College basketball games to watch: Hailey Van Lith vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights the week

Posted by Admin November 26, 2024 Basketball

It’s Feast Week, which means we are ready to devour both stuffing (the undisputed best Thanksgiving side) and lots of great basketball.

For years, great non-conference matchups the week of Thanksgiving were reserved for men’s college hoops — you are probably familiar with the Maui Invitational, for example. But in recent years, as women’s basketball has exploded in both popularity and parity, we’ve seen top women’s programs commit to playing each other this week, too, typically in tropical locations. There are a ton of intriguing games over the next few days, some featuring ranked teams and some not. If you want to post up in front of your TV/computer all week to make sure you don’t miss any of the action, we fully support that.

One quick note: Many of the top women’s teams will have games streamed this week on FloCollege (you may remember watching them on FloHoops in the past). FloCollege does a tremendous job producing games in some of the far-flung corners of the basketball world, and if you’re trying to find mid-major games during conference season, there’s a good chance it’s on FloCollege. It’s well worth a subscription, at least for the next month but possibly the whole season. USA TODAY readers can get a special 10% discount when they sign up using this link.

This week is all about excess, so instead of just five women’s games to watch, we’re giving you six. Enjoy.

Cal at Michigan State

Tuesday, 2 p.m. ET on truTV

Two undefeated, unranked teams squaring off on a widely available TV channel? Yes, please. The newest member of the ACC, Cal has already picked up an impressive non-conference win over Gonzaga and hung on to beat Auburn last week. Now they’ll match up against the Spartans, who have been receiving votes in both the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and Associated Press poll. Cal will need guard Lulu Twidale (18.3 ppg) and forward Ugonne Onyiah (8.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg) to figure out a way to score against Michigan State’s stout defense, which ranks eighth in the country and is holding opponents to 31.3% shooting this season.

No. 23 Illinois vs. No. 16 Kentucky

Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET on BALLERtv

Kentucky point guard Georgia Amoore is one of the best guards in the country, a fact she reminded people of a couple weeks ago when she scored 19 points in an overtime win vs. Louisville, which saw the Wildcats hold the Cardinals without a field goal in overtime. Now Amoore & Co. will go up against the undefeated Illini. Kentucky will have its hands full with Illinois forward Kendall Bostic, who leads her team in both points (18.0) and rebounds (10.2) and is shooting a staggering 70.7% from the field.

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 8 Iowa State

Thursday, 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX

Aside from the fact that this matchup features two teams that should make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament — the Gamecocks are the defending champs, after all — it is a matchup of two teams that are undoubtedly ticked off and anxious to prove something. Audi Crooks (21.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and the Cyclones are still smarting from being upset by unranked Northern Iowa (and then barely hanging on to beat unranked Drake). Meanwhile, Te-Hina Paopao (14.2 ppg, 3.3 apg) and South Carolina will be champing at the bit to erase the sting of being thumped at UCLA — on national TV, no less. Both teams will be eager to make a statement.

No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 24 TCU

Friday, 5 p.m. ET on FloCollege

Talk about star power. Notre Dame has Hannah Hidalgo (24.8 ppg, 5.2 mpg), the best two-way player in the country, plus Olivia Miles (18.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 6.8 apg), who is always a threat to record a triple-double. On the other side, TCU features Olympic 3×3 bronze medalist Hailey Van Lith (19.2 ppg, 7.0 apg) and super senior Sedona Prince (20.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg). Expect a terrific, back-and-forth game with one undefeated squad dealing the other its first loss of the season.

Iowa vs. BYU

Friday, 9 p.m. ET on FloCollege

Things are going well in the post-Caitlin Clark era, and that is mostly due to transfer guard Lucy Olsen (17.3 ppg, 5.3 apg, 48.9% FG) and junior forward Hannah Stuelke (14.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg). The Hawkeyes have an opportunity to pick up a win over a solid BYU team that’s still trying to find its footing as a Power Four school after years as a strong mid-major program. To pick up a win, the Cougars and guard Delaney Gibb (17.3 ppg, 4.8 apg) must slow down an Iowa roster scoring more than 80 points per game.

No. 22 Louisville at Colorado

Saturday, 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+

This is an intriguing matchup featuring a key transfer (Colorado’s Lior Garzon, averaging a team-best 12.7 points and 3.2 rebounds, is on her third school after stops at Villanova and Oklahoma State) and a fearless freshman (Tajianna Roberts leads Louisville with 11.7 ppg and is shooting 40% from 3-point range). Both teams have balanced scoring attacks and are known for tough, physical basketball. Could the altitude in Boulder, at 5,430 feet, be a factor for the visiting team?

Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell