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The second rounds of Power Four conference tournaments will bring out the star power.
Some of the sports biggest, brightest, emerging and underrated stars will take the court across the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC tourneys. Here are five must-watch standouts who are more than capable of carrying their teams towards a conference tournament title.
It’s been 25 years since Georgia won a SEC Tournament title. Any chance of breaking that streak in 2026 begins with Dani Carnegie.
Named First Team All-SEC in her first season in the conference, Carnegie’s proficiency in the pick-and-roll and as a pull-up 3-point shooter has infused the Georgia offense with liveliness, which, along with an improved defense, lifted the Bulldogs to a sixth-place finish in the SEC. Carnegie led the Dawgs with 18.1 points per game, hitting over 37 percent of her more than seven 3s per game.
No. 6-seed Georgia’s tournament begins against No. 9-seed Kentucky (11 a.m. ET, SEC Network).
Despite sporting a higher ranking in the top 25 poll, with the Wildcats at No. 17 and the Bulldogs at No. 22, Kentucky had to begin their tournament in the first round, in part because of Georgia and Carnegie. The Dawgs upset the ‘Cats in Lexington in mid-January behind 19 points and eight assists from Carnegie.
Kentucky coasted to the 30-point first-round win over No. 16-seed Arkansas, led by a 20-point and 13-rebound double-double from Clara Strack, who recently earned a First Team All-SEC spot alongside Carnegie, in addition to an All-Defensive nod.
Expect a much more tightly-contested second-round showdown between the ‘Cats and the Dawgs.
Zack Ward recently detailed Jazzy Davidson’s freshman season at USC.
Although pocked with the ups and downs expected of a freshman, especially one a team that, without their superstar, was integrating multiple new pieces, the topline takeaways for Davidson are only encouraging.
She is the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and an All-Defensive selection, for a reason.
Davidson is fast becoming an expert at applying her elite length on both ends, helping her grab almost six boards, swipe two steals and swat more than two shot per game while also executing seemingly effortless drives to the basket that contributed to her almost 18 points per game.
An early-season game winner against NC State, an all-round effort in an upset of then-No. 8 Iowa and season-high 32 points in a near-upset of then-No. 10 Ohio State also suggest Davidson has the star juice to lead the Trojans on a deeper-than-anticipated Big Ten Tournament run.
No. 9-seed USC’s Big Ten tourney journey begins against No. 8-seed Washington (12 p.m. ET, BTN). The two teams played in early December, with Davidson registering a 22-point and 12-rebound double-double in the USC win.
Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame)
No one will be surprised if Hannah Hidalgo goes on an all-time heater, pouring in the points, collecting steal after steal, skying for improbable rebounds and dishing timely assists as she leds Notre Dame, the No. 5 seed in the ACC Tournament, all the way to the title.
The Fighting Irish will face No. 12-seed Miami in the second round (1: 30 p.m. ET, ACCN). The Hurricanes escaped in overtime against No. 13-seed Stanford in the first round thanks to a 25-point and 11-rebound double-double from Ra Shaya Kyle.
Hidalgo was just named the back-to-back ACC Player of the Year and the back-to-back-to-back ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Her averages of 25.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 5.6 steals capture the constant impact she has every second she is on the court.
When Notre Dame hosted Miami in mid-January, Hidalgo dropped 27 points on the ‘Canes, helping the Irish prevail with an eight-point win.
Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State)
The Big Ten Tournament is the perfect stage for Jaloni Cambridge to prove that she should have been Big Ten Player of the Year. The award instead went to UCLA’s Lauren Betts, who was not undeserving as she lived up to her reputation as a reliable two-way presence for the No. 1-seed Bruins.
Cambridge, in contrast, buzzes with upside and electricity for a No. 5-seeded Buckeye team that could earn a semifinal date with the Bruins on Saturday afternoon.
First, their tournament begins with a matchup against No. 13-seed Indiana (2:30 p.m. ET, BTN). The Hoosiers not only upset No. 12-seed Nebraska, but did so by coming back from 20 points down, with Shay Ciezki, just named First Team All-Big Ten, leading Indiana with 22 points.
Cambridge likewise was honored First Team All-Big Ten selection, unanimously, suggesting her 23.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and almost two steals per game still attracted plenty of attention. In mid-January, Cambridge’s 22 points and five assists led the Buckeyes to the 14-point home win over the Hoosiers.
If Cambridge gets cooking, Ohio State should advance with ease.
What began as a potentially history-smashing season for Audi Crooks, as Crooks reeled off games of more than 30 points on elite efficiency as the Cyclones started 14-0 and rose into the top 10, devolved into a disappointing one. Iowa State followed up their fast start with five-straight losses, falling out of the top 25.
Since then, it’s been an uneven Big 12 season for the Cyclones. And although Crooks could not maintain her historic pace, she still was excellent, with her 25.6 points per game on better than 65 percent shooting guaranteeing her a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First Team.
Crooks also might be returning to her top-tier form just in time for the Big 12 Tournament.
She closed out the Cyclones’ regular season with a 41-point and 13-rebound double-double, shooting over 84 percent from the field as Iowa State won by 14 points at Kansas State. It was Crooks’ third game of 40 or more points this season, but her first since the calendar turned to 2026.
Crooks and No. 7-seed Iowa State begin their quest for tournament glory against No. 10 Arizona State (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Sun Devils downed in-state rival Arizona, the No. 15-seed, in the first round, 54-51. Heloisa Carrera led ASU with 16 points, with the final two coming from a jumper that sealed the victory for the Sun Devils.
During the Big 12 regular season, the Cyclones enjoyed one of their smoothest wins over the Sun Devils, cruising to a 26-point home win as Crooks tallied a 28-point and 12-rebound double-double in 28 minutes.
