The New Year is here, which means fresh goals, new storylines, and plenty to get excited about around college basketball. However, it also means the grind is about to pick up, with conference play rolling in and matchups getting tougher across the board. As Week 9 gets underway, now’s a good time to take a step back and check in on the teams that have managed to stay undefeated so far.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

Sitting at 14-0, if the Crimson Tide makes it to the NCAA playoffs again this year, it would be for a record consecutive 4th time under Kristy Curry. But that won’t be surprising. After all, Curry took Purdue to the Final Four in only her second season as a coach (2000-2001), becoming only the second coach in NCAA history to do so.

What makes Alabama different from every other undefeated team right now is how the math works in its games. The Crimson Tide is the only unbeaten squad that actually attempts fewer shots per game than its opponents.

Instead of choosing a fast style, the Crimson Tide plays at a crawl, sitting in the bottom 20 percent nationally in tempo and producing just 8.9 points per game on the break. That style puts enormous weight on shot-making, and Alabama has been elite in that area, posting a 57.6 percent true shooting mark that ranks in the 95th percentile, while holding opponents to just 40.8 percent true shooting, good for the 99th percentile.

Top Stories

Bill Cowher’s Strong Message to Steelers on Firing Mike Tomlin After HC’s Blunt Playoff Message

Bengals’ Cam Taylor-Britt Sentenced to Jail: Everything We Know About Charges Against Him

Pebble Beach Looks Unrecognizable as Harsh Weather Destroys Iconic Golf Course

PGA Tour Hands Veteran Pro 1-Year Ban Despite Severed LIV Golf Ties

Phil Mickelson’s LIV Golf Hope Shatters After Akshay Bhatia Decision

26-Year-Old Tennis Journalist Meets Tragic Demise After Battling Brutal Chronic Disease

They haven’t yet allowed their opponents to come too close as well, with just a few managing single digit differential. However, they also haven’t yet played against a strong opponent who turns games into a shooting battle, and that’s where the Crimson Tide might slip.

2. Arizona State Sun Devils

As of now, Arizona owns the second-longest winning streak in the nation, trailing only UConn. The résumé, however, comes with a notable caveat. It is important to note that nobody expected Arizona to start the way they did after their disastrous run last year (10-22 and 3-15 in Big 12 play), but here we are.

Starting a season going undefeated (14-0) and beating some teams that put up a strong fight, like UNLV (56-53), Penn State (74-60), and Gonzaga (68-66).

HC Molly Miller seems to have unlocked some kind of mythical powers in her team, and they just seem unstoppable at the moment. Gabby Elliot (16.3 pts), McKinna Brackens  (14.7 pts), and Heloisa Carrera (9.6 pts) are all delivering for Arizona, and the team is simply playing beautiful basketball.

However, the Sun Devils have yet to pick up a Quad 1 win. Nine of their victories have come against Quad 4 opponents, which has helped fuel the strongest start in program history.

That will change soon. Arizona State still has six Quad 1 games left on the schedule, giving the Sun Devils plenty of chances to strengthen their case as they chase their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. The challenge is that every one of those games will be played away from home.

3. Texas Longhorns

While their male counterparts are struggling to find rhythm, the ladies of Texas are simply flowing like water. They are 15-0 in the tournament so far. Will this be the year they take it all the way and win the NCAA championship after falling in the Final Four last year against the Gamecocks (74-57)?

However, they have already avenged that loss early this year with a (66-64) win. So, there is quite a lot of hope.

Even with Jordan Lee breaking out in her sophomore season and leading the Longhorns in minutes while hitting 38.8 percent of her 5.7 three-point attempts per game, Texas still has the lowest three-point attempt rate in the nation. And this is the second straight season it has happened. That is simply how Vic Schaefer wants his teams to play.

That lack of volume from deep has not hurt them, and the biggest reason is how thoroughly Texas controls possessions. The Longhorns take 19.9 more field-goal attempts per game than their opponents, which is the largest gap recorded anywhere in the NCAA over the past 15 years.

4. Texas Tech Lady Raiders

From the Longhorns to the Lady Raiders, the story remains the same. Both of these Texas teams have shown what they can do on the big stages this year. The Lady Raiders have literally cruised this year and have compiled a 14-0 record.

Texas Tech’s last game against Baylor saw them at their icy best. Bailey Maupin sank both her free throws with just 3 seconds to go, helping her side go up 61-60 to finally win the game in a buzzer-beater fashion.

Also, no one in their conference has made a jump like Jalynn Bristow in scoring from last season. After being a minimal part of the offense in 2024–25 and averaging just 3.7 points per game, the 6-foot-2 wing is now putting up 13.6 a night for Texas Tech. She could have very well won the Big 12 Most Improved Player of the Year award if the conference handed one.

5. Georgia Lady Bulldogs

The Bulldogs are really taking off the flesh with their brute force in the regular season so far. The Bulldogs have an excellent defense, which is why their margin for victory has rarely dropped below 20. All this even when Georgia is still very much a young team, with sophomores filling the top three scoring spots.

