The storm before the storm

The GIST: As legendary Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said, the regular-season slate is wiped clean when single-elimination conference tournaments begin — and this week served as a perfect reminder of that as last night’s shocking scores set up some unexpected matchups today.

Big Ten: No. 5–seed Wisconsin Badgers vs. No. 4–seed Northwestern Wildcats, 2:30 p.m. ET (BTN): The once-high-flying Badgers hit a buzzsaw in early February, dropping eight of their last 11 regular-season games. But they showed signs of their January peak in last night’s 87–56 smackdown of No. 12 Maryland. If they take down the ’Cats, we’ll officially call it a comeback.

SEC: No. 5–seed South Carolina Gamecocks vs. No. 4–seed Auburn Tigers, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN): These were two of the four squads who were tied for second in the cutthroat SEC’s regular season, but their February 14th meeting was anything but close: Auburn wrecked the Gamecocks’ seven-game win streak in a 101–61 slaughtering. Will the Tigers double down, or will SC do revenge?

Big East: No. 7–seed Providence Friars vs. No. 3–seed Marquette Golden Eagles, 8 p.m. ET (FS1): Creighton was considered No. 1 UConn’s only real challenger for the Big East title…until Providence downed them in last night’s 78–73 stunner. If the Friars can also upstage Marquette tonight, who’s to say they can’t be the ones to go all the way?

ACC: No. 10–seed NC State Wolfpack vs. No. 3–seed Virginia Cavaliers, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN): The Cavaliers should have their guard all the way up — NC State pulled off one of the week’s biggest upsets in last night’s 74–69 ousting of No. 2 Duke, and Virginia, who narrowly escaped their own upset last night, is not nearly as intimidating as the Blue Devils.

The GIST: The list of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Award — one of college hoops’ most prestigious MVP awards — dropped yesterday. The stand-outs? The only underclassmen: Three freshmen guards who already led their squads to conference tourney titles. Tough.

JuJu Watkins, No. 3 USC: Watkins’ February 2nd 51-point game broke the internet, but this hometown hero’s been putting up wild numbers all season long. She has almost twice as many points as USC’s next-best scorer as she’s broken record after record after record.

• The most impressive one? Most points as a freshman in NCAA Division I (DI) women’s history, a record previously held by No. 2 Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark. In fact, Clark’s the only player with more points per game (PPG) than Watkins this season. Elite company.

Hannah Hidalgo, No. 9 Notre Dame: While Watkins is a scoring machine, DI’s No. 3 PPG scorer Hidalgo is a firecracker on both sides of the court. She leads the division in steals with 147 (!!!) and trails only veteran forward Maddy Westbeld in rebounds for Notre Dame…despite being only 5-foot-6. The only thing more fun to watch than her drives to the rack is her infectious joy.

Madison Booker, No. 5 Texas: When junior guard Rori Harmon went down with a torn ACL in late December, the Longhorns called on Booker to step up, and Texas’ new star was born. The first freshman to win Big 12 Player of the Year led the Longhorns to a phenomenal season — and, maybe, a national No. 1 seed on Sunday.

• Booker’s known for protecting the ball in high-stakes games and (perhaps you’re sensing a pattern here) being an absolute bucket.

Zooming out: While these three young players’ seasons have stunned, their real test will be under March Madness’ spotlight, which rewards poise and experience. If they can keep their cool and run deep into the NCAA tourney, their superstardom will be set. And the future of NCAA women’s hoops? It’s bright AF.

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👟 Outdoor track & field: Wes Kittley Invitational — Today and tomorrow at various times — Live results here

• Fresh off Saturday’s indoor national championship, Texas Tech’s No. 2 men open spring’s outdoor season today at 1:30 p.m. ET. No rest for the wicked winners.

🏒 Men’s hockey: No. 5–seed Omaha Mavericks (20-10-4) vs. No. 4–seed Colorado College Tigers (20-11-3) — Today at 9 p.m. ET — NCHC.tv

• The six men’s hockey conference tournaments take the ice this weekend, highlighted by the ultra-competitive, best-of-three NCHC quarter-finals. This is the conference’s — maybe the country’s — most evenly matched opening series.

🏒 Women’s hockey: No. 4–seed Clarkson Golden Knights (32-4-2) vs. No. 5–seed Minnesota Golden Gophers (27-9-2) — Tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET — ESPN+

• When these golden gals meet in tomorrow’s national tournament regional final, it’ll be their third head-to-head matchup, and first since 2017. In other words, no one knows what to expect — other than some top-notch hockey.

🤸 Women’s gymnastics: No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-3-1) vs. No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners (24-0) — Sunday at 4 p.m. ET — ESPN2

• Many teams (24, to be exact) have tried to catch Oklahoma this season, but the back-to-back reigning champs are just too good. Even by their sky-high standards, this season is one of the Sooners’ best — not even the football team can believe their eyes. Our advice for the Tide? Duck and cover.