Where the Power conferences sit a week before NCAA women’s basketball conference tourneys

The GIST: Welcome to the last week of the regular season, where squads are frantically jockeying to finish strong in the standings. On the line? Regular-season titles (which go to the team or teams with the best in-conference record) and seeding for next week’s conference tourneys.

• Here’s how things are shaking out in the top conferences as we near the finish line. Buckle your seat belt — we’re in for a wild week.

ACC: No. 1 Notre Dame would have locked down the title and No. 1 seed yesterday, but despite guard Sonia Citron’s heroics, the Irish suffered their first ACC loss, a 104–95 double-overtime (OT) L to No. 13 NC State. With the upset, the Wolfpack move to just one game behind ND and could steal or split the championship if the Irish stumble again. In the hunt, indeed.

Big 12: This race is crowded at the top: Not only are No. 10 TCU and No. 19 Baylor tied atop the standings, but they’re just two of five squads who could feasibly win the ’ship. Baylor has a high-risk, high-reward week ahead: They can claim the crown with a win over No. 12 Kansas State tonight at 7 p.m. ET and against TCU on Sunday.

Big East: The aforementioned Auriemma’s Huskies, as per usual, are the top dog here, but they’re just one game ahead of No. 23 Creighton. They can win the title outright with a dub against…you guessed it, the Bluejays, on Thursday. Living for the drama.

Big Ten: West Coast, best coast? One of the Big Ten’s LA schools, either No. 3 UCLA or No. 4 USC, is guaranteed to win the championship their first season in the mainly Midwestern conference. Assuming UCLA survives Wednesday’s road game at unranked Wisconsin, it’ll all come down to a Saturday rematch between these two neighboring powerhouses. A hoops lover’s dream.

SEC: The SEC is also as tight as can be. No. 6 South Carolina holds a narrow lead, but it’s extremely likely to turn into a tie if No. 2 Texas beats a troubled Georgia tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Also in the conversation is No. 7 LSU, who took No. 14 Kentucky out of contention with yesterday’s 65–58 road win. Cutthroat doesn’t even begin to cover it.