College basketball is giving viewers must-see matchups to finish 2023 on a high note.

Conference play is in full swing and every game counts. This weekend’s action is full of battles between ranked teams and matchups we could see again come March and April.

Here are the top five NCAA women’s basketball games of the weekend, in order of schedule.

No. 10 Baylor @ No. 5 Texas

These undefeated Texas teams have been putting on a show early in the 2023-24 season. The Longhorns have put up five 100-point games in their 13 games played, while the Bears have posted two.

Both Baylor (11-0) and Texas (13-0) have beaten fearsome opponents, but Baylor’s ranked victories stand out. The Bears have taken down then-No. 4 Utah and then-No. 24 Miami. The Longhorns beat UConn on Dec. 3 at the Jimmy V Classic but have not faced a ranked opponent since then.

Both teams enter this matchup with confidence after significant wins in their most recent games. Texas almost doubled their previous opponent in scoring, beating Jackson State, 97-52, and Baylor topped South Florida, 73-50. With such high rates of offensive production between these Big 12 rivals, it could be anyone’s game.

2 p.m. ET Saturday — FOX

No. 12 Utah @ No. 8 Colorado

These Pac-12 teams have been mainstays in the AP Top 25 all season, and this matchup should reflect that. Four Buffaloes average double-digits in scoring, and they are overall a higher-scoring team than the Utes. But Utah’s Alissa Pili is a force to be reckoned with.

Utah (10-2) presented undefeated No. 1 South Carolina with its toughest challenge of the season so far. A high-scoring outing from Pili and a quality defensive showing like the Utes’ matchup with the Gamecocks could lift them over Colorado (10-1). But they have to get through the Buffaloes’ freshman trio of Frida Formann, Aaronette Vonleh and Jaylyn Sherrod first.

3 p.m. ET Saturday — Pac-12 Network

No. 6 USC @ No. 2 UCLA

Both USC (10-0) and UCLA (11-0) have steamrolled their way through the early season. Both squads are undefeated, and both are putting up high numbers on the scoreboard.

The Bruins have played a notably tougher schedule than the Trojans — UCLA has topped three ranked opponents since the season began, while USC has faced just one ranked team. But that hasn’t stopped the Trojans from winning in style.

USC freshman JuJu Watkins ranks second in the NCAA in average points per game. She puts up an astronomical 26.8 points per game, and she leads her team in assists and steals as well. But the Bruins starting five all average double-digit scoring, with Lauren Betts and Charisma Osborne averaging 16.9 and 14.5 points per game, respectively. This southern California rivalry will bring the offensive power that viewers crave from young rising talent and veteran players.

8 p.m. ET Saturday — Pac-12 Network

No. 15 UConn @ No. 18 Marquette

After their shakiest start to a season in decades, the Huskies are climbing their way back up the poll right in time for conference play. The Golden Eagles are experiencing the opposite start to their slate. After appearing on the AP Top 25 for just one week last season, Marquette has been near-constant presence this year after the best start to a season in program history.

Entering Sunday’s contest, UConn (9-3) has dropped three early games, and Marquette (12-0) is undefeated. The Golden Eagles rarely find themselves in this position against their conference rivals, but their Liza Karlen is putting up numbers rivaling those of Player of the Year candidate Paige Bueckers. UConn is Marquette’s toughest challenge yet, but the Golden Eagles should not be overlooked.

1 p.m. ET Sunday — SNY

No. 13 Notre Dame @ Syracuse

While the Irish are the only ranked team in this contest, the ACC matchup is still worth a watch. Notre Dame and Syracuse are 9-1 and 10-1, respectively, and the game could be close.

The Orange’s only loss so far came at the hands of then-No. 20 Maryland, and the Irish fell to then-No. 6 South Carolina. Notre Dame has played more intimidating opponents than Syracuse, including then-No. 20 Tennessee, but the Orange have beaten most of their opponents handily, some by almost 50 points.

Regardless of the outcome of the game, watching Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Syracuse’s Dyaisha Fair go up against each other in a conference match should be quality basketball.

2 p.m. ET Sunday — ACC Network

Just 11 teams remain undefeated in NCAA women’s basketball.

Pac-12 rivals UCLA and USC are among them, with both likely to remain so heading into their Dec. 30 meeting. Before that top-10 contest, No. 2 UCLA will face Hawaii at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, and No. 6 USC will go up against Long Beach State at 5 p.m. ET Wednesday.

USC is led by freshman phenom JuJu Watkins, who has five 30-point performances through nine games. Her 26.8 points per game is second among all scorers, behind only Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. UCLA also features a star-studded roster, including sophomores Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice.

The undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks remain the unanimous No. 1 pick in the AP Top 25. Their next game against a ranked opponent comes on Jan. 25 against No. 7 LSU.

The full list of teams undefeated as of noon ET on Dec. 20 includes:

• No. 1 South Carolina (11-0)
• No. 2 UCLA (10-0)
• No. 3 NC State (11-0)
• No. 5 Texas (11-0)
• No. 6 USC (9-0)
• No. 10 Baylor (9-0)
• No. 18 Marquette (11-0)
• No. 23 Washington (11-0)
• No. 25 TCU (11-0)
• West Virginia (10-0)
• Oregon State (9-0)

In the 2022-23 season, South Carolina went undefeated until the Final Four, when the Gamecocks lost to Iowa. Just nine teams have gone undefeated en route to a national championship: Texas (1985-86), Tennessee (1997-98), Baylor (2011-12) and UConn (1994-95, 2001-02, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2013-14, 2015-16).

A number of teams this season have just one loss so far, including Iowa (11-1) and LSU (11-1).

When Kim Mulkey left Baylor for LSU, she kept the reason for the move to herself. And it will remain under wraps, at least for now.

“Why did I leave Baylor? Someday I’ll tell the real reason why I left Baylor, but it serves no purpose now,” she said during a recent interview on “The Trey Gowdy Podcast.”

The legendary basketball coach won three national titles in 21 seasons with the Bears, but she departed for LSU ahead of the 2021-22 season. She won the fourth NCAA tournament championship of her career in her second season with the Tigers.

Mulkey, 61, grew up in Tickfaw, Louisiana, and played college basketball at Louisiana Tech, so coaching for LSU has served as a homecoming. While she alluded to deeper reasons for the change, she declined to delve into them. But she did make one thing clear: Her move was not based on money.

“My former players at Baylor, the majority of them were at that national championship game this past year in the locker room with us,” she said. “They know Coach Mulkey usually makes a decision based upon something where she puts a lot of thought into it.

“But I can tell you what it was not: It was not more money. I did not come to LSU because they gave me more money than Baylor. Baylor took care of me financially. It was just a feeling in my gut that said, you need to go help your state. And I came back to LSU and, goodness gracious, what we have done in two years is nuts.”

When asked about whether she would be honored with a statue on the Baylor campus, an honor she recently received from her alma mater, she again referenced a distance from her former program, though she also expressed a desire for its success.

“You know good and well there’s nothing on that campus, and I don’t ever expect there to be anything,” she said of Baylor. “I want that program to continue to do good things. I want it to represent all the previous players that I got to coach there and continue to do good things. … Every place I’ve been, I’ve loved.”

And, after signing a new 10-year, $32 million deal with LSU, she is loving life with the Tigers, with no thought toward retirement.

“When I’m not putting a product on that floor that’s competitive, or I’m not able to give what I know needs to given, that’s when you retire,” she said. “And right now, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”