Reigning NCAA basketball champions UConn powered up this week, signing former Wisconsin standout Serah Williams out of the transfer portal — and beating both LSU and North Carolina to the punch.
After several top programs — including the Tigers and the Tar Heels — tried to court the All-Big Ten first team forward, the 6-foot-4 rising senior officially opted to play out her final year of eligibility with the Huskies on Wednesday.
Averaging 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last season, Williams joins a talented UConn frontcourt that includes starters Jana El Alfy and 2025 NCAA Freshman of the Year Sarah Strong.
The All-Big Ten first team forward joins the reigning champs after averaging 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds for the Badgers last season.
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2025/26 NCAA basketball rosters snap up top talent
With most big-name transfers now committed, next season's college basketball landscape is coming into view.
Despite missing out on Williams, LSU is likely this year's transfer portal winner, having signed Notre Dame freshman forward Kate Koval and highly touted South Carolina sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley to the Tigers' 2025/26 roster.
Ohio State also made headlines on Wednesday, inking Florida forward Kylee Kitts — the younger sister of South Carolina standout junior Chloe Kitts — following the Buckeyes' loss of star junior Cotie McMahon to Ole Miss.
While the transfer portal window closed last week, there's no deadline for signing with a new school, leaving the athletes still in limbo time to find their ideal fit.
The 2024/25 NCAA basketball season is down to its 10 final days of competition, with conference tournament seeding hanging in the balance as top teams try to build up some March Madness momentum.
Proving that nothing is guaranteed, two teams suffered upset losses on Thursday night.
In the ACC, No. 11 Duke fell to unranked Louisville 70-62. Though senior guard Jayda Curry led both the Cardinals and the game with 24 points, Louisville's victory came largely from the free throw line, where the Cards snagged 22 points but the Blue Devils only banked four.
The Big Ten followed suit, when unranked Indiana downed No. 8 Ohio State 71-61. Fueled by double-digit performances from four different Hoosiers, Indiana took an early lead and never relented, outshooting and out-rebounding the Buckeyes to hand them their fourth loss on the season.
NCAA conference titles take center court in decisive weekend matchups
While some teams are stumbling at the finish line, others have a shot at clinching conference hardware this weekend.
With a two-win lead on the ACC table, No. 1 Notre Dame has the chance to lock down the conference's regular-season title on Sunday, when the Irish will take on second-place No. 13 NC State.
The consequential clash has earned Raleigh a visit from ESPN’s College Gameday, with the pre-game show slated to build upon last weekend’s success in South Carolina with another high-stakes matchup.
Meanwhile in the SEC, No. 7 LSU’s season is also on the line. Unlike the Irish, however, the Tigers are simply trying to keep their dwindling conference title hopes alive, facing a must-win game against No. 14 Kentucky on Sunday.
To claim the SEC’s No. 1 seed, LSU would also need both No. 2 Texas and No. 6 South Carolina to stumble in their regular-season home stretch.
Beyond conference titles, the regular season’s wind-down can provide insights into how far teams can run into the postseason, as any upsets this week could spell busted brackets — or unexpected surges — come March.
How to watch Sunday's Top 15 NCAA basketball games
No. 1 Notre Dame will tip off the ranked Sunday action against No. 13 NC State at 12 PM ET, with live coverage of the ACC titans airing on ESPN.
Then at 4 PM ET, No. 7 LSU will try to steal a road win over No. 14 Kentucky, with ESPN also airing the decisive SEC meeting.
No. 1 UCLA added another Top 10 NCAA basketball win to their 2024/25 resume on Wednesday, tallying their second of the season after holding off Big Ten foe No. 8 Ohio State 65-52.
Despite Buckeye freshman Jaloni Cambridge's game-leading 21 points, Ohio State fell to a tough UCLA defense. The Bruins clamped down in the second and fourth quarters, relinquishing just 18 points to the Buckeyes across those two periods.
Meanwhile, UCLA junior Lauren Betts continued her National Player of the Year campaign, scoring a team-high 19 points plus 14 rebounds after clinching the double-double before the first-half buzzer.
Star junior guard Gabriela Jaquez narrowly trailed Betts, posting 17 points to help push UCLA over the line.
The victory marks a program-record 22nd consecutive win for the still-undefeated Bruins — their longest winning streak since 1978.
"I told the team after the game that these games are fun when they're close," Jaquez said afterwards. "This might have been one of the first games where it got close."
Top 10 NCAA upset rattles the Big 12
Wednesday didn't pan out as smoothly in the Big 12, where No. 12 Kansas State upset No. 9 TCU 59-50 in the Wildcats' first Top 10 win of the season. The victory broke the pair's tie atop the conference standings, putting Kansas State firmly in control of the Big 12.
While the Wildcat defense stifled TCU top scorers Sedona Prince and Hailey Van Lith, holding them to a respective 14 and 10 points, Kansas State senior Serena Sundell showed out on offense. The guard scored a season-high 27 points — 15 of which came during the Wildcats' third-quarter surge.
"[Sundell] lived at the rim," TCU head coach Mark Campbell told reporters after the game. "She absolutely destroyed us in the post. She just shot layups and layups and layups. That's what makes her unique is she's a 6-foot-2 versatile playmaker.... We didn't have an answer for that one."
How to watch Top 20 NCAA basketball on Thursday
The NCAA action continues with historic rivals No. 5 UConn taking on No. 19 Tennessee at 6:30 PM ET tonight. That's when Paige Bueckers and the Huskies will take aim at Jewel Spear and the Vols, with live coverage on ESPN.
