Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
History is about to be made in women’s hoops.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark needs only eight points to break the all-time NCAA women’s scoring record. That means this coming week will be historic. But let’s see how she stacks up with [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] of Notre Dame. We also
Notre Dame’s freshman phenom still is pretty good.
[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] continues to impressive with each passing game. The Notre Dame freshman scored a career-high 35 points over the past week. Who knows what she’ll be up to next? She ranks among the national scoring leaders as follows, and we’ve included their steals numbers, too:
A certain star for Notre Dame continues to draw attention.
For the first time in her collegiate career, Notre Dame’s [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] was held without a steal against UConn. The tradeoff was she scored a career-high 34 points, which also is the Irish freshman record. Here’s what that means as far as her ranking among the national scoring leaders as well as their steals numbers:
Here’s who stood out on the defensive side of the ball on the second day.
Practices for the East-West Shrine Bowl continued on Saturday in Frisco, TX.
Here’s who stood out on the defensive side of the ball on the second day of practice.
Another honor for the Irish freshman.
Notre Dame’s [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] is racking up records and honors one at a time. Another one came down from the Basketball Hall of Fame. Hidalgo was named one of 10 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award. This honor is given annually to the top women’s point guard in the country.
Hidalgo, the only freshman finalist, would be the second Irish player to win this award after [autotag]Skylar Diggins[/autotag] did so in 2012 and 2013. However, she’ll face some stiff competition as two-time defending award winner Caitlin Clark of Iowa also is a finalist. The pool, which will be cut to five in March, also includes high scorer McKenna Hofschild of Colorado State and ACC assists leader Georgia Amoore of Virginia Tech.
Given the field she’s in, a lot would have to go right for Hidalgo to come away with this award. Still, the fact that she’s even on this list is evidence of how good she really is. Who knows what else is in store for her between now and March?
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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89
Thankfully, the person at the top of this list is OK.
Sunday brought the attention on the top women’s scorer in the country for all the wrong reasons. She collided with a fan who had stormed the court at the end of the game and was knocked down. Fortunately, she wasn’t injured. Here’s how far ahead she is among the other top scorers on the list and their steals numbers, including Notre Dame’s representative, who also leads the country in steals:
The UNLV Rebels head to Fort Collins to face the Colorado State Rams in Mountain West play. Here’s what to look for in this matchup.
The Rams and Rebels face off for momentum
Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire
WHO: UNLV Rebels (9-7, 2-2 Mountain West) vs. Colorado State Rams (14-3, 2-2 Mountain West)
WHEN: Friday, January 19th — 8:30 p.m. MST / 7:30 p.m. PST
WHERE: Moby Arena; Fort Collins, CO (8,083)
TV: Fox Sports 1 (Stream FS1 on Fubo and click the link here for a free trial)
SERIES RECORD: This will be the 65th all time matchup between the two schools. UNLV leads the all-time series 43-21
LAST MEETING: UNLV won 83-71 in Fort Collins last year
ODDS: Colorado State -7.5
It’s hard to call this early of a matchup a must win, but it feels like a must win for both teams. Colorado State needs to get back into their early season groove. And UNLV needs to continue riding their momentum if they want to make it to the NCAA Tournament.
CSU is hosting their annual Orange Out game coming off a double digit comeback win over Air Force. UNLV is heading to Fort Collins coming off a four point road win over Boise State. Both KenPom and the NET rankings have a similar distance between these two schools, but in conference play anything can happen.
One last look at Tuesday's 𝐖 before tomorrow's
🟠𝗢𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁🟠#Stalwart x #TeamTogether pic.twitter.com/M5gLIF7sVr— Colorado State Men’s Basketball (@CSUMBasketball) January 19, 2024
G Dedan Thomas Jr – UNLV
The Rebels floor general who seems like an even keeled player. Never too up and never too down. Even when Dedan is having a down game, he’s helping in other areas. Incredible vision on the court for the freshman and his teammates surely appreciate it.
F Joel Scott – Colorado State
The big man down low for the Rams. Joel Scott is another D2 transfer for the Rams who is playing a big part. He has a tendency to disappear at times and the Rams need him to step up tonight to keep the lengthy Rebels in check. Scott has shown he can play at a high level and the Rams need him to play like that tonight.
Chill out key 🙄 pic.twitter.com/3veoWjH9rh
— UNLV Men's Basketball (@TheRunninRebels) January 19, 2024
UNLV
Play physical basketball is the main key for the Rebels. The Rams have a tendency to play soft and forcing their hand can yield results. The Rebels also need to take advantage of the CSU misplays. CSU throws an unnecessary amount of skip passes and all UNLV has to do is pay attention and they can jump the pass.
On offense, keep the Rams switching. They’ll get tired and eventually miss a switch or recover too late. Getting down low needs to play a big part of the plan for UNLV. The Rams aren’t that big and if you can back them down, lay ups and passouts for open threes will be there.
