The NCAA women's college basketball regular season has reached its conclusion. As a result, it seems like an apt time to see where things stand when it comes to the players that have been the best in the country heading into tournament action.
As is always the case when there are so many worthy competitors, some deserving players will be left off the list. Notable names that fall into that category include Aneesah Morrow of LSU and Madison Booker of Texas.
Booker has been the best player on the No. 1 ranked team, so Longhorns fans would have an argument in saying she is snubbed via her omission. However, she doesn't quite have the statistical totals of some of her peers. While Morrow is averaging a double-double and leads the nation in rebounding, but the Tigers lack a signature win on the season to boost her position and she has two teammates with similar scoring numbers.
Here's a look at our current power rankings for National Player of the Year heading into conference tournament play. Just like with the upcoming NCAA Tournament, these picks were hard to make given the parity we've seen amongst the top contenders this season.
5. Ta'Niya Latson: Florida State
Latson leads the country in scoring (25.4 ppg), and her performance has forced her onto the radar of fans and pundits alike. She is fighting an uphill battle for recognition on a Seminoles team not often mentioned with the elites, but she did recently outplay another star on this list. Latson has a chance to continue to command respect with her game by leading Florida State on a run in the postseason.
4. Lauren Betts: UCLA
Recency bias may have provided a blow to Betts. The UCLA star has been stellar all season, averaging close to 20 and 10 on over 60% shooting, but the Bruins did not play their best ball to close the season, which was punctuated by a high-profile loss to USC. Still, one would be hard pressed to not have Betts in the conversation with this year's best, especially taking into account she only had one teammate who also averaged double figures.
3. Paige Bueckers: UConn
At one point Bueckers' season felt underwhelming. That could also be influenced by her college pedigree and the expectation she will be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. However, the Huskies finished the season strong, complete with a rout of South Carolina. And Bueckers has led the team as a facilitator while also putting points on the board in an extremely efficient manner. She is scoring 18.6 points on only 13 attempts a game (53.4%) and is shooting better than 40% from deep.
2. Hannah Hidalgo: Notre Dame
Hidalgo was the frontrunner for NPOY for much of the season, but the feisty Irish guard has struggled a bit of late and Notre Dame dropped two of its last three games. With that said, her body of work remains strong and she did get the best of head-to-head matchups with Bueckers and JuJu Watkins. Hidalgo still has an argument, given what she accomplished over the full campaign in averaging 24.2 points and 3.7 steals per game.
1. JuJu Watkins: USC
Watkins proved undeniable as the regular season came to a close. She was absolutely dominant in two USC wins over UCLA, which were added to an early season victory against UConn as signature wins under her belt. Watkins showed her ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor and finished the year averaging 24.4 points per game for perhaps the hottest team in the country. The latter aspect in large part due to JuJu.
