Unrivaled: Lunar Owls-Rose rematch is the game of the season

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The most-anticipated game of the Unrivaled season is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET on Friday night. It’s the third and final matchup between Lunar Owls and Rose, the top two clubs in the standings and Swish Appeal’s Unrivaled Power Rankings.

But more than the clubs’ statuses at the top of the league, the result of the previous game between the two, when Rose handed Lunar Owls their first loss, makes Friday’s matchup so intriguing. And Rose not only won, but they also made sure to let everyone know that they did not give a hooty hoo about the Owls’ perfection.

Before that, the clubs at the bottom of the standings meet, with fifth-place Laces taking on sixth-place Phantom at 7:15 p.m. ET. Laces won the prior two matchups, one via blowout and one more closely-contested. A third win over the Ghost Gang is necessary for Laces to put themselves in position for a playoff berth. With all players but Kate Martin, who seems to be out for the season, expected to be available for Laces, any thing less than another authoritative win would be disappointing.

Lunar Owls are out for revenge, but can Rose do it again?

After stumbling out to a 1-4 start to the season, Rose have been resurgent, establishing themselves as Unrivaled’s second-best club, a standing certified by their win over Lunar Owls on Feb. 21. Rose approached that game, and the postgame, without apology, taking the fight to Lunar Owls and then (deservedly) flaunting their victory.

The defeat, followed by the postgame display, is sure to have Owls motivated to exact swift and stringent revenge.

Skylar Diggins-Smith, whose seething level of intensity stands out in the Unrivaled setting, will have her team fired up and ready to fire on all cylinders. She’s already offered a response to Rose, declaring her club “has been carrying this league since day one,” implicitly crediting Owls for inspiring Rose to raise their level of play and preparation.

But for Diggins-Smith, it’s not just about attitude or antics; she is playing her best ball of the Unrivaled season, scoring 25 points or more in the three games since Owls lost to Rose. And she’s been doing so efficiently, shooting better than 52 percent from the field in all three contests.

Although they might not outwardly exult like Diggins-Smith or Lunar Owls’ reserve Courtney Williams, the club’s other two starters also are killers, with Allisha Gray doing so with silence and Napheesa Collier with a smile. Collier, of course, has compiled an unanimous MVP-caliber season, while Gray also ranks in the top six in scoring league wide.

There is not a better Unrivaled trio than that of Collier, Gray and Diggins-Smith, and it’s likely that they’ll be at their very best on Friday.

To counter a highly-motivated Owls side, Rose could use the services of Kahleah Copper and Azurá Stevens. Copper hasn’t played since the midseason break for the 1-on-1 Tournament, with reporting suggesting that she may remain absent for awhile; Stevens hasn’t played since Feb. 18. Although the club has established a nice groove without them, Copper’s dynamic scoring and Stevens’ extra size could be valuable.

That lack of another big, in particular, puts pressure on Angel Reese to have another big game. She certainly did in Rose’s win over Owls, posting Unrivaled’s first, and thus far only, 20-20 game, with 22 points and 21 rebounds. Another monster night, combined with another masterclass from Chelsea Gray, will be necessary for Rose to again take down Lunar Owls. And if they do, they can hooty hoo and holler all they want.

A peak at Saturday’s playoff-significant slate

With both Lunar Owls and Rose off until Monday, Saturday’s games will involve significant playoff implications.

As clarified by Unrivaled, playoff seeding tiebreakers first will be determined by head-to-head matchups. The second tiebreaker is record against playoff teams, with point differential serving as the third tiebreaker. If things get really crazy, a coin flip will decide seeding.

Laces, who will hope to be coming off a win over Phantom, will meet surging Mist at 6 p.m. ET. The clubs split the previous matchups, meaning the winner will claim the critical head-to-head tiebreaker. After that, Vinyl will aim to maintain their hold on third place with a victory over Phantom at 7 p.m. ET. With a season-long point differential of -20, Vinyl should not just be striving for a win, but for a big win.