The best to ever do it
From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Hey, hey!
Tell Jeremy Allen White to watch out, because TV’s hottest new leading man is Chad Powers, the wannabe walk-on for Penn State football. Counting down the days until our next fave binge-watch is released.
— No. 8 Duke men’s basketball star Kyle Filipowski on Saturday’s rough run-in with court-storming fans after Wake Forest stunned Duke 83–79. Post-upset court-storming is unusually common this season, and Filipowski, who suffered a knee injury as a result, isn’t the only one worried that the trend is endangering athletes.
Guard the throne
🏀 Guard the throne
The GIST: Welcome to the final week of regular-season women’s basketball! Conference titles are about to be clinched — and a few are coming down to the wire.
The sure bets: No. 8 Virginia Tech and No. 2 Ohio State have already secured at least a piece of their respective titles, and it’s unlikely they’ll have to share. If VT chokes in their final two games, their only ACC challenger, No. 17 Syracuse, could steal a portion of the crown by beating No. 6 NC State on Thursday — no small task, even considering NC State’s shocking 69–58 loss to Duke last night.
- In the Big Ten, Ohio State can breathe a sigh of relief if they defeat an underwhelming Michigan on Wednesday. But if they’re upset, sole ownership of the title could come down to a dramatic showdown at challenger No. 4 Iowa on Sunday. Chills.
The chaos-makers: Like VT and Ohio State, No. 3 Stanford owns a piece of the final Pac-12 title. But after Friday’s stunning 68–61 loss to Arizona, they’ll need to pull their sh!t together to close the deal. No. 7 USC and No. 9 Oregon State could steal shares if they run the table, but they’re also in rough shape after upset losses last night. It’s unclear if anyone wants to win the Pac-12 at this point.
- The only Power Six conference title that’s truly up for grabs? The Big 12, where No. 23 Oklahoma holds a tenuous one-game lead over No. 5 Texas. The Sooners can claim sole ownership if they win Wednesday’s matchup against…you guessed it, Texas. Gulp.
The early birds: Two powerhouses have already locked down their trophies: No. 1 South Carolina and No. 15 UConn are both undefeated in conference play, placing them out of reach of their SEC and Big East rivals, respectively. Is anyone surprised?
Record-breakers
🏆 Breaking records and taking names
The GIST: With the NCAA postseasons for winter sports approaching, top athletes are pulling out all the stops to gain an edge, leading to shattered records on the court, track, pool deck, and mat this weekend.
🏀 Women’s basketball: No. 7 USC guard JuJu Watkins just can’t stop scoring. The freshman phenom sank over 30 points for the 11th time this season in Friday’s 87–81 win over No. 11 Colorado, setting a program record (amongst others). She extended that record in yesterday’s 74–68 upset loss to No. 18 Utah and became the Trojans’ top freshman scorer…ever.
- And while No. 4 Iowa senior guard Caitlin Clark chases Lynette Woodard’s all–Division I and Pete Maravich’s all–NCAA scoring records, UHSP senior Grace Beyer surpassed them all, notching 3,874 career points to own the NAIA women’s scoring title on Saturday. Buckets on buckets.
👟 Indoor track & field: Hello, Mr. Worldwide! No. 12 Georgia sophomore Christopher Morales Williams broke the men’s 400m world record (!!!) with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it time of 44.49 seconds at Saturday’s SEC Championships. Meanwhile, Texas A&M senior high-jumper Lamara Distin also made history as the first collegiate woman to clear 2m indoors. Holy hell.
🤸 Women’s gymnastics: No. 1 Oklahoma logged the Sooners’ highest-ever team score in Saturday’s 198.675–195.550 win over West Virginia. Setting a program record is always exciting, but for the two-time defending national champs and the nation’s No. 1 team for the past two seasons, it’s an especially BFD.
- As for individuals, No. 5 Florida junior Leanne Wong’s perfect floor routine sealed her Gators’ massive 198.150–197.950 upset of rival No. 2 LSU and made her the 15th NCAA gymnast to record a gym slam, aka a perfect score in all four events, on Saturday. Breathtaking.
🏊 Women’s swimming & diving: Another dynasty picked up a big win on Saturday: The No. 1 Virginia women, led by junior Gretchen Walsh and her four new NCAA records, secured their fifth straight ACC title. To quote the GOAT herself, “absolutely mind-blowing.”
Together With The GIST
🤓 The buck stops here
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🤔 Last week’s NCAA women’s volleyball rule change allowing double-contact — when a player hits the ball twice in a row — left players and fans scratching their heads, with many taking their complaints to TikTok all weekend.
⚖️ On Friday, a federal judge essentially eliminated the NCAA’s ability to enforce any name, image, and likeness (NIL) restrictions until the case brought by Tennessee’s and Virginia’s attorneys general is fully resolved. In other words, pay-for-play is here — for now.
⚾ In a weekend full of massive upsets, relative unknown Kennesaw State caused the biggest stir by opening up a can of whoop-ass on No. 10 Clemson, defeating the Tigers 18–1 on Friday. Although Clemson rallied to win the next two games and the series, the reputational damage is done.
🥎 It was a similar scene on the softball diamond, where Top-10 wins for No. 9 Stanford and Virginia Tech were overshadowed by No. 5 Tennessee’s 11–2 beatdown at the hands of Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
💌 Late UCLA legend John Wooden became the second college basketball head coach honored with a U.S. stamp on Saturday, joining the game’s inventor, James Naismith, in the exclusive club. Signed, sealed, and now delivered.
🐻 In even more good news for UCLA fans, their No. 2 beach volleyball and No. 1 women’s water polo teams won their ultra-competitive weekend tournaments: the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic and the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, respectively. Eight-freaking-clap.
🥍 The luck of the Fighting Irish failed miserably this weekend as Notre Dame’s No. 2 women’s and No. 1 men’s lacrosse teams were both upset at home. It’s the worst news for the Irish since discovering that Ayo Edebiri is actually from Boston.
Recs from our roster!
🏀 What to wear
Crocs. Specifically this basketball-themed pair in partnership with the NBA. Sport mode, activated.
🏎️ What to watch
Formula 1: Drive to Survive. Get revved up for an adrenaline-fueled new season, now streaming. Vroom vroom.
📚 What to read
Lessons in Chemistry. Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel about a brilliant female chemist in a man’s world is an absolute delight. Hungry for more? There’s also an Apple TV series based on the book.
Today's email was brought to you by Katie Kehoe Foster, Dee Lab, Emma Fernandez, Rachel Fuenzalida, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Lindsay Jost and Isabella Troia. Fact checking by Mikaela Perez. Ops by Lisa Minutillo and Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Lauren Tuiskula, and Dee Lab. Managing edits by Dee Lab and Katie Kehoe Foster. Head of Content Ellen Hyslop.