great and our culture and my teammates have been great in helping me navigate through [early-season injuries] and just being able to get back out there," Copper said this week.

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week

The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will have their work cut out for them on Thursday, when they'll visit Las Vegas to tip off against the surging No. 5 Aces and their eight-game winning streak at 10 PM ET.

Live coverage of the clash will air on Prime.

The No. 9 Sparks haven't given up the fight, with LA sitting just outside the 2025 WNBA playoff picture ahead of Wednesday night's clash with a No. 11 Dallas Wings side facing postseason elimination.

The Sparks have had an up-and-down season, arriving at a 16-18 record with six wins in their last 10 games.

"We control our destiny, so what do we do with it?" LA head coach Lynne Roberts said on Tuesday. "And I love that we're in that spot, but we'll see how competitive we are."

"Obviously we feel like there's some games that we should have and could have won at the beginning of the season early on, but [you] can't change the past," echoed Sparks forward Dearica Hamby. "We have good momentum right now still. We're still in good position to make the playoffs, so just take it a game at a time."

Meanwhile, Dallas will try to stave off joining the last-place Connecticut Sun in playoff elimination, though their draft lottery odds rise with every loss.

The Wings will be even more shorthanded on Wednesday after losing Li Yueru to a season-ending ACL sprain on Friday, with the center now joining star guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is suffering from knee tendinitis, on the sideline.

How to watch the Dallas Wings vs. LA Sparks on Wednesday

The No. 9 Sparks will host the No. 11 Wings at 10 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.

The No. 6 Indiana Fever are officially down another guard due to injury, with the team confirming Tuesday that Sophie Cunningham suffered a season-ending right MCL tear during the squad's Sunday matchup against the No. 13 Connecticut Sun.

"If you're going to hurt your knee, that is the best possible case," Cunningham explained on her podcast on Tuesday. "A couple more inches to the left, [I] would've torn a whole bunch more s—t. I'm very thankful for where I am at, so it's all good."

Cunningham posted an average of 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 46.9% from the field on the season for Indiana.

In response to losing the seven-season WNBA standout, Indiana signed veteran guard Shey Peddy to a seven-day hardship contract on Tuesday, one day after releasing previous hardship addition Kyra Lambert.

Cunningham became the third Fever guard sidelined with a season-ending injury in less than two weeks, after Indiana lost both Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald to an ACL tear and broken foot, respectively, in the same game on August 7th.

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The trio join superstar guard Caitlin Clark on the Fever's injured list, after the WNBA sophomore's lingering right groin issue has seen her on the bench since before the 2025 All-Star break.

That said, Clark has reportedly been participating in practice this week, ramping up her game fitness as she eyes a return to the 2025 WNBA court.