Duke had an abysmal week, losing to No. 10 Florida State 69-53 and to Wake Forest 64-58 on the road. The Blue Devils’ offense has not found a rhythm while leading scorer Azurá Stevens has been sidelined for the last four games with a torn plantar fascia, and Duke is now below .500 in the ACC at 6-7. It is far more likely that the Blue Devils will be hosting a postseason championship in Durham in the Women’s NIT than playing for the title in Indianapolis come April.
It was a big week elsewhere in the women’s basketball world, with No. 1 Connecticut handing No. 2 South Carolina its first loss by a score of 66-54 on the road Monday night. Breanna Stewart had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in the contest for the Huskies, who are riding a 61-game win streak and are unlikely to be challenged again en route to the Final Four.
The Gamecocks rebounded to beat No. 16 Florida Thursday night, and the Gators stumbled to an 80-58 loss at Auburn Sunday to cap off a disappointing week. With their drop down the conference standings, No. 15 Texas A&M and No. 11 Mississippi State battled for second place in the conference Thursday, with the Aggies emerging victorious. No. 25 Tennessee won comfortably at Vanderbilt as their 30-year run in the top 25 should live to see another week.
In the week’s other matchup between top-10 teams, No. 7 Ohio State defeated No. 5 Maryland 94-86 in a shootout. The Buckeyes swept the season series against the Terrapins and have the inside track to the Big Ten regular season crown. No. 17 Michigan State tumbled out of contention in the conference race with losses at home against lowly Penn State and on the road against Nebraska.
No. 6 Texas joined Maryland and the Gamecocks as top-10 teams to fall this week, losing to No. 21 Oklahoma 74-56 Sunday afternoon. The Sooners outscored the Longhorns 29-7 in the fourth quarter to rally and pull away from their rivals, bouncing back from an upset loss to Kansas State Tuesday. No. 4 Baylor now sits alone atop the Big 12 after wins at TCU and Texas Tech, and No. 20 Oklahoma moved into third place in the conference with a win against No. 24 West Virginia Saturday after falling to Texas Wednesday.
No. 3 Notre Dame maintained its stranglehold on the ACC with a 90-69 rout Sunday against No. 19 Miami to remain undefeated in conference play. No. 12 Louisville lost to the Fighting Irish last week, but remained right on their heels with a win at Pittsburgh, and the Seminoles also have just once conference loss.
There were no surprises in the Pac-12 leading up to a showdown between No. 9 Arizona State and No. 13 Stanford Sunday night, which the Sun Devils won 63-61 on a buzzer-beater in overtime after the Cardinal rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to force the extra session.
ACC Game to Watch: No. 10 Florida State at Syracuse, Thursday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m.
Rivals in Rank: No. 14 UCLA at No. 8 Oregon State, Sunday, Feb. 21, 9 p.m.
Upset Alert: No. 20 Oklahoma State at No. 4 Baylor, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 8 p.m.
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