Texas head coach Vic Schaefer relegated Rori Harmon, his fifth-year point guard, to the bench in the fourth quarter of last month’s loss to LSU. On Thursday, he watched her exuberant on her home court, holding one of her six steals. The tongue out, combined with an overflowing of emotion, made for the perfect broadcast cutaway.
Harmon earned true redemption in a tale of two SEC matchups this year against LSU. She bore the brunt of the blame for a selfish display of undisciplined basketball that led to the Longhorns’ first loss of the year on Jan. 11. And she deserves much of the praise for the way she led Texas to its revenge in a 77-64 win over LSU that sent a message on Thursday. Their defense propelled the win, much like LSU’s did in the first, and Harmon led that charge. She set the program’s career steals record at 351, passing Linda Waggoner’s 346 set in 1980.
The Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List honoree has played plenty of strong games for the title contender. Without them, she wouldn’t be on as many player of the year lists as she is in her final collegiate season. Nor would Texas be in position to return to the Final Four.
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Yet, there’s something like proving oneself against the same opponent after previously faltering.
Which is why this is in defense of the rematches. The simmering, building tension. The tit-for-tat that impacts the scribble of a bracket builder. The circled games we all anticipate and the one-on-one matchups that drive a season’s worth of chatter.
There is a cohort tired of seeing the same teams play each other. When the NCAA Tournament field is released on Selection Sunday, a contingent will look inward and groan at an influx of rematches. Take last year’s Final Four game between Texas and South Carolina. It was the fourth of the year. Too many for some.
So, sure, a constant stream of the same teams becomes old rather quickly. To their point, slamming them into tight windows, rather than letting them breathe with time, is a bore. But it’s tough to argue that watching top teams with heat behind them meet again on the other’s court isn’t elite theater.
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Texas’ offense came to play in front of as difficult a crowd for LSU as the Tigers’ home crowd made it for them last month. They might have fully knocked the Tigers out of contention for the SEC regular season title and from a path to a No. 1 seed line in the NCAA Tournament. As for the Longhorns’ own aspirations, they further solidified their own top seed, growing into a stronger team ready for a Final Four return. LSU and Kim Mulkey now go back to the drawing board. A third meeting in the SEC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament would be worth it.
It’s true down the line. After Michigan nearly upset UCLA on Sunday, wouldn’t a rematch be more fun than watching the Bruins face Indiana, Washington or Wisconsin? They end with USC, its double-up opponent for the cross-city rivalry. Those are few and far between in bloated conferences, as Schaefer pointed out last month, even if some viewed it as a complaint or excuse.
The Ivy League conference schedule remains home-and-home matchups. Princeton has the opportunity to avenge its only league loss when it travels to Columbia (15-6, 6-2) on Friday (6 p.m. ET, ESPNU). The Lions swept the season series last year. The Tigers (19-2, 7-1) fell in the poll after that loss, but remain ranked for an eighth consecutive week.
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The Big 12 could come down to an elite-level rematch. Baylor (21-4, 10-2) hosts TCU (21-4, 9-3) on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) and travels to the reigning conference tournament champs in the final game of the regular season on March 1 (4 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Bears are in full control after the Horned Frogs lost two of the last three. They fell to Colorado, 80-79, on Sunday, a week after escaping Kansas, 79-77, and losing to Texas Tech, 62-60.
And in the ACC, the Duke-North Carolina rivalry begins its 2026 edition with the first meeting on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, ABC) in Durham, then moves to Chapel Hill for the season finale on March 1 (12 p.m. ET, ESPN). It won’t have the conference implications, but it will be an enjoyable watch.
Performance of the week: Meghan Anderson, Fairfield
Meghan Anderson’s career day fueled a record one for the program. Anderson, a junior “road runner” on the Fairfield roster, set the program’s single-game scoring record with 40 points in the 109-48 win over Marist on Thursday. The offensive output topped the previous mark set in 1991. The team hit 19 3-pointers, the third time this season they’ve reached or eclipsed that mark. Anderson shot 8-of-10 from the perimeter and 15-of-20 overall in 24 minutes.
The Stags (20-4, 14-1 MAAC) are battling for their NCAA Tournament life as a bubble team. They rank 54th in NET with a 2-2 record against Quad 1 opponents, but they’re trailing in the conference standings. Quinnipiac (20-4, 15-0) won the first head-to-head, 72-58, on the road and hosts Fairfield on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Bobcats rank 73rd in NET and could wrap up the automatic bid, forcing the Stags into concerning territory. They’ve reached the tournament in three of the last four years. Quinnipiac hasn’t competed since 2019.
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Stat of the week: NYU’s 82 consecutive wins
NYU (20-0) set the Division II record with its 82nd consecutive win on Sunday in a 69-58 victory over Carnegie Mellon (12-7) on the road. The Tartans are the only team to come close to knocking off NYU this season. They lost, 58-57, a week ago in New York and are one of two teams to keep the margin with the Violets in single digits. Case Western Reserve lost to NYU by eight two days ago. Only four teams total have come within single digits of NYU during the streak.
The win broke its tie with rival Washington University in St. Louis, which won 81 from 1998-2001. The Violets, aiming for a third consecutive national championship, are winning by an average of 36.5 points per game and haven’t lost since dropping an Elite Eight game to Transylvania on March 11, 2023. The overall consecutive wins record is 111, held by UConn. The Huskies also have a second-best 90-game win streak, which NYU could overtake this season.
Game of the week: South Carolina at LSU, Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
While the week is packed with elite matchups, particularly in the SEC, the pièce de résistance comes in primetime on Saturday. A rivalry between South Carolina and LSU has developed over the past few years, making every matchup a must-watch. Each is led by established, iconic personalities (Dawn Staley in South Carolina and Kim Mulkey at LSU). And it’s the first time LSU reserve guard MiLayshia Fulwiley will play her former team, with whom she won the 2024 national championship.
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It’s a fitting way to close Valentine’s Day — as long as you’re not on opposite sides.
Yahoo Sports’ AP Top 25 ballot
1. UConn
2. Texas
3. UCLA
4. South Carolina
5. LSU
6. Michigan
7. Oklahoma
8. Louisville
9. Vanderbilt
10. Ohio State
11. Baylor
12. Kentucky
13. Michigan State
14. Iowa
15. Duke
16. West Virginia
17. Ole Miss
18. TCU
19. Maryland
20. Princeton
21. Tennessee
22. Minnesota
23. Texas Tech
24. North Carolina
25. Rhode Island
Official AP Top 25 ballot
1. UConn
2. UCLA
3. South Carolina
4. Texas
5. Vanderbilt
6. LSU
7. Michigan
8. Ohio State
9. Louisville
10. Oklahoma
11. Duke
12. Baylor
13. Michigan State
14. Ole Miss
15. Iowa
16. Texas Tech
17. TCU
18. Kentucky
19. West Virginia
20. Maryland
21. North Carolina
22. Tennessee
23. Alabama
24. Princeton
25. Washington
