February 19, 2025
The Weekly Fast Break: Welcome to the parity party
Star-studded wins, record performances and questions answered
We have been waiting – some more patiently than others – for that magical word to join the lexicon of college basketball: parity. There are going to be the doubters that say there is no way we have gotten there, that the rich still just get richer, especially now in this new age of college athletics. But, if you take a spin around the power conferences in both women’s and men’s basketball, you will not find an undefeated team left in the 2024-25 season and too many mid-major teams to count that will knock you off on any given night.
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Rosters are older (thank you pandemic) and the transfer portal has given programs an opportunity to bring in top talent for one or more seasons. While some believe that the grass is greener other places, there are those who come in as highly touted players and stay at their school for their careers. That commitment is key to creating a culture in the locker room and a mindset for success throughout the program. As the NCAA women’s selection committee gave us its first Top 16 seed reveal this weekend, we see teams with multiple losses who need help to be in the mix to win a conference title. Each one has a marquee player and a host of others who step up when their number is called. Welcome to the parity party college basketball fans – it is the crazy rave we have been waiting for at The Weekly Fast Break.
The great Pat Summitt was speaking truth when she said that “offense sells tickets; defense wins games; and rebounding wins championships.” Teams with experience and players who leave their ego in the parking lot to help their team at all costs are the ones that are poised for success.
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Tip-off
Big W’s on Big Stages
The stars were out and the lights where shining bright on Los Angeles when then-No. 6 USC hosted their cross-town rival, the undefeated UCLA Bruins on Feb. 13. It had all the makings of a monster matchup – primetime TV, the likes of Kevin Hart and Kelsey Plum in attendance, and two front-runners for national player of the year ready to duke it out. Behind another tremendous performance by sophomore JuJu Watkins, the Trojans knocked off UCLA 71-60 and handed the Bruins their first loss of the season. The win marks the first time the Trojans have defeated a No. 1 ranked team since 1983. Watkins was worth the price of admission – 38 points and 11 rebounds along with eight blocks and five assists. Team defense was the key for USC, holding UCLA to just 35% on the night and forcing the Bruins into 20 turnovers. UCLA star center Lauren Betts led her team with 18 points and 13 boards, but it was not enough to answer the “JuJu mojo” – USC was not to be denied. The rematch of these two rivals is set for March 1 in Westwood. That will be one tough ticket to get in the City of Angels.
We always say it is very difficult to “put a pin” in your conference season and venture outside the routine, but as the elite programs often do, they answer the challenge no matter the time of year. The UConn at South Carolina matchup had been circled by many when the season started, mainly because it would be a massive test for the Huskies to go into the home of the Gamecocks and try to slay the new standard bearer in the women’s game. While there have been a host of questions about UConn, many after their loss at Tennessee on Feb. 6, Paige Bueckers and company went into Columbia and dismantled the Gamecocks 87-58. The win snapped a 71-game home winning streak for South Carolina, who have now lost two of their last three games. UConn dominated from tip, forcing the defending national champions into tough long-range shots and spreading the floor on the offensive end where they could slice and dice the South Carolina defense. Guard Azzi Fudd came to play, delivering a stellar performance with 28 points (6-for-10 from deep). While South Carolina was left searching for answers, UConn may very well have found some – balanced scoring, tough defense and an intensity that was unmatched for 40 minutes. Interesting note – UConn had not won in Columbia since 2018 or beaten the Gamecocks since 2021. This win was the biggest home loss for South Carolina since 2008, which also came at the hands of Geno Auriemma and UConn.
