Upset-heavy week kicks off women’s basketball conference play

The opening week of women’s college basketball in 2026 was a bloodbath with six top-10 teams losing to inferior opponents.

While the Lady Vols avoided losing to one of their two unranked opponents, the same can’t be said for many teams across the sport. Just six days into January, the top end of the sport is getting shaken up.

In the center of the upsets in the SEC has been LSU, losing both of its conference openers. The then-No. 5 Tigers rang in the new year by losing to No. 11 Kentucky on a buzzer-beater from Tonie Morgan. Three days later, Mikayla Blakes scored 32 points to lead No. 12 Vanderbilt to a home win over Kim Mulkey’s team at Memorial Gymnasium.

The two losses for the now-No. 12 Tigers have called Mulkey’s non-conference scheduling into question. Because LSU’s players do not come to campus over the summer, Mulkey schedules a light non-conference schedule, which this year featured no ranked teams and only one power-conference opponent. The upside is that the team has plenty of time to gel, but the downside is the team does not get tested or have crunch time experience.

The Big Ten already had played conference games due to its 18-game league schedule, but that didn’t stop upsets from happening. On New Year’s Day, both No. 6 Michigan and No. 7 Maryland lost on the road.

The Wolverines played an ugly game, shooting just 33% from the field and going 3-for-14 from 3-point range. The performance resulted in a 12-point loss to unranked Washington, Michigan’s only loss other than a nail-biter against Connecticut.

Brenda Frese’s Terrapins played a much cleaner game than Michigan, but 42% shooting and 18 turnovers caused a loss at Illinois. Maryland’s first loss of the year comes ahead of a stretch where — following a game Thursday at Rutgers — the next five opponents are all ranked.

In the ACC, Notre Dame lost twice last week, falling in overtime at Georgia Tech and by a substantial margin at Duke. The Fighting Irish allowed Georgia Tech to shoot 53% and earn a six-rebound edge. Three days later, two 20-point scorers for the Blue Devils were too much to overcome.

No. 8 TCU gave the Big 12 its major upset loss, dropping Saturday’s game to Utah in overtime. Former Lady Vol Marta Suarez’s 23 points and 31 points from former Notre Dame star Olivia Miles weren’t enough to overcome a 37% shooting night in Salt Lake City, while the Utes shot 57% from 3-point range.

The upsets that happened across women’s college basketball are a sign that the talent level across the sport is increasing. Power-conference leagues are deeper this year, meaning there are more chances for teams to falter.

For Tennessee, the SEC has always been deep. This year, the eight unranked teams in the conference still pose a substantial threat to the Lady Vols. Kim Caldwell’s team experienced this last season, losing to Georgia on Senior Day and losing its bye in the SEC Tournament.

With three upcoming games against unranked opposition, Tennessee still has to play its best. An upset opportunity could come Thursday when the Lady Vols travel to play Mississippi State, which has only lost twice this season.