The Guru’s National NCAAW Roundup: The Arrival of 2026 Brings Unbeatens Getting Knocked Off and Other Upsets

 By Mel Greenberg

The last whiffs of the 2025 part of the season nationally on Wednesday was a calm business as usual operation among outcomes and occurrences of ranked teams.

Continued stellar performances, mostly in the Big 12, were executed and the atmosphere was upset free in the six games beyond No. 4 UCLA’s lopsided win at Penn State chronicled in the local report posted earlier.

No. 1 UConn (14-0, 5-0) took a short road trip in New England to what used to be a big-time meeting in the Big East when the Huskies were still just at the Mendoza line as a program playing Providence (8-7, 1-3) and handled the Friars 90-53 as Azzi Fudd scored 18 points and Sarah Strong collected 17 for the team’s 30th straight win across two seasons.

Next up is a Seton Hall visit Saturday.

In the Big Ten No. 19 Ohio State (12-2, 2-1) offered a sisters act in an 83-56 romp at Purdue (8-6, 0-3) in West Lafayette, Ind., as Kennedy Cambridge scored 16 points and Jaloni scored 14 while freshman Kylee Kitts had nine points and 10 boards.

The Boilermakers were led by Madison Layden-Zay with 17 points and eight rebounds.

The visiting Buckeyes headed back to Columbus to await hosting Rutgers at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the Big Ten.

As for the Big 12 quartet of attractions, don’t stop this report if you heard this four times previous this season: Audi Crooks made it five straight games reaching 30 points for No. 10 Iowa State (14-0, 2-0), this time 35 points with 13 rebounds as the Cyclones took an 80-62 win at Houston (6-7, 0-2), while Jada Williams had 16 points and a career-high 14 assists.

Crooks was 17-for-21 from the field as her nation-leading active streak of double-digit games reached 80.

The next one for Iowa State could be interesting hosting No. 22 Baylor Sunday.

The Bears (12-3, 1-1) won their game by a slimmer margin with a second-half rally from a 19-point deficit to prevail 77-68 at former ranked team Oklahoma State (12-3, 1-1) as Taliah Scott scored 24 points and Jana Van Gytenbeek scored eight of her 17 points in the fourth quarter.

The Cowgirls, who next host Houston Saturday, got 14 points each from from Achol Akot and Micah Gray while Akot also grabbed 10 rebounds and 14 of Jadyn Wooten’s 16 points came in the first half.

You also heard this one many times before, but not all associated from the same program. That would be Notre Dame transfer Olivia Miles, who had her tenth career triple double with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists leading No. 8 TCU (14-0, 2-0) to a 72-48 win at BYU (12-2, 1-1) in Provo, Utah. Clara Silva was the top scorer for the Horned Frogs with 15 points and she had seven boards.

BYU ‘s Sydney Benally scored 18 points.

TCU stays in the same state Saturday to pop over to Salt Lake City and play Utah while BYU will host Arizona State (15-0, 2-0) which nipped host Utah 69-68 matching the Sun Devils’ all-time win streak.

No. 21 Texas Tech (15-0, 2-0) wrapped it up 73-55 win over visiting UCF (8-5, 0-2) in Fort Worth, the Lady Raiders’ best start since since 2003-04, also the first 2-0 start in the Big 12 since the same season.

Jalynn Bristow had 21 points for the winners, while Snudda Collins scored 15.

Next for Texas Tech is a Kansas visit Sunday.

Upsets Occur and Unbeatens Fall as 2026 Arrives on the Calendar

That was 2025 and now its 2026 the rest of the season and suddenly unbeaten teams and others started taking hits especially the SEC crowd who began conference play Thursday night in which that No. 5 LSU (14-1) team that was winning its games reaching triple digit numbers got stunned 80-78 at home in Baton Rouge by No. 11 Kentucky (14-1) on Georgia Tech transfer Tonie Morgan’s 3-pointer with 0.5 left in regulation.

Former Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin, now in charge at LSU, walked into the arena holding hands with Tigers women’s coach Kim Mulkey.