Ann Arbor’s top Wolverine
At the end of the 2023-24 season, Kim Barnes Arico had become the all-time winningest coach in Michigan women’s basketball history with 261 victories to her name. She is also the only coach in program history to have more than 200 wins at the helm of the Wolverine program. Throughout her tenure, Barnes Arico has guided the Wolverines to at least 20 wins in 11 seasons, seven NCAA Tournament appearances, one NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2022 and a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2021. This season, her 13th in Ann Arbor, she passed John Beilein, who spent 12 seasons at the helm of the men’s program, as the winningest coach in Michigan basketball history. Barnes Arico eclipsed her longtime colleague and friend to capture win No. 279 on Feb. 12 when her team overcame a fourth quarter deficit to beat Indiana at home, 70-67.
(Photo credit: Michigan Athletics)
Poll watch
After a monster week of big matchups and big results, the AP Top 25 was turned upside down and shaken, but not stirred. Notre Dame takes over the No. 1 spot for the first time since 2019 and right behind them at No. 2 is Texas, which ropes its best ranking since 2017. UCLA drops to No. 3 and USC moves up to No. 4 while UConn moves up two places to No. 5 after its drudging of South Carolina. Six is a common denominator – Kentucky falls six spots to No. 14 after losses to Mississippi and Texas and Baylor is up six places to No. 19 this week. Illinois is back in at No. 25 after Big Ten victories over Penn State and Nebraska. Four mid-majors received votes this week, led by South Dakota State with 17 and James Madison jumps in to garner two votes.
(Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)
Star power
Azzi Fudd of UConn was named BIG EAST Player of the Week after she averaged 31 points in a pair of wins last week, including dropping 28 points in the 87-58 win at then No. 4 South Carolina. The 5’11 guard had a career high 34 points in the Huskies win over St. John’s on Feb. 12, knocking down eight three pointers. She shot 13-22 from the field and 8-14 from deep in the 78-40 win. Fudd, a graduate student who hails from Arlington, VA, scored 28 points in the victory over the Gamecocks on Feb. 16, shooting 50% from the field and going 6-for-10 from behind the arc. This was her first conference award this season.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Week honors went to Saniyah King of Howard after she averaged 11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in two victories for the Bison. In the 66-56 win against Maryland Eastern Shore on Feb. 10, King finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The 5’7 freshman from Washington D.C. then posted 11 points, four rebounds and five assists on Feb. 15 in the win over Delaware State, 62-45. King currently leads the MEAC in assists per game and is third in assist-to-turnover ratio.
K-State sophomore Taryn Sides collected her first career Big 12 Player of the Week after helping her team to two conference wins last week. The 5’6 guard gave the Wildcats a boost off the bench on Feb. 12 in their 90-53 win at Cincinnati, posting her first career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in 27 minutes on the floor. Sides, a native of Phillipsburg, Kan., had her second 20-point game of the season on Feb. 15 with 21 points against UCF. She went 7-for-8 from the floor, including 6-for-7 from behind the arc, and had six assists and four rebounds in 28 minutes of action in K-State’s 97-67 victory.
Navy guard Julianna Almeida was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the third time in the past four weeks. Against Army on Feb. 15, the 5’9 freshman had a breakout performance with a career-high 25 points, single-handedly out-scoring the Black Knights in the first quarter, 15-14. The North Arlington, N.J., native went 8-15 from the field, including 5-for-7 from three-point range and 4-for-5 from the free throw line in 39 minutes on the floor.
Elyce Knudsen of Illinois State was named Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Newcomer of the Week after helping the Redbirds to a pair of key conference wins. The 5’8 guard averaged 16 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and was 6-for-12 from 3-point range last week. Knudsen, a transfer from DIII Millikin, had 13 points and 3 rebounds in the 85-77 victory at Indiana State on Feb. 13. She then posted 19 points and six boards on Feb. 15 in the 73-53 win over Evansville. She has reached double-figure scoring in nine MVC games this year, including three of her last four outings.
Film session
It is mentioned often in sports that records are made to be broken. Some stand much longer than others, but when a monster performance sets a record in a February SEC battle, we are ready to dissect all the details here at The Weekly Fast Break. On Feb. 16, R/V Vanderbilt traveled to Auburn to take on the Tigers. This was the first and only matchups between these two programs this season. While the Commodores have been up and down this season, including a three-game losing streak, one constant has been the play of freshman Mikayla Blakes.
