Road to Indy: Week 13

It was a tumultuous week for Duke, which held a five-point fourth quarter lead Monday night against No. 3 Notre Dame before going scoreless for a span of 6:29 and giving up 13 straight points in the 68-61 loss. To make matters worse, star forward Azurá Stevens tore her plantar fascia early in the contest and had to miss Thursday night’s game against Virginia, but Rebecca Greenwell and Angela Salvadores stepped up to lead the Blue Devils to a 67-52 win. But the duo could not help Duke on the road against No. 16 Miami and the Blue Devils fell 61-53.

The rest of the week was lacking in any major upsets, but the stage is set for a big week in the women’s basketball world. No. 2 South Carolina staved off tough tests from No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 18 Kentucky to remain unbeaten, but they host No. 1 Connecticut Monday night in the biggest game of the regular season. The Huskies crushed Tulane and East Carolina to extend their win streak to 59 games, but Monday’s showdown on the road may be their toughest test of the whole streak. Elsewhere in the SEC, No. 22 Florida upset the Aggies to hand them their second straight loss, but if Texas A&M can rebound to beat No. 23 Tennessee at home Sunday afternoon, the Lady Vols could be in danger of dropping out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1985.

Syracuse took down the Hurricanes 57-51 Monday in the biggest surprise of the week in ACC play, outscoring Miami 19-12 in the fourth quarter to pull away down the stretch. The Fighting Irish trounced N.C. State after their hard-fought win against the Blue Devils, and No. 13 Louisville extended its win streak to 15 games with convincing victories against Wake Forest and North Carolina. But the Cardinals roll came to an end Sunday when they were defeated by Notre Dame 66-61 in a battle for the top spot in the conference standings. 

In the Pac-12, No. 9 Oregon State held No. 8 Arizona State to 15 points in the second half to pull away from the Sun Devils in a 67-44 win and then beat No. 24 Washington on the road Friday night to finish off a strong week, but Arizona State bounced back Friday at home to hold off No. 14 UCLA and remain tied with the Beavers atop the conference standings.

No. 25 Oklahoma State outlasted No. 20 Oklahoma 71-69 Wednesday night, as Brittney Martin made the go-ahead layup with 13 seconds remaining to help the Cowgirls move into third place in the Big 12 behind top-10 powerhouses Texas and Baylor. No. 5 Maryland beat No. 17 Michigan State 85-76 Friday night to round out action between ranked teams last week and highlight an otherwise unexciting week of Big 10 action.

ACC Game to Watch: No. 16 Miami at No. 3 Notre Dame, Sunday, Feb. 14, 1 p.m.

Rivals in Rank: No. 1 Connecticut at No. 2 South Carolina, Monday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m., No. 5 Maryland at No. 7 Ohio State, Monday, Feb. 8, 9 p.m.