Morgan finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds while Asia Boone’s five 3-pointers led the way to her collecting 18 points, while Clara Strack scored 15 and Teonni Key had 17 points and 16 rebounds.

LSU’s Mikaylah Williams scored 26 points, including three foul shots for a 78-77 lead with 18.5 seconds left. Flau’jae Johnson scored 15 and Jada Richard and Amiya Joiner each scored 14 points.

On Sunday, Kentucky hosts Missouri snd LSU visits No. 11 Vanderbilt in Nashville.

No. 3 South Carolina’s 83-57 home win in the SEC over Alabama (14-1) was no upset but the Crimson Tide parted from a perfect start as the Gamecocks’ Joyce Edwards scored 25 points.

The other ranked SEC teams won their openers: No. 12 Vanderbilt (14-0) topped host Arkansas 88-71 as Somerville’s (N.J.) Mikayla Blakes scored 35 points with a personal best eight assists and three steals.

No. 23 Tennessee (9-3) in Knoxville got 17 points from Talaysia Cooper and 16 points and 10 boards from Zee Spearman in a 76-65 win over Florida (12-4) with a Sunday trip to Auburn next on the schedule.

Besides the school beating Georgia in football to advance to the national semifinals, No. 15 Ole Miss (14-2) beat the Bulldogs 79-62, the first loss for the Georgia women as Ohio State transfer Cotie McMahon scored 24 and on Sunday the Rebels will be at No. 2 Texas (16-0) which won 89-71 at Missouri (12-4) as  Madison Booker had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Longhorns and Jordan Lee had a career best 28 points.

No. 8 Oklahoma (13-1) won 72-50 at Texas A&M (7-3) in College Station as Aaliyah Chavez scored 20 for the Sooners.

Two shockers in the Big Ten saw No. 7 Maryland (14-1, 2-1) lose 73-70 at Illinois (13-1, 3-0), which won its 11th straight as Berry Wallace scored 22 including two foul shots with 15.6 seconds left.

It’s the best start in Illini history.

Yarden Garzon had 17 for the Terrapins who led 54-52 heading into the fourth quarter snapping a 42-game win streak and having gone 78-1 over four seasons when in that position.

Illinois is at No. 24 Michigan State Sunday while Maryland the same day hosts Indiana.

Washington in the other Big Ten major upset saw Washington (12-2, 2-1) get 22 points and a career-high 16 rebounds at home from Avery Howell in Seattle beating No. 6 Michigan 64-52.

The Wolverines (11-2, 2-1), whose other loss was a narrow setback to top-ranked UConn, hadn’t been at Washington since 2005 and were led by Syla Swords’ 15 points.

In a Big Ten game of double ranked teams No. 14 Iowa (12-2, 3-0) at home won 86-76 over No. 20 Nebraska (12-2, 1-2), the Hawkeyes getting 24 points from Chit-Chat Wright and 21 points and 10 boards from Hannah Stuelke who shot 7-for-11 from the field.

After opening 14-0 for the second best start in program history Nebraska has now lost two straight following Monday’s loss to No. 17 Southern Cal.

In the ACC in overtime Georgia Tech (6-9, 1-2) at home in Atlanta got a career-high 33 points from Talayah Walker, 24 in the second half, in a 95-90 stunner on No. 18 Notre Dame (10-3, 2-1).

South Jersey’s Hannah Hidalgo scored 26 points and dealt 10 assists for the Fighting Irish, who won five straight games. The 20-plus point performance was her 61st, snapping the tie with Arike Ogunbowale, now with WNBA Dallas, for the program record.

Notre Dame Sunday is at Duke, which won 100-49 over visiting Boston College.

N.C. State got 18 points from Zoe Brooks, leading three other teammates in double figures in a 74-46 win over visiting Stanford which had Nunu Agara score 16 points and Lara Somfai grab 16 rebounds.

The Wolfpack stay home Sunday to host California while the Cardinal visit No.16 North Carolina Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN.

On Saturday the lone game of note even if less the luster this year is in the Big Ten with No. 17 Southern Cal visiting No. 4 UCLA in Los Angeles on Peacock.