Duke vs. North Carolina women’s basketball leads weekend watch guide

There’s a long history in basketball between Duke and North Carolina, the Tobacco Road rivals separated by less than 11 miles.

In women’s basketball, the recent rivalry between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels has been defined by defense. In the last eight meetings between these two teams — where the average margin of victory has been seven points — the winner has scored less than 70 points. In four of those games, the winner has scored less than 50 points.

Last season, fans of women’s basketball were treated to a Sweet 16 meeting between Duke and UNC in Birmingham, Alabama. Instead of a high-scoring, highlight-filled clash, viewers were treated to a rock fight won by the Blue Devils, 47-38.

Fans might see that same sort of intense defensive effort on Sunday (1 p.m., ABC) at Cameron Arena, when the two put their winning streaks on the line in front of a national audience.

This season, both Kara Lawson’s Duke and Courtney Banghart’s North Carolina rank in the top 10 of defensive rating and top 35 in effective field goal defense. Duke has held its last seven opponents under 60 points, while North Carolina has done that to six of its past seven opponents.

Duke has won 15 in a row, while North Carolina has won eight straight.

Here’s the other games to watch in women’s college basketball over the next few days:

Game that could shake up national rankings: South Carolina at LSU

8:30 p.m. ET, Saturday (ABC)

It’s been one-sided, with the Gamecocks winning 17 straight against the Tigers, but this is the premier rivalry in women’s basketball in the SEC. Both programs are led by iconic coaches and have won national championships within the past three seasons. This year, the game has a new wrinkle as a former Gamecock — junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley — is now playing for the Tigers.

This game is also getting the College GameDay treatment from ESPN, which will feature the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee’s first top 16 seed reveal of the season. Expect South Carolina and LSU to be near the top of the seed list.

Must-watch player matchup: Indiana at UCLA

3 p.m. ET, Saturday (Peacock)

Most women’s basketball fans know all about Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and the host of other talented players featuring for the Bruins this season, but Shay Ciezki has emerged as one of the top scorers in the country for Indiana. The senior guard is averaging 24.1 points per game, which ranks fifth nationally. She’s also fourth nationally in 3-point shooting, making 46.6% of her attempts from behind the arc. UCLA will put its 18-game win streak on the line as it tried to contain Ciezki.

Mid-major matchup worth watching: Princeton at Columbia

6 p.m. ET, Friday (ESPNU)

The Lions snapped the Tigers’ 15-game win streak two weeks ago by winning 73-67 at Princeton. Currently, Princeton is the only Ivy League team with a realistic shot at getting an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, but Columbia is climbing up in the metrics and a second win over the Tigers would be a resume booster. Riley Weiss is a player to watch for the Lions, as she’s averaging 28.2 points per game over her last four outings.

Big stakes for a bubble team: Arizona State at Arizona

2 p.m. ET, Saturday (ESPN+)

Molly Miller’s Sun Devils picked up their 20th win of the season on Wednesday by getting a 10-point victory over Utah, a fellow bubble team. Arizona State needs to keep stacking wins to improve its resume for the NCAA Tournament. The Sun Devils are 48th in NET and 33rd in WAB entering the weekend. They can’t afford a loss to Arizona, which is 132nd in NET.

Sickos game of the week: Northwestern at Penn State

4 p.m. ET, Sunday (BTN)

Since a win over Abilene Christian on Nov. 28, Northwestern has won two games. The same is nearly true for Penn State, which has two victories since a Nov. 30 win over Yale. These teams are not good, but a few players are worth watching: Northwestern’s Caroline Lau leads the nation in assists with 8.8 per game, while Penn State’s Kiyomi McMiller is 15th nationally in scoring with 20.6 points per game.

Also watch…

• UConn at Marquette: 1 p.m. ET, Saturday (FS1)
• Rhode Island at George Mason: 3 p.m. ET, Saturday (ESPN+)
• Maryland at Ohio State: 2 p.m. ET, Sunday (FS1)
• Ole Miss at Kentucky: 2 p.m. ET, Sunday (SEC Network)
• Michigan State at Michigan: 4 p.m. ET, Sunday (FS1)