3 games to watch in women’s college basketball for Week 12

This week’s women’s college basketball schedule is loaded with must-watch games, including a pair of top-10 matchups for control of the Big Ten.

Welcome back to FanSided’s weekly look around the women’s basketball world. Looking for some games to watch this upcoming week? We’ll be highlighting three of them that should be on your radar.

Whether you’re a long-time viewer who’s just looking for a shortcut to see what you should watch or you’re just getting into the sport and want to know about compelling storylines, we have you covered. And at the end, I’ll include a short “other games to watch” section, if you want to take your basketball watching further.

Let’s dig into the 12th week of the women’s college basketball season!

All stats from Her Hoop Stats unless otherwise noted.

Here are the women’s college basketball games you won’t want to miss this week:

3. No. 10 Iowa @ No. 2 Ohio State

Monday, Jan. 23, 7:00 p.m. — ESPN2

All year, it seemed like a two-team race for the national title between South Carolina and Stanford, and maybe it still is, but after the Cardinal lost to USC, there’s at least a new team sitting at No. 2 in the country, as undefeated Ohio State has moved up to that spot.

But this week will be a major test for the Buckeyes, as they face both Iowa and Indiana. We’ll probably know for sure if Ohio State really is the second-best team in America after these games.

The Buckeyes have been an offensive juggernaut, ranking fourth in points per game. The team plays at the 11th-fastest pace in the country, sprinting up and down the court for bucket after bucket. But the pace isn’t the only reason they score so much; the team ranks 10th in effective field goal percentage and sixth in points per play. They’ve only been held under 80 points three times all season, and a 66-57 win over Michigan was the only time the Buckeyes didn’t score at least 70.’

But this game will really test their one weakness: defense — if you can call it a weakness. The raw numbers have Ohio State ranked 135th in scoring defense, but when you factor pace into things, you see that they’ve actually been 20th in defensive rating.

Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes rank second in the country in scoring offense and 20th in pace. They’ll be able to keep up with the Buckeyes on that end of the floor, but Iowa’s defense is more tenuous. The Hawkeyes are 296th in scoring defense and 160th in defensive rating.

You can never count Iowa out, though. Caitlin Clark is putting on a clinic this season, averaging 26.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game.

2. No. 15 Oklahoma @ No 18 Iowa State

Saturday, Jan, 28, 4:00 p.m. — ESPN+

The Big 12 is really up in the air this year. Three teams have a viable shot to win the conference, and two of those teams meet on Saturday afternoon. A win by Oklahoma would put the Sooners two games up in the conference.

Oklahoma reminds me a lot of Iowa: they play fast (third in pace) and score a lot of points (third in scoring), but they suffer on the defensive end, ranking 345th in points allowed per game and 227th in defensive rating.

Madi Williams currently averages 16.9 points per game for Oklahoma and is shooting 53.1 percent from the floor. She’s one of six rotation players for OU to shoot over 40 percent this season, and the Sooners as a whole rank 32nd in field goal percentage.

This is also one of the most unselfish teams in the country, as they lead the nation in assists per game and are ninth in assisted shot rate.

On the other side, you have the Cyclones, who many view as the favorites in the Big 12. But the team’s been without center Stephanie Soares for the last four games after a torn ACL ended her season, and you could tell how much they missed her in a 15-point loss to Texas.

But the Cyclones still have Ashley Joens, one of the top wings in the country. She’s averaging 19.5 points per game and is always a threat to take over a game. Can OU slow her down?

1. No. 9 UCLA @ No. 8 Utah

Sunday, Jan. 29, 2:00 p.m. — Pac-12 Networks

Utah’s been a fun story. The Utes went 21-12 last season, a major improvement from a 5-16 season in 2020-21. Now, they sit at 16-2 and only have losses to Colorado and Stanford.

This will be a great test for Utah. Like most of the teams in this week’s Watch Guide, Utah is built to score, ranking sixth in points per game and 38th in pace. And they’re efficient, posting the third-best effective field goal percentage in the nation. Alissa Pili has made a huge impact in her first season with the team, averaging 20.1 points per game; she averaged just 7.8 last year at USC.

On the other side, you’ve got the Bruins, who don’t necessarily stand out in one particular way like Utah (or like the other five teams in this week’s column), but who do a lot of things pretty well. They’re only 53rd in net rating, but the Bruins rebound the ball well, ranking 16th in offensive rebound rate, and they avoid turnovers, with the 37th-lowest turnover rate in the country.

But UCLA also needs to show it can win big games. It lost by 13 to Stanford earlier in the month, and also lost to South Carolina earlier in the year. The Bruins have wins over Tennessee and Oregon, but a win over this strong Utah team would really show that they belong in the national conversation.

Other games to watch

• No. 6 Indiana @ No. 14 Michigan — Monday, Jan. 23, 8:15 p.m. — Big Ten Network
• South Florida @ Tulsa — Wednesday, Jan. 25, 5:00 p.m. — ESPNU
• No. 15 Oklahoma @ No. 25 Texas — Wednesday, Jan. 25, 8:00 p.m. — Longhorn Network
• No. 14 Michigan @ No. 11 Maryland — Thursday, Jan. 26, 6:30 p.m. — B1G+
• No. 12 Virginia Tech @ No. 13 Duke — Thursday, Jan. 26, 8:00 p.m. — ACC Network
• No. 5 UConn @ Tennessee — Thursday, Jan. 26, 8:00 p.m. — ESPN
• No. 2 Ohio State @ No. 6 Indiana — Thursday, Jan. 26, 8:30 p.m. — B1G+
• No. 8 UCLA @ No. 24 Colorado — Friday, Jan. 27, 9:00 p.m. — Pac-12 Networks
• No. 1 South Carolina @ Alabama — Sunday, Jan. 29, 1:00 p.m. — ESPN2
• No. 22 Villanova @ No. 5 UConn — Sunday, Jan. 29, 2:00 p.m. — CBSSN
• No. 7 Notre Dame @ No. 20 NC State — Sunday, Jan. 29, 3:00 p.m. — ESPN
• No. 23 Oregon @ No 4 Stanford — Sunday, Jan. 29, 4:00 p.m. — Pac-12 Networks