We’re one-third of the way through the college hoops season and conference play is knocking on the door. Writers Ben Pickman and Chantel Jennings are bringing back our staple “Getting Technical” column, pulling back the curtain on what their conversations look like when they’re just chatting about women’s hoops.

Ben Pickman: What’s been the biggest surprise to you so far this season?

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Chantel Jennings: NC State. The Wolfpack’s recent success had come on the shoulders of Elissa Cunane, and last season just seemed as though they were sort of wandering in the wilderness, looking for their post-Cunane identity … to no avail. So, when I looked at their roster this season, even though I thought there was talent, I wasn’t convinced they were a top-20 team, let alone a top-five team.

And yet, here we are. Junior Aziaha James is one of the most improved players in the country. After averaging 6.8 points a game last season, she’s leading the Wolfpack with 16.2 points a game and her 3-point shooting has been impressive. James, Saniya Rivers and Madison Hayes anchor this team, and its core has remained healthy with the same starting five in every game this season. That consistency has paid off and should continue through the ACC slate. You can’t say that about every team …

What about you?

Pickman: Well, I think if you would have told me heading into the year that Angel Reese would miss four of LSU’s first nine games, with coach Kim Mulkey sharing little details as to why, I would have been pretty surprised. You also can’t account for injuries, and Azzi Fudd’s ACL tear is significant, but UConn sitting at 4-3 is also definitely not how I saw its season starting. However, I guess if I’m looking at a team that has really stood out so far, it’s USC.

GO DEEPER

For UConn to thrive this season, Paige Bueckers needs to be more like Caitlin Clark

The Trojans showed last year that they were building a strong foundation. They lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and had a top-20 defensive rating. But this season, USC has maintained its defensive prowess while making a leap offensively, scoring more than seven additional points per 100 possessions than it did in 2022-23. Still undefeated and ranked No. 6 in the latest AP poll, the Trojans are blowing out opponents by an average of 22.3 points per game — 21st nationally — only one of their seven wins has been decided by fewer than nine points, and highly