However, the Bulldogs currently sit at 344th in strength of schedule out of 363 Division I teams, a number that shows just how lightly tested they have been. Georgia has one more tune-up game against Charleston Southern before things get real. The SEC schedule opens with Ole Miss, and matchups against South Carolina and LSU are right around the corner.

6. Iowa State Cyclones

The Iowa State Cyclones have been a force to reckon with this season in college basketball, and why not? They have Audi Crooks. Crooks is averaging 28.9 points in just 26.1 minutes per game this season and has helped the Cyclones to blow away any threat that came their way.

She is also the only women’s basketball player this century, at the college or pro level, who is scoring more points than minutes played. It is no surprise that the efficiency matches the production. Crooks ranks fifth nationally in field goal percentage at 72.3 percent.

She is also just the second player since 2019 to average at least 20 points while shooting 70 percent or better, joining in-state rival Megan Gustafson, who won the Naismith Award in 2019.

In week 8, the team acquired the tenth position in both the AP Top-25 and the Coaches Poll.

7. LSU Tigers

The LSU Tigers started their year in college basketball with 8 straight 100+ victories. LSU is currently in the 5th spot in the NCAA net rankings and has evolved as a team to beat this season. Other teams in the SEC must be keeping a close watch on them right now, if they want to devise a plan on how to stop Milaysia Fulwiley and Co from dictating on the court.

After all, their balance across the rotation stands out. Six regular contributors are converting at least 60 percent of their two-point attempts. Only one LSU opponent has shot better than 40 percent from the field so far, and that team, Duke, is also the only Tigers’ opponent ranked inside the top 90 of the NET Ratings.

Throughout the season, LSU has enjoyed a sizable shot advantage during nonconference play, taking 17.6 more field-goal attempts per game than its opponents. What really separates the Tigers, though, is how efficient they have been while doing it. LSU is shooting 23.4 percent better than the teams it has faced.

However, their real test will come when they face off against higher-ranked teams.

8. Maryland Terrapins

Yet another NCAA playoffs beckon Maryland as they replicate their last year’s winning streak in the early stages. They have capped off some good wins against Kentucky (74-66), an edge-of-the-seat thriller against Minnesota (100-99 2OT), among others, as they hope to snag another NCAA championship title after 20 years.

The HC Brenda Frese has been waiting for a long time, and she has never stopped making efforts. Since 2012, Maryland has finished in the top 20 nationally in offensive rating in all but two seasons, and even one of those misses landed at No. 21.

And while defense has usually lagged behind, the Terrapins have not cracked the top 150 in defensive rating since 2020, this season has been different. According to CBB Analytics, Maryland currently ranks sixth in defensive rating, giving up just 72.5 points per 100 possessions.

9. TCU Horned Frogs

Olivia Miles has single-handedly turned the Horned Frogs into her playground with her all-around performance this year. She is leading the team in points  (18.9), assists (7.6), and steals (2.2)

Triple-doubles have been rare this season, with just 17 players reaching the mark. What really stands out is what TCU has done. The Horned Frogs are the only team with a player who has recorded more than one, thanks to Miles, who now holds the active NCAA lead with nine triple-doubles.

10. Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Cornhuskers have gone on to win their opening 12 games and seem to be ticking all the right checkboxes at the moment. Britt Prince (18.6 points), Amiah Hargrove (12.4 pts), and Hailey Weaver (1.6 steals) are all playing their part effectively.

As the best two-point shooting team in the country, knocking down 61.3 percent of their attempts inside the arc, they are especially lethal around the basket, where they convert 73.4 percent of their shots inside the charge circle. And with Prince, Hargrove, and Petra Bozan all shooting at least 60 percent on two-point attempts, Nebraska presents a wide range of problems that any defense has to be ready for.

Still, there were doubts about how long their undefeated run would last. Nebraska already had two players, Allison Weidner and Natalia Potts, ruled out with injuries. That concern became reality when they hit the Big Ten gauntlet and ran into USC, who handed them their first loss of the season.

11. UConn Huskies

No.1 in the Net rankings, the UConn Huskies are soaring and are probably the favorites to win it all, yet again. The team is going “Strong” in the true sense, with Sarah Strong (18.1 points) and Azzi Fudd (18.1 points) leading the pack.

Since the Her Hoop Stats database began tracking assists in the 2009–10 season, UConn has finished top five nationally in assists per game in all but two years.

That trend is peaking again in 2025–26. The Huskies are leading the country at 24.3 assists per game, a figure that would set a new program record. It also places them second on the all-time Division I list, trailing only Villanova’s 24.7 assists per game from the 1986–87 season. History suggests that kind of ball movement usually ends well in Storrs.

12. Vanderbilt Commodores

Just like UConn, the Commodores are 13-0 in the season so far as they make their way to week 9 of college basketball.  And the player who has been most critical behind it all is Mikayla Blakes – 23.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists. 46.8 FG%.

She has been the main factor in keeping the spirits high after Vanderbilt was hit hard by the transfer portal last season, losing two of its top three scorers in Khamil Pierre and Iyana Moore. The roster coming back was thin, with just one rotation player returning alongside freshman standout Mikayla Blakes. Instead of shrinking from that reality, Blakes has expanded her game across the board.