NCAAW: Notre Dame looks for 20-straight wins while Kentucky eyes upset

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For teams belonging to the Power Four conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC), regular-season schedules finish up next Sunday. That coming conclusion to regular-season conference competition amplifies the urgency of this Sunday’s games, with teams aiming to bolster their resumes and/or enhance their forms as the calendar turns to March.

Sunday’s slate includes four high-profile nationally-televised games, with ESPN’s College GameDay on site in Raleigh for the meeting between the Fighting Irish and Wolfpack:

No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 13 NC State (12 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 17 West Virginia vs. No. 10 TCU (12 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 9 North Carolina vs. Louisville (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 7 LSU vs. No. 14 Kentucky (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Here’s one key question for each of those four contests:

1. 20-straight for Notre Dame?

Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron.

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

No. 1 Notre Dame can secure their 20th-straight win with a victory at No. 13 NC State on Sunday. The Fighting Irish have romped through the ACC, undefeated with a point differential that approaches 27 points per game.

Those stats make the Irish’s lone two losses seem even more puzzling. How did this team lose to TCU and Utah? Notre Dame dropped two-straight games on back-to-back days at the Cayman Islands Classic. Yet, that was a different, depleted Notre Dame, with just seven players seeing court time during the trying Thanksgiving stretch.

Since then, grad forwards Maddy Westbeld and Liza Karlen have recovered from injuries and provided the Irish with frontcourt depth that complements their backcourt pop. That frontcourt, with Westbeld and Karlen joined by senior Liatu King, who has reliably posted double-doubles in her first season in South Bend, and Kate Koval, who has shown flashes during a characteristically up-and-down freshman season, should be particularly important on Sunday.

Although NC State’s backcourt doesn’t possess the overwhelming firepower of the Irish triumvirate of sophomore Hannah Hidalgo, senior Olivia Miles and senior Sonia Citron, the Wolfpack have a group capable of competing with them, with their starting three of senior Aziaha James, senior Saniya Rivers and sophomore Zoe Brooks boosted by freshman Zam Jones from off the bench. But the Wolfpack are quite weak in the frontcourt, suggesting King or Westbeld, in particular, could be the difference maker.

2. Is West Virginia top-16 material?

Syndication: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal — JJ Quinerly.

No. 17 West Virginia is coming off the season’s best win, taking down No. 12 Kansas State, 70-57, on Monday.

Yes, the Wildcats are without Ayoka Lee, but even in the absence of the super senior center, K-State has posted strong offensive performances, including scoring 97 points on UCF in the game prior. The Mountaineers’ defense suffocated the ‘Cats, holding them to sub-40 percent shooting from the field while forcing 21 turnovers. Senior guard JJ Quinerly did the heavy lifting, scoring 26 points, with five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Can West Virginia turn up another top-notch defensive effort against another high-scoring Big 12 opponent in TCU? TCU sits atop the conference, but since their aforementioned Thanksgiving upset of Notre Dame, has not beaten a top-20 team. They also lost to a Lee-less Kansas State at the beginning of the month, held to 50 points by the Wildcats; it was the Horned Frogs’ lowest output of the season.

Even with a win, West Virginia would be a long shot to claim the Big 12 regular-season title, as they are currently tied for fifth with Utah, sitting behind Baylor, K-State and Oklahoma State, in addition to TCU. However, a win would allow the Mountaineers to continue to build momentum ahead of the conference tournament and mask some of the bad losses (Colorado, Arizona) that dot their resume before Selection Sunday.

3. Can Louisville continue their rise?

Georgia Tech v Louisville — Jayda Curry and Olivia Cochran.

In early December, things looked bleak for Louisville. Routed by UConn at the Women’s Champions Classic in Barclays Center, the Cardinals were outclassed at home by NC State two games later.

Now, just as March approaches, Louisville delivered Duke their first home loss of the season, with the victory serving as a testament to the Cardinals’ perseverance. Instead of throwing in the towel and eyeing the transfer portal, the team has coalesced into one of the ACC’s best. The improved play of senior guard Jayda Curry has been essential to the Cardinals’ acceleration, with her minutes, scoring and impact increasing over the course of the season. She netted a season-high 24 points in the upset of Duke on Thursday, swishing three 3s and earning—and making—nine free throws.

Will the rise continue on Sunday when Louisville meets a likewise surging North Carolina team that now is ranked in the top 10? The winner will have sole control of third place in the ACC standings, placing them in prime position for a strong run through the conference tournament.

To hold off the Cardinals, the Tar Heels surely would like to have the services of Alyssa Ustby. UNC head coach Courtney Banghart indicated that the do-it-all grad wing, who missed the Tar Heels’ win at Syracuse on Thursday, should be back in the lineup soon. We’ll see if soon means Sunday.

4. Can Kentucky score the biggest win of the Kenny Brooks era?

Big Blue Nation should have no complaints about the first season of the Kenny Brooks era. The former Virginia Tech head coach instantly restored the No. 14 Wildcats to relevance, bringing in a collection of high-caliber transfers, headlined by grad guard Georgia Amoore, to make women’s basketball fun again in Lexington. Included in the NCAA’s first top-16 reveal as a No. 4 seed, ESPN’s Charlie Creme currently projects Kentucky as a No. 3 seed.

A loss to LSU on Sunday would do little to hamper their resume. A win, however, would be a signature stamp of success, with the Wildcats announcing that they are not a team to be trifled with in the SEC or NCAA Tournaments.

Amoore’s performance also will be a test case for the Wildcats’ tourney potential. After a somewhat uneven start to the season due to an inconsistent 3-point stroke, she appeared to be rounding into form at the right time, finding her shot more frequently while also building improved chemistry with her supporting cast. Amoore was at her best in Kentucky’s best win (thus far), pouring in 43 points in the win at Oklahoma. But she struggled in losses to Ole Miss and Texas, two teams that, like LSU, possess multiple defenders who are some combination of long, quick, athletic and physical; in short, the type of players who can give the undersized Amoore trouble.