‘It’s a gauntlet.’ How Kentucky women’s basketball stacks up against SEC competition.
The Southeastern Conference has produced six national champions and five runners-up this century — and a women’s-college-basketball-high 11 all-time NCAA champions — but the league appears too top-heavy this season to declare it the country’s most competitive conference.
Early expectations of a reloaded LSU team headed for back-to-back titles were quickly tempered after a season-opening loss to Pac-12 contender Colorado — not to mention rumblings of off-court issues, the exit of veteran guard Kateri Poole and the Tigers’ possession of the weakest schedule in the SEC. But a streak of 13 straight wins, including a double-digit victory over ranked Virginia Tech, has set the Tigers (13-1) back on track.
As of Week 9, only South Carolina — ranked No. 1 in the AP poll and the NCAA NET rankings — has consistently wowed on the national stage. The Gamecocks (12-0) are one of just seven remaining undefeated teams in Division 1, and one of two SEC teams left in the AP Top 25 (LSU is No. 7 while Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt are each receiving votes).
All that to say, the path to an SEC championship — regular season or conference tournament — will be much easier for some than others. And, unfortunately for Kyra Elzy and the Kentucky Wildcats — who hold the league’s worst nonconference record in 2023-24 and haven’t yet won a road game — their path will probably be the most difficult, despite the team’s recent surprise success in the SEC Tournament.
Following UK’s 72-59 victory over Samford on Sunday, which pulled the Wildcats to 7-7 on the season, Elzy said the team is looking forward to conference play, but acknowledged its level of difficulty.
“The conference is what it is,” Elzy said. “It’s a gauntlet. And it’s going to be a dogfight day in and day out, we look forward to it. That’s why you come to the SEC: In order to be the best, you have to play against the best. Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do. But everybody’s competitors and that’s why we’re here, and so we’ll figure out a way. No one’s gonna hand you any wins, we’re gonna have to earn them.”
Kentucky tied for last place in the league at 2-14 in 2022-23.
This season, the Wildcats are No. 171 in the NET rankings, the only SEC team outside the top 80. Early losses to ASUN members Austin Peay and Florida Gulf Coast followed by three defeats in three days by an average of 30 points in the U.S. Virgin Islands to North Carolina State, Colorado and Cincinnati raised questions regarding the team’s ability to find its footing during Elzy’s fourth season at the helm. Kentucky bounced back to beat Boston College in the SEC/ACC Challenge and took now-No. 17 Louisville deep into the fourth quarter before losing, but it seems likely that Kentucky is in for a rough ride during conference play.
Here’s a look at each of the Wildcats’ 13 SEC opponents this season, sorted from UK’s toughest tests to its most winnable games. All rankings are NET unless otherwise indicated and measured through games of Dec. 31.
Biggest challenges
NET ranking: No. 1.
Notable wins: No. 4 Utah, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 29 Duke, No. 38 Maryland, No. 46 North Carolina, No. 80 South Dakota State, No. 81 East Carolina, No. 94 Clemson.
South Carolina vs. UK: Jan. 15 at Columbia; Feb. 25 at Rupp Arena.
▪ For Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks, the 2023-24 campaign has been business as usual. Thanks to its 101-71 rout of Notre Dame in Paris to start the season (and every victory since), South Carolina has quieted any doubters who felt anybody else deserved to sit atop the national rankings.
No team in Division I boasts a larger point differential (+41.1) than the Gamecocks. Nobody blocks more shots per game (9.6). They’re tied for first in the nation with Georgia Southern at 50.7 rebounds per game and rank third in field goal percentage at 51.8 percent. All of this has been accomplished against one of the nation’s most challenging schedules.
Anchored by veteran center Kamilla Cardoso (13.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game) and her supporting cast of freshman MiLaysia Fulwylie (12.1 points), Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao (12.0 points) and sophomore Raven Johnson (8.9 points, 5.9 assists, 2.5 steals) along with sophomore forwards Chloe Kitts (10.8 points) and Ashlyn Watkins (9.3 points), South Carolina has given every indication that it intends to defend its conference title. And maybe even make a run for another national championship.
The biggest threats to the Gamecocks probably won’t show themselves until March Madness begins, but their young core remains a possible weakness when the going gets tough.
NET ranking: No. 16.
Notable wins: No. 13 Virginia Tech, No. 73 Virginia.
LSU vs. UK: March 3 at Baton Rouge.
▪ Kentucky does not meet LSU until the final game of the regular season, which gives the Wildcats ample time to prepare for the reigning national champs. The issue? No amount of time may be enough for this apparent mismatch.