The 5’8 guard re-wrote the record books as she broke the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record with 55 points in the 98-88 overtime win. Blakes, who previously set the NCAA true freshman scoring record with 53 points at Florida on Jan. 30, broke Elena Delle Donne’s freshman scoring record of 54 points that she had set as a redshirt freshman at Delaware during the 2009-10 season. Blakes is the first freshman since the turn of the century to record two 50-plus point performances in the same season and is the fourth NCAA Division I player to accomplish the feat since 1999-00.
Auburn held a slim 42-39 lead at halftime and was able to extend that lead to 15 points in the second half. Vandy went on a 20-5 run in the fourth quarter and after a series of wild possessions under one minute to go, Blakes was fouled on a potential game-tying 3-pointer. She made all three to send the game into overtime. The Commodores outscored Auburn 14-4 in overtime behind Blakes who had 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. For the game, she went 15-for-28 from the floor and was 23-for-24 from the free throw line, as she made her first 23 free throw attempts. Many will ask – how do you let one player get that hot in a single game? Auburn was in control for much of this contest until Blakes and her teammates asserted themselves late to take back the momentum in their favor. The Tigers had their chances and let it slip away. The moral of the story simply is this – if someone has the hot hand, get her the basketball.
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Full court press
It does not seem to matter what part of the country you are in this week – Mother Nature is having a moment. Artic temperatures, snowstorms, thunderstorms and even tornadoes have blanketed the U.S., and it has made travel that much more hectic. Air travel has been delayed, charter buses are looking for alternate routes and coaches are pulling out their hair wondering when they can get to the gym to practice. We ask that you each be safe, stay warm and if they cancel school yet again for your children at home or in college, do not fret – these games are just as good as any PE or math class anywhere (check your local listings for game times and broadcast availability):
Feb. 19
George Washington at R/V Richmond
Green Bay at Cleveland State
Oregon at Nebraska
No. 22 Michigan State at No. 4 USC
No. 19 Baylor at Colorado
Feb. 20
No. 9 UNC at Syracuse
Vermont at Bryant
UAlbany at Maine
No. 18 Alabama at No. 15 Tennessee
No. 8 Ohio State at Indiana
Louisville at No. 11 Duke
R/V Vanderbilt at No. 16 Oklahoma
Missouri State at UNI
Western Kentucky at Sam Houston
Middle Tennessee at LA Tech
Georgia at No. 7 LSU
No. 25 Illinois at No. 3 UCLA
Feb. 22
Kansas at No. 12 K-State
Kent State at Ball State
Buffalo at Miami (OH)
Gardner-Webb at High Point
R/V Harvard at Brown
Iowa State at No. 19 Baylor
Missouri State at Drake
Toledo at Bowling Green
Wyoming at Nevada
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Feb. 23
No. 1 Notre Dame at No. 13 NC State
No. 17 West Virginia at No. 10 TCU
Rhode Island at UMass
No. 3 UCLA at Iowa
R/V Florida State at No. 20 Georgia Tech
No. 7 LSU at No. 14 Kentucky
No. 25 Illinois at No. 4 USC
Feb. 24
No. 19 Baylor at No. 12 K-State
No. 2 Texas at Georgia
Howard at Coppin State
Feb. 25
Iowa State at UCF
Texas Tech at Arizona
UTSA at Tulane
*All statistics cited in this column are sourced from university and conference provided statistics
Written by Missy Heidrick
I am a retired Kansas State shooting guard and spent almost 20 years working in Higher Education and Division 1 athletics. I am currently a basketball analyst for television and radio, contributing correspondent at The Next, Locked on Women's Basketball podcast host, WBB Naismith Award board of selectors member and run my own consulting business. I am a proud mother of two and wife to a patient husband who is almost as big of a sports junkie as I am!