The Big Ten is finally heating up, stealing the NCAA basketball spotlight from the SEC with a slate of Top 10 games sure to rattle next week's AP Poll.
No. 8 Ohio State tips off the top-ranked party first, embarking on a West Coast trip that will see them face No. 1 UCLA on Wednesday before battling No. 7 USC on Saturday.
Top 10 ups and downs
The Trojans took a slight hit in Monday's updated AP rankings after falling to unranked Iowa on Sunday, with USC's second loss of the season sending them three spots down to No. 7 while still retaining their Top 10 status.
Fellow Big Ten newcomer No. 1 UCLA locked in another week at the top after a unanimous vote, but the Bruins won't be resting on any laurels — Wednesday's clash with Ohio State will only be their second Top 10 matchup of the season.
Meanwhile, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 UConn, and No. 6 LSU all benefitted from USC's skid, each inching up one spot while the rest of the Top 10 remained unchanged.
A Big Ten race to the finish
Even though UCLA is the only undefeated team left in Division I basketball, the Bruins' shot at claiming the Big Ten's regular-season title will likely be determined in the final few weeks of the 2024/25 campaign.
With only one conference loss each, both the Buckeyes and Trojans currently sit tied for second-place behind UCLA on the Big Ten table, though those standings could shift with this week's matchups.
After putting their Wednesday date with Ohio State in the rearview, the Bruins must still face longtime crosstown rival USC twice in the last seven games of their season's schedule.
How to watch the Big Ten college basketball this week
No. 8 Ohio State will tip off their LA trip against No. 1 UCLA at 9:30 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage streaming on Peacock.
Then, the Buckeyes will contend with No. 7 USC at 9 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on FOX.
AP College Basketball Top 25: Week 14
1. UCLA (21-0, Big Ten)
2. South Carolina (21-1, SEC)
3. Notre Dame (19-2, ACC)
4. Texas (22-2, SEC)
5. UConn (21-2, Big East)
6. LSU (23-1, SEC)
7. USC (19-2, Big Ten)
8. Ohio State (20-1, Big Ten)
9. TCU (21-2, Big 12)
10. Duke (17-5, ACC)
11. Kentucky (19-2, SEC)
12. Kansas State (21-2, Big 12)
13. North Carolina (20-4, ACC)
14. NC State (18-4, ACC)
15. Oklahoma (16-6, SEC)
16. Maryland (17-5, Big Ten)
17. Georgia Tech (18-4, ACC)
18. West Virginia (17-4, Big 12)
19. Tennessee (16-5, SEC)
20. Michigan State (18-4, Big Ten)
21. California (19-4, ACC)
22. Florida State (18-4, ACC)
23. Alabama (18-5, SEC)
24. Vanderbilt (18-5, SEC)
25. Oklahoma State (18-4, Big 12)
This weekend's NCAA basketball action saw unranked Penn State earn their first ranked win in almost four years against Big Ten foe Ohio State on Sunday, ending the then-No. 9 OSU's unbeaten run.
Though Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon and guard Chance Gray led the back-and-forth battle with 19 and 18 points, respectively, it wasn’t enough to hold off the Nittany Lions, who snapped a seven-game losing streak with the 62-59 victory.
"We had no fight. We had no grit," McMahon told reporters after the game. Subsequently, Ohio State skidded to No. 12 in yesterday's AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll update.
The Buckeye loss also narrows the DI undefeated team list down to two. Only No. 1 UCLA and No. 5 LSU remain unbeaten this season.
Big Ten teams tackle Top 25 clashes
Monday's inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic featured two Big Ten/Big 12 matchups, opening with top-ranked UCLA welcoming No. 25 Baylor back to the AP Poll with a 72-57 defeat.
The Bruins took off to 17-2 lead in the first quarter. The Bears then failed to get past star UCLA center Lauren Betts, who put up a game-high 24 points, nine rebounds, and a program-record nine blocks.
The weekend's top-ranked match closed out the Classic, with No. 7 Texas star Madison Booker posting 28 points to lead the Longhorns to a dominant 89-51 win over No. 8 Maryland.
While the Terrapins’ 26 turnovers and silence from beyond the arc didn’t help the Big Ten team's case, injuries to top scorers accounted for at least some of Maryland's downfall. The Terps lost junior Bri McDaniel to a season-ending ACL tear last week, before senior Shyanne Sellers exited Monday's second quarter with a knee injury of her own.
How to watch top-ranked NCAA basketball games this week
In a battle for redemption after tough weekend losses, Big Ten foes No. 8 Maryland and No. 12 Ohio State will face off at 6 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage on BTN.
Though the week's marquee matchup belongs to two teams atop the SEC. Undefeated LSU will take on defending NCAA champions No. 2 South Carolina at 8 PM ET on Thursday, live on ESPN.
AP Top 25 NCAA Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 12
1. UCLA
2. South Carolina
3. Notre Dame
4. USC
5. LSU
6. UConn
7. Texas
8. Maryland
9. TCU
10. Kansas State
11. Kentucky
12. Ohio State
13. North Carolina
14. Duke
15. Oklahoma
16. West Virginia
17. Tennessee
18. Georgia Tech
19. Alabama
20. NC State
21. Michigan State
22. California
23. Minnesota
24. Michigan
25. Baylor