Nov. 6 (UPI) — Defending national champion LSU and runner-up Iowa will be among the top teams in action Monday, when nearly 300 women’s basketball programs tip off their 2023-24 seasons.
All-American forward Angel Reese and top-ranked LSU will host No. 20 Colorado at 7:30 p.m. EST in Las Vegas. That game will air on TNT. Star guard Caitlin Clark, the reigning National Player of the Year, and No. 3 Iowa will host Fairleigh Dickinson at 7:30 p.m. in Iowa City.
“We’re not going to go undefeated,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey told reporters Thursday after the Tigers’ final exhibition game. “Colorado is more poised than us right now. Colorado is playing LSU at the right time. I really believe that.
“They are that good.”
The No. 12 Ole Miss Rebels will be the first ranked team to take the floor. They will host Queens University at noon on the SEC Network. No. 6 South Carolina will play No. 10 Notre Dame in the first matchup of the season between ranked teams. That will be held in Pari and will air at 1 p.m. on ESPN.
No. 7 Ohio State will host No. 21 USC at 2 p.m. on truTV.
Eight of the Top 10 and 18 of the Top 25 teams will be in action Monday. No. 11 Tennessee and No. 23 Illinois will tip off their seasons Tuesday. No. 2 UConn, No. 13 Texas, No. 15 Stanford, No. 16 North Carolina will start their seasons Wednesday. No. 9 Indiana will host Eastern Illinois on Thursday in Bloomington.
The LSU Tigers, who went 34-2 last season en route to their first championship, are favored to win another title. The UConn Huskies, Iowa Hawkeyes, Indiana Hoosiers and Utah Utes are among the other Top 5 expected contenders.
The South Carolina Gamecocks, Ohio State Buckeyes, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Stanford Cardinal and UCLA Bruins are among other title favorites.
Clark, Reese and UConn guard Paige Bueckers are favorites to win the Wooden Award, given to the top player in college basketball.
South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso, Indiana forward Mackenzie Holmes, Virginia Tech center Elizabeth Kitley, Stanford forward Cameron Brink and Utah forward Alissa Pili are expected to be the other top players to watch this season.
Guards Hailey Van Lith, who transferred this off-season from Louisville, and Aneesah Morrow are among the top players who will play alongside Reese at LSU.
The 2024 Division I women’s basketball tournament will start March 20. The Final Four and national title game will be April 5 and 7, respectively.
Notable openers
Monday
Queens University at Ole Miss at noon on SEC Network
Notre Dame vs. South Carolina at 1 p.m. on ESPN
USC vs. Ohio State at 2 p.m. on truTV
High Point at Virginia Tech at 5 p.m. on ACC Network
Mississippi Valley State at Utah at 6 p.m.
Louisville at Cincinnati at 6 p.m. on ESPN+
Charleston Southern at Florida State at 6 p.m. on ACC Network
Harvard at Maryland at 7 p.m.
North Dakota State at Creighton
Cal Poly at Washington State
Colorado at LSU at 7:30 p.m. on TNT
Fairleigh Dickinson at Iowa at 7:30 p.m.
Alcorn State at Mississippi State at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+
Southern at Baylor at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
Purdue at UCLA at 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Florida A&M at Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+
Morehead State at Illinois at 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Dayton at UConn at 7 p.m.
Gardner-Webb at North Carolina at 7 p.m. on ACC Network
Southern at Texas at 8 p.. on Longhorn Network
Hawaii at Stanford at 10 p.m.
Thursday
Eastern Illinois at Indiana at 7 p.m.
