The Ball-Knower's NCAA Weekend Watch Guide: Weekend of Nov. 7-10
The first watch guide of the 2025-2026 NCAA women's college basketball season is here! Which games are we at No Cap Space putting on the main screen? We get you up to date here.
The NCAA women’s basketball season returned to our television screens on Monday and, naturally, it signaled the revival of the Ball-Knower’s Watch Guides. For those new to the system, you’ll get guides every Friday and Tuesday, detailing the best, most interesting or most high-stakes matchups to watch in women’s college basketball each day.
Each game is scored out of 10 on a ‘must-watch’ scale. Typically it’s a combination of team record, program prestige, star power, yearly stakes, rivalry history and overall vibe. If you’re new to this, it’s pretty rare that games are a 10/10. Typically those matchups earn the label ‘Game of the Year candidate’.
But make no mistake, this isn’t just power conference hoops. Our goal is for these guides to put you on game to players, coaches, programs and games that we feel deserve some more coverage. With any luck, you’ll be a Ball-Scholar by the end of the season!
Friday, November 7th
No. 24 Richmond (1-0) vs. No. 4 Texas (2-0): 8:00 PM ET, SECN+
Why it’s worth a watch: I think most women’s college basketball writers would agree that Aaron Roussell is the current ‘it’ high major coaching candidate. The Spiders brought back Maggie Doogan, the reigning A-10 Player of the Year and probably best mid-major player in America, along with Rachel Ullstrom. It may not be enough to knock around a Texas team that is built to win a title this year but I have a feeling the Spiders are going to surprise a lot of players with how competitive they are.
Must Watch Score: 8.5/10
No. 12 Ole Miss (1-0) vs. Alabama A&M (1-0): 8:00 PM ET, SWACTV
Why it’s worth a watch: This may not be or stay close but there’s some cool things to watch here. For starters, I’ve been big on Dawn Thornton as another up-and-coming head coaching candidate given the foundation she built at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and her first season at Alabama A&M. Her roster may not match up to Ole Miss, but these kinds of games are ones where you get to flash some schematic creativity to at least make their lives hard.
Must Watch Score: 6.5/10
Gonzaga vs. North Dakota State (1-0): 8:00 PM ET, Team Stream
Why it’s worth a watch: I have to give credit to the Summit League schools. South Dakota State has long been the tournament force in the conference and still is, but Oral Roberts and now North Dakota State have started to catch up. The Bison have been a regular 20 win team and WNIT entrant for the last few years under Jory Collins and Gonzaga is just getting back on their feet after a below-average-by-their-standards season. A good mid-major resume builder.
Must Watch Score: 6.5/10
Montana State (1-0) vs. Portland (1-0): 9:00 PM ET, ESPN+
Why it’s worth a watch: Another quietly interesting mid-major matchup. Both of these teams have been the classes of their respective conferences (Big Sky and WCC) for the last couple of years but are replacing some of their biggest contributors. Brynn Smith is a local product (from Eugene’s Willamette high school) and was the Pilots leading scorer in their season opening win. A good contender to pick up the mantle left by Emme Shearer.
Must Watch Score: 7/10
Saturday, November 8th
Kansas State (1-0) vs. SMU (1-0): 5:00 PM ET, ACC Network
Why it’s worth a watch: This is a ‘new look game’ as well as an early season tournament resume builder for both teams. While not a super high bar to clear, Adia Barnes already has SMU looking much better than last year while Jeff Mittie has a lot of new faces to get up on program for Kansas State. There’s a couple interesting players here too in Sahnya Jah at SMU and Nastja Claessens at Kansas State.
Must Watch Score: 7.5/10
Montana (1-0) vs. Oregon (1-0): 5:00 PM ET, B1G+
Why it’s worth a watch: Nate Harris managed to step into the head coaching role at Montana midseason and nearly led the Lady Griz to a Big Sky Tournament championship. If that’s a window into what he’ll be at a historically very good mid-major program, then Montana may be worth watching more of in the future. On the Oregon side, learn a few names now: Mia Jacobs, a Fresno transfer, and Katie Fiso, the dynamic point guard from Washington. There’s some good talent on this Duck team but those two are the ones that could use a little more pub.
Must Watch Score: 7/10
Sunday, November 9th
Princeton vs. Georgia Tech (1-0): 2:00 PM ET, ACC Extra
Why it’s worth a watch: I don’t want to read too much into a season opener win over Radford, but it was nice to see Georgia Tech back and rolling after losing so much of last season’s core (including head coach Nell Fortner). Does that mean they have enough to get by a Princeton team that is considered to be the best mid-major this year? It’s why this game is worth watching. That and the Allison Chea/Madison St. Rose combo for Princeton. You want to see them all season.
Must Watch Score: 7.5/10
No. 18 USC (1-0) vs. No. 9 NC State (1-0): 3:00 PM ET, ESPN
Why it’s worth a watch: The first major test of the JuJu-less USC Women of Troy is Wes Moore’s NC State Wolfpack. I came away impressed by the collective effort of USC in their season opening win over New Mexico State. There’s a lot of shooters on this team to the point where the logic would dictate you’re guaranteed to have one player get hot each night. It’ll be a frontcourt test for Vivian Iwuchukwu, who has to see a superstar in NC State forward Khamil Pierre.
Must Watch Score: 8.5/10
Oral Roberts (2-0) vs. No. 22 Oklahoma State (3-0): 6:00 PM ET, ESPN+
Why it’s worth a watch: Pace, pace, pace. Oral Roberts elevated longtime assistant Cophie Anderson (a name to watch for those invested in the next generation of Black women coaches) to the head coaching role after Kelsi Musick took the Arkansas job. They meet an Oklahoma State team that shoots the ball just as much and maybe even a bit better. The Cowgirls could run away with this but there’s a world in which this ends up being a pretty fun 90-85 type of track meet.
Must Watch Score: 7.5/10
Sacramento State (2-0) vs. Cal (0-1): 10:00 PM ET, ACC Extra
Why it’s worth a watch: I may regret putting this one on the guide but I’m rather intrigued about the long build Aaron Kallhoff has undertaken at Sac State. The Hornets just unveiled a new ‘arena’ (it’s a repurposed part of their student rec center but it’s still a huge upgrade over The Nest) and the vibes seem pretty good. While one loss to Vanderbilt doesn’t mean Cal is vulnerable to a loss like this, I’m interested in whether or not this thing is close.
Must Watch Score: 7/10
Monday, November 10th
Montana (1-0) vs. Washington (1-0): 9:00 PM ET, B1G+
Why it’s worth a watch: Much like Oregon, this game could be dangerous for Washington if they don’t take the Lady Griz seriously. The Huskies want to be in that third (or even second) tier of the Big Ten this season and have the backcourt firepower to do so. Games like these were sometimes tricky for them in past years. A win here would give us a good data point on how good they are.
Must Watch Score: 7/10
No. 6 Oklahoma (1-0) vs. No. 3 UCLA (2-0): 10:30 PM ET, FS1
Why it’s worth a watch: One of the best early season non-con matchups of the year, my only real curiosity with this is whether or not we’ll get a good game atmosphere in Sacramento. It’ll be the first real test for some of the top freshmen in the country. Aaliyah Chavez on one end, Sienna Betts (if healthy) and Lena Bilic on another. In the frontcourt, Raegan Beers and Lauren Betts have been battling since the days of the Pac-12. Big ticket, box office matchup. If you watch any game this weekend, it’s this one.
Must Watch Score: 9.5/10