Women's basketball watchlist: 11/16 edition

Today feels like Christmas morning. It’s a heck of a slate with as many ‘must-watch’ games than there have been in the past two weeks of play.

BE SEATED AT ALL COSTS

These are the games you’re going to want to skip work for – the ones that will tell us a whole lot about the best of the best.

12pm: Ohio State at UConn (Peacock)

UConn continues to test itself early in the year. This time, it’s against a new-look Ohio State squad that’ll be looking for a statement win. Jaloni Cambridge can do it all for the Buckeyes, but is it enough to keep up with UConn’s slew of talent?

1pm: Princeton at Maryland (Big Ten+)

Princeton is off to a hot start this season with wins over Georgia Tech and Villanova. This test will be tougher as they face one of the best teams in the Big Ten. As Maryland regains some pieces back from injury, it’ll be interesting to see if Princeton can hold off the Terps in another road test.

1pm: TCU at NC State (ESPN)

We’ve got a fun rematch coming our way. TCU made national headlines last season when they beat NC State and the Wolfpack are coming for revenge. This is TCU’s first test of the season and I’ll certainly be watching.

3pm: Louisville at Clemson (ESPN2)

Conference play starts early as we have an ACC matchup between Louisville and Clemson. The Cardinals enter the game undefeated, but Shawn Poppie has the Tigers looking good this year. This is a game to keep an eye on, for sure.

5pm: Indiana at Florida State (ACCN)

This game could be sneaky interesting. These are two teams that are currently viewed as having slight retool years, but it’s still so early in the season. From a bird’s eye view, this should be fairly evenly-matched, but this is a great chance for either team to earn a seemingly solid win.

5pm: Stanford at Gonzaga (ESPN+)

Lastly, we’ve got a fun West Coast matchup. Gonzaga took a close loss to Colorado State on Thursday night, but they’re still a talented team who may be able to give some P5’s some trouble. Stanford’s freshmen have been impressive so far and I’m itching to see them play some high-level competition.

THIS COULD BE COMPETITIVE/FUN

These matchups are more than just your run-of-the-mill easy blowouts. While some of them have the potential to be, these games are an opportunity to see good teams test themselves early.

1pm: Iona at Davidson (ESPN+)

2pm: Duke at Liberty (ESPN+)

2pm: Villanova at James Madison (ESPN+)

2pm: Penn State at Saint Joseph’s (ESPN+)

2pm: Texas A&M at Kansas State (ESPN+)

3pm: Arkansas at Texas Tech (ESPN+)

3pm: Green Bay at Wisconsin (Big Ten+)

4pm: New Mexico at New Mexico State (ESPN+)

4pm: South Dakota at Idaho State (ESPN+)

5pm: Nevada at Saint Mary’s (ESPN+)

A DECENT LOOK AND/OR AT OPTIMAL TIMES

These games will either be a solid look at a team or they just fall at optimal times. If you’re in need of basketball to watch all day (like me), these are games to add to your list. 

1pm: Belmont at Dayton (ESPN+)

1pm: North Dakota State at Nebraska (BTN)

1pm: Florida at Navy (ESPN+)

2pm: Norfolk State at Iowa State (ESPN+)

2pm: East Carolina at High Point (ESPN+)

2pm: Radford at Virginia (ACC Extra)

2pm: Detroit Mercy at Toledo (ESPN+)

2pm: Fairleigh Dickinson at Rutgers (Big Ten+)

4pm: Arizona State at Santa Clara (ESPN+)

5pm: Army at Oregon (Big Ten+)

WATCH YOUR TEAM WIN A BLOWOUT

The rest of the games here will likely provide no true competitive value – but you never know. These games are just a look at some P5’s playing teams they should beat with ease. 

2pm: Western Michigan at Michigan State (Big Ten+)

2pm: Jacksonville State at Georgia (SECN+)

2pm: Wagner at Syracuse (ACC Extra)

3pm: Le Moyne at Baylor (ESPN+)

3pm: Iowa at Northern Iowa (ESPN+)

3pm: Jacksonville at Georgia Tech (ACCN)

3pm: Portland State at Colorado (ESPN+)

3:30pm: Oklahoma at Western Carolina (ESPN+)

4pm: Grambling at Arizona (ESPN+)

5pm: Texas Southern at Texas (SECN+)

5pm: Seton Hall at Pacific (ESPN+)