The Tigers, who just wrapped up a nonconference schedule featuring nine wins versus opponents ranked outside of the NET top 200, look quite different from the roster that hoisted the national championship trophy at the end of last season — but that doesn’t mean this team is any less talented. Despite the aforementioned departure of Poole, as well as guard Sa’Myah Smith’s season-ending knee injury, LSU seems in good enough shape to stay undefeated in conference play at least until it hosts South Carolina on Jan. 25.
Early questions regarding roster chemistry appear to have worked themselves out, at least against teams LSU was expected to beat. To their credit, the Tigers handled their business against No. 13 Virginia Tech when the Hokies came to town at the end of November, picking up a confidence-building 18-point victory. While the competition hasn’t offered many tests, last season’s nonconference schedule didn’t, either.
Five Tigers are averaging double-figure scoring, led by 2023 Final Four Most Outstanding Player Angel Reese with 19.6 points and 11.0 rebounds, transfer guard Aneesah Morrow (DePaul) who contributes 18.4 points and 9.5 rebounds and freshman Mikaylah Williams who averages 19.1 points. Like against South Carolina, opponents will need to decide whom they’d like to focus on defensively. LSU averages a nation-leading 95.1 points per game, so the question isn’t how to stop the Tigers — it’s how to keep up with them.
Tall tasks
NET ranking: No. 58.
Notable wins: No. 45 Iowa State, No. 83 Fairfield.
Vanderbilt vs. UK: Jan. 11 at Rupp Arena.
▪ Picked to finish last in the preseason media poll, Vanderbilt was a surprise success story in nonconference play. With seven wins against teams rated within the NET’s top 200, Shea Ralph’s Commodores have already surpassed last season’s win total (12). The team’s sole nonconference loss came against No. 11 North Carolina State by a mere eight points in the process of holding the ACC favorite to its third-lowest point total of the season.
Vanderbilt benefits from the one-two punch of guard Jordyn Cambridge, who missed last season due to injury and now leads the Commodores in points (14.8), assists (4.6) and ranks first in the SEC in steals (4.6), and forward Sacha Washington, who contributes 14.6 points while leading the team in rebounds (8.6) and blocks (1.7). While there’s plenty of distance between this tier and the first one, Vanderbilt has earned the right to command respect.
NET ranking: No. 24.
Notable wins: No. 50 California, No. 55 Kansas, No. 88 North Texas.
Texas A&M vs. UK: Feb. 11 at Rupp Arena.
▪ The Aggies’ 12 nonconference wins were all by double digits, including five opponents in the NET top 150. Not too shabby, especially for a program in only its second season under Joni Taylor, the first of which resulted in an overall record of 9-20 and a tie with Kentucky at the bottom of the SEC standings.
Taylor, who put together a respectable resume at Georgia prior to her hiring in College Station, knows how to succeed in the SEC. While this team shouldn’t be expected to compete in the upper third of the league standings, Taylor’s work in recruiting and identifying talent (both out of high school and the transfer portal) cannot go unnoticed, and is already pushing the Aggies in the right direction.
A major key in stopping Texas A&M is the same as last season: Forward Janiah Barker cannot be allowed to go off; the sophomore is averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game. This year, she’s joined by a trio of transfers in double-figure scoring: guards Aicha Coulibaly (Auburn) and Endyia Rogers (Oregon) average 11.5 points and 10.5 points, respectively, while forward Lauren Ware (Arizona) averages 11.4 points and a team-high 9.5 rebounds.
Texas A&M, whose only loss was against No. 68 Purdue on Nov. 16, prides itself on defense, and the facts back it up: The Aggies rank second in the nation in points allowed (48.8 per game).
The Aggies are a long way from where they’d like to be, but they’re certainly on their way.
NET ranking: No. 25.
Notable wins: No. 26 Louisville.
Alabama vs. UK: Jan. 28 at Tuscaloosa.
▪ Alabama made naysayers take another look when it earned its first ranked win since 2021 with a five-point victory at Louisville on Nov. 24. And there’s a lot to like about this Crimson Tide roster, which stands undefeated at home, and has two of the more forgiving losses across the league in No. 15 Gonzaga and No. 42 Syracuse.
Jessica Timmons, a guard who arrived at Alabama after two seasons with N.C. State, averages 11.6 points. Former five-star forward Essence Cody leads the Crimson Tide in both rebounds (7.1) and blocks (1.9) in addition to scoring 9.1 points.
Sarah Ashlee Barker, the team’s leading scorer at 15.6 points alongside fellow seniors Aaliyah Nye (13.6 points, 2.1 steals) and Loyal McQueen (9.9 points, 3.1 assists), ground this Alabama offense. These seniors also set the tone defensively; the Crimson Tide ranks No. 11 in points allowed (51.7).
NET ranking: No. 32.
Notable wins: No. 66 Colorado State, No. 76 Belmont, No. 94 Clemson.
Mississippi State vs. UK: Feb. 1 at Rupp Arena; Feb. 22 at Starkville.
▪ Despite lacking in top-50 wins — and losing to both No. 44 Miami (Fla.) and No. 101 Chattanooga — Mississippi State poses a threat to take third place in the SEC when it’s all said and done.
JerKaila Jordan (17.2), Jessika Carter (15.1), Debreasha Powe (11.6) and Seton Hall transfer Lauren Park-Lane (10.4), average double-figure scoring, and Park-Lane ranks in the top 20 in assists per game (6.1), Mississippi State is a better team than its results suggest — particularly when Park-Lane gets going; in the Bulldogs’ Dec. 20 victory at Colorado State, she recorded 33 points and six assists.
NET ranking: No. 69.
Notable wins: No. 41 Florida State, No. 60 Illinois.
Arkansas vs. UK: Jan. 4 at Rupp Arena; Jan. 25 at Fayetteville.
▪ Outside of the obvious stain on its schedule, a four-point loss to No. 161 Arkansas-Pine Bluff at home, Arkansas has put together a respectable nonconference resume. Nobody in the SEC has more top-200 wins than the Razorbacks, who earned 10 before the new year. Of course, with a solid slate of competition comes arduous matchups: both No. 34 Marquette and No. 5 UCLA handed Arkansas double-digit L’s.
Like UK, Arkansas doesn’t have a ton of depth. But what coach Mike Neighbors does have, he gets a lot out of. Freshman Taliah Scott, leads her team and the SEC in scoring at 23.0 points per game — eighth-best in the nation. Arkansas’ core is also more balanced than Kentucky’s. In addition to Scott, three Razorbacks — guards Samara Spencer (11.9 points), Saylor Poffenbarger (10.5 points and a second-in-the-nation 12.7 rebounds) and Makayla Daniels (10.4 points) — average double-figure scoring. Forward Maryam Dauda contributes 8.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and a team-high 1.9 blocks.
NET ranking: No. 62
Notable wins: No. 35 Michigan, No. 47 Arizona.
Ole Miss vs. UK: Feb. 29 at Rupp Arena.
▪ It’s hard to know what to make of Ole Miss after a rockier nonconference than many expected fresh off one of the Rebels’ best NCAA Tournament performances in program history and equipped with a group of high-profile transfers. The late-November loss of transfer guard KK Deans (Florida) left the Rebels down one of their most reliable weapons, and the team found itself entering the new year with a respectable loss to No. 17 Louisville, a hard-fought loss to Oklahoma and a head scratcher to Southern Mississippi.
But Yolett McPhee-McCuin has her program on an upward trajectory, and the lessons that come with frustrating losses could be enough to lift Ole Miss closer to what was expected in the new year.
The Rebels are led by double-figure scorers Marquesha Davis (11.4), Snudda Collins (10.8) and Madison Scott (10.1).
NET ranking: No. 43.
Notable wins: No. 35 Michigan, No. 53 Georgia Tech, No. 65 Purdue, No. 68 Columbia.
Florida vs. UK: Feb. 18 at Rupp Arena.
▪ The Gators average 79.8 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting, led by a handful of offensive weapons ready to step up and serve as major contributors. Most important is senior guard Aliyah Matharu. The Texas transfer returned to the court this season after sitting out 2022-23 due to transfer rules. Matharu, who played at Mississippi State prior to Texas, ranks second in the SEC in scoring (19.0) and sixth in steals (2.4), and leads Florida with 3.2 assists per game.
Florida’s potential this season feels much higher than last, when the Gators won five conference games. Ra Shaya Kyle, the SEC’s second-leading rebounder at 10.1, is a big part of that. Kyle also averages 13.3 points while shooting a team-high 59.1 percent. Guard Leilani Correa also contributes 13.3 points, and freshman Laila Reynolds’ 9.7 points, as well as junior guard Alberte Rimdal’s 9.1, help round out the Gators’ well-balanced attack.
A four-point loss to archrival Florida State (No. 41) is understandable but top-150 defeats to No. 108 Tulsa and No. 121 Marshall highlight a couple of weaknesses. No player in the SEC turns the ball over more than Matharu (3.8 per game). Catch Florida on a cold-shooting night, or, better yet, stall its fast-paced offense, and pulling off a win is more than possible.
NET ranking: No. 74.
Notable wins: No. 71 Oklahoma.
Tennessee vs. UK: Jan. 7 at Knoxville.
▪ Tennessee’s nonconference schedule subverted expectations for a veteran roster picked to finish third in the SEC. Fortunately, for the Lady Vols — and unfortunately for its SEC competitors — Tennessee’s weak points had much to do with injuries. Star forward, and likely top-10 2024 WNBA draft pick, Rickea Jackson is back in the lineup after missing eight games with a lower leg injury. Her ability to take control against high-level competition and set her teammates up for success was sorely missed in all but one of the Lady Vols’ losses.
Jackson’s return, as well as the continued improvement shown by Tamari Key (who missed the majority of last season due to blood clots in her lungs), bode well for a Tennessee team hungry to make up for its five losses. Four of the Lady Vols’ losses came against top-50 teams: No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 18 Indiana and No. 41 Florida State. Their fifth loss was to No. 59 Middle Tennessee, an 11-point defeat faced without Jackson or forward Jillian Hollingshead.
However, the biggest blow to the Lady Vols was the season-ending lower leg injury to transfer Destinee Wells (Belmont), a reliable guard with great court vision.
It bodes well for UK that the annual matchup against Tennessee will take place sooner rather than later, while the Lady Vols still rank last among conference teams in points allowed per game (71.1) — just slightly worse than UK, which allows 69.8 points. Sunday’s game at Thompson-Boling could be a statement-making opportunity for the Wildcats as the Lady Vols work their way toward their full potential.
Best matchups
NET ranking: No. 63.
Notable wins: No. 22 Washington State, No. 94 Clemson.
Auburn vs. UK: Feb. 15 at Auburn.
▪ After back-to-back losses in mid-November to No. 50 California and No. 93 UCF, Auburn has won eight straight games, including an upset victory over No. 22 Washington State. The Tigers are finding their rhythm, and, with fellow rebounding program Tennessee up first on Thursday, that chemistry is right on time.
The issue is, the Tigers have only one player who averages double-digit scoring. And, when SEC opponents are planning for Auburn, it’s guaranteed they’ll start with graduate guard Honesty Scott-Grayson, who leads the team with 15.4 points. Shut down Scott-Grayson and limit JaMya Mingo-Young, who averages 9.1 points and a team-high 4.6 assists per game, and Auburn doesn’t have the same juice it had in its upset victory over the Cougars.
NET ranking: No. 75.
Notable wins: No. 60 Illinois, No. 76 Belmont.
Missouri vs. UK: Jan. 21 at Rupp Arena.
▪ Freshman Grace Slaughter, graduate Hayley Frank and senior Mama Dembele rank in the SEC’s top 15 in minutes played with at least 29.5 per game. Frank leads the team in three major categories with 16.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per contest. Slaughter contributes 11.3 points, while Dembele averages 9.8 points and a team-leading 6.6 assists and 3.4 steals.
Frank (2.1) also ranks within the top 10 of made three-pointers per game, alongside sophomore Ashton Judd (1.8), the team’s second-leading scorer at 14.4, and freshman Abbey Schreacke (1.8), who averages 8.9 points.
Mizzou’s inexperience has led to missteps this season. Overwhelm the Tigers’ younger players, and a large-enough scoring run could make a real difference for Kentucky.
NET ranking: No. 79.
Notable wins: No. 65 Purdue, No. 68 Columbia.
Georgia vs. UK: Feb. 4 at Athens.
▪ Each of the Bulldogs’ four losses came at the hands of top-100 teams. Its worst loss, to No. 98 Ball State, was by a basket. Its best, to No. 29 Duke, went to overtime. While none of these losses are cause for concern, it is noteworthy that Georgia averages just 69.4 points per game.
Katie Abrahamson-Henderson is in her second season at UGA, and, for the time being, she relies heavily on veterans Zoesha Smith, who averages 11.5 points per game, and Javyn Nicholson. Nicholson, in her fifth season with the Bulldogs, averages 16.3 points and 9.8 rebounds, ranking among the SEC’s top 10 in both categories.
If UK were to swarm Nicholson while effectively executing its offense, the Wildcats might have a puncher’s chance at picking up a road win.
Thursday
What: SEC opener for both teams
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Rupp Arena
TV: SEC Network+ (online only)
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Arkansas 12-3, Kentucky 7-7
Series: Kentucky leads 26-15
Last meeting: Arkansas won 71-50 on Jan. 1, 2023, at Memorial Coliseum