Colorado State
Play your game. That’s what the Rams need to do tonight. They can’t let UNLV dictate the pace or action of the game. Take over the game and force the Rebels to play to you. CSU has a tendency to let the other team dictate how the game goes, but the Rams need to force it tonight.
The bench, other than Joe Palmer, needs to step up. Palmer gets his off the bench and he needs someone else to join him. If the Rams bench can take a little pressure of the starters, CSU is going to have a smooth day.
This is a matchup of two similar teams. They have very similar stats. And the only real difference is the overall records. Basketball is a game of runs and both teams will go on big runs tonight. The back and forth battle will go the full 40 minutes before the Rams take it in the end.
Final Score: Colorado State 87, UNLV 81
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Hannah Hidalgo is her.
[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] is getting to the point where she’s breaking Notre Dame records. It’s only a matter of time before she starts threatening national records, too. She’s been that good, and she has no concerns about slowing down anytime soon. So let’s see how she ranks among the national scoring leaders and add in the steals averages that Hidalgo continues to impress with:
See how Notre Dame’s rep on this list is doing.
[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] continues to do her best on a Notre Dame team that has hit a wall. The Irish have lost two of three since ACC play got underway as the lack of enough healthy bodies seems to be catching up to them. We’ll see if that will improve in the coming days and weeks. For now, here’s Hidalgo among the national scoring leaders and those leaders’ steals numbers:
The CSU Rams welcome the New Mexico Lobos to Moby Arena to open conference play. Here’s how the Rams can get MW play started with a win.
The Rams host their in-state foe
Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire
WHO: New Mexico Lobos (12-1) vs. #13 Colorado State Rams (12-1)
WHEN: Tuesday, January 2nd — 8:30 p.m. MST / 7:30 p.m. PST
WHERE: Moby Arena; Fort Collins, CO (8,083)
TV: Fox Sports 1 (Stream FS1 on Fubo and click the link here for a free trial)
SERIES RECORD: This will be the 132nd all time matchup between the two schools. New Mexico leads the all-time series 79-52
LAST MEETING: Colorado State won 92-84 in Fort Collins last season.
ODDS: Colorado State -2.5
A big matchup to open Mountain West play on Tuesday for both Colorado State and New Mexico. The Rams are looking to keep the pressure on everyone else and the Lobos are looking for the road upset in Fort Collins.
Both teams are 12-1 coming into this matchup, however they’ve both gotten there in very different ways. New Mexico is 35th in both KenPom and NET, their SOS is ranked 198th by KenPom and their best win by NET rankings is a 13 point road win over UC Irvine. Colorado State is 30th in KenPom and 15th in NET, their SOS is ranked 52nd by KenPom and their best win by NET rankings is a 21 point neutral site win over, then 8th ranked, Creighton.
New Year, New Games of the Week from @TheAndyKatz 🔥
Start the new year right with these matchups 👀 pic.twitter.com/gGqm6wjKrJ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 1, 2024
F Jaelen House – New Mexico
Only the third leading scorer for the Lobos, House makes his impact all over the court. House is a hound on defense and will be all over his assignment in Fort Collins. He plays a pressure game on both ends of the floor and is a key reason why the Lobos force as many turnovers as they do.
G Isaiah Stevens – Colorado State
The Rams leader on and off the court. And now the all time leading scorer for Colorado State. As Stevens goes, the Rams go. Yes, the Rams have more depth this year. But Stevens still puts everything into motion. He finds those little spaces and leaves everything on the court.
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴👑🐐#Stalwart x #TeamTogether pic.twitter.com/kAbxG3aADY
— Colorado State Men’s Basketball (@CSUMBasketball) December 30, 2023
Offensively
Take care of the basketball. The Rams have the 2nd ranked assist to turnover ratio in the country at 2.1. New Mexico is 15th in the nation in steals with 10 per game and and 16th in the nation with 16.31 turnovers forced per game. The Rams need to take care of the basketball in this one.
Keep moving the ball around. This along with taking care of the basketball will be the main keys for the Rams offense. CSU throws too many skip passes and it can cost them against New Mexico. The Rams need to keep moving the ball, but they can’t be careless with their passes.
Defensively
New Mexico is ranked 26th in the nation in Free Throw attempts per game at 24.5. However, they don’t convert those FTs as much as they should; ranking just 282nd in the nation at 67.08% from the line. The Rams need to play controlled defense and keep their hands up.
The Lobos like to drive the ball as evidenced by their large amount of FTs per game. They don’t shoot many three point shots and they only make them just over a third of the time. The Rams will need to use their length to stay in front of the Lobos, clog the passing lanes, and force New Mexico to shoot from the outside.
This is going to be a close one. CSU shoots at a 53.2% clip and the Lobos only allow teams to make shots at a 39.8% clip. The Rams won’t have a full complient of players and that will be the biggest challenge for them. This will be a back and forth battle, but the home court advantage that a loud Moby Arena provides will be the difference maker in the end for the Rams.
Final Score: Colorado State 84, New Mexico 80
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