No time like the present
From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Morning!
If you’re on campus at South Carolina, do us a favor and pick up some WNBA gear, won’t ya? Women’s hoops and reproductive health education — name a more iconic duo.
— A listing for one of legendary former ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski’s old phones. Now the men’s basketball general manager for his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, he’s auctioning off the tech used to break the NBA’s biggest stories (along with other memorabilia and even a dinner date) to help fund the Bonnies’ NIL efforts. Sharing is caring.
Basketball
🏀 The vibes are weird
The GIST: It’s been a topsy-turvy few weeks in college basketball, and the latest AP Polls reflect the parity on both the women’s and men’s sides. As if filling out your March Madness bracket wasn’t already impossible.
The women: New No. 1 alert! The Texas Longhorns are the fourth squad to take the top spot this season, joining now–No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Notre Dame, and No. 6 South Carolina. It’s the first time the Longhorns have been ranked No. 1 in 21 years — aka, before Player of the Year candidate, sophomore Madison Booker, was even born. Alright, alright, alright.
- Texas wasted no time proving that they deserve the honor: They held Georgia to just 26 points (!!!) in Monday’s beatdown.
- And the Longhorns aren’t the only team catching fire. SEC rivals No. 11 Tennessee and No. 13 Oklahoma also got a boost in Monday’s drop, putting six of the conference’s contenders in the top 15. Guess it literally just means more.
The men: It’s pure chaos on the guys’ side, where preseason No. 1 and historical powerhouse Kansas has fallen out of the poll entirely for the first time in nearly four years. It’s been a brutal season for the Jayhawks, who have fallen short in games big and small.
- But they’re not the only ones struggling — it’s been an all-around strange year for the sport’s blue bloods (with the exception, of course, of freshman phenom Cooper Flagg’s No. 2 Duke).
- On the flip side, now–No. 8 Michigan State jumped six spots, a sweet treat to go along with their new lead in the Big Ten. No matter how tough their regular season, the Spartans always seem to turn it on come March — looks like this year will be no different.
Women's basketball
🏀 Not not time to panic
The GIST: The window to secure a favorable seed for next week’s conference tourneys is rapidly closing, adding an extra layer of drama to tomorrow’s top-25 matchups. Prep your multi-screen setup now — you won’t want to miss a minute.
No. 8 UNC Tar Heels (25-4) vs. No. 16 Duke Blue Devils (21-7), 7 p.m. ET (ESPN): The Heels are on a seven-game win streak, but are without star fifth-year Alyssa Ustby, who’s week-to-week with a knee injury. Duke, meanwhile, could seriously jump in the ACC standings with a dub. One of the best rivalries in sports is about to gain another chapter.
No. 5 UConn Huskies (26-3) vs. No. 22 Creighton Bluejays (23-4), 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports): UConn had no trouble beating the Bluejays in January…or any time in the past decade. But Creighton has an extra incentive: If they can pull off the upset, they’ll be tied with the Huskies for the lead in the Big East with just one regular-season game remaining. No time like the present, ladies.
No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers (21-6) vs. No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats (21-5), 7 p.m. ET (SEC Network): Kentucky’s cooling off at the worst possible moment: They’ve dropped three of their last five, even as superstar guard Georgia Amoore continues to frustrate the likes of LSU coach Kim Mulkey. The Wildcats’ last home game is also their last chance to prove they’re a force in the cutthroat SEC.
No. 7 LSU Tigers (27-2) vs. No. 20 Alabama Crimson Tide (22-6), 9 p.m. ET (SEC Network): Speaking of Mulkey’s squad, guards Aneesah Morrow, Flau’jae Johnson, and Mikaylah Williams aren’t just gracing the cover of SLAM — they’re also slamming their way through the aforementioned SEC. This is a crucial matchup as they build momentum for the conference tourney next week.
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🏊 Walsh sisters dominate ACC swimming & diving championships
The Team USA standouts just keep crushing the competition: Younger sister Gretchen took first in seven events, raising her career wins total to 23, while Alex won her fourth straight 200m breaststroke title to reach 32 overall victories, the most in ACC history.
- They also teamed up to set an American record in the 400m medley relay, because of course. Up next: nationals, starting March 19th.
🥎 No. 4 UCLA and No. 6 LSU softball will face off in early-season showdown
LSU remains one of five undefeated teams, but the Bruins are hoping to change that when they take on the Tigers in the Judi Garman Classic tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET. These squads are both favorites to reach the Women’s College World Series — in other words, a must-watch affair.
🏈 Collegiate stars gear up for NFL Combine
The next generation of NFL talent will show their stuff for scouts in Indianapolis starting tomorrow, hoping to increase their draft stock before they (hopefully) hear their names called on April 24th. Once a favorite in the Heisman Trophy race, former Miami quarterback (QB) Cam Ward has perhaps the most to gain from a standout performance, especially with Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders sitting out.
Here’s what has GIST HQ buzzing:
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*P.S. This is a sponsored post. Lookin' good.Today’s email was brought to you by Katie Kehoe Foster and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Mikaela Perez. Ops by Marga Sison and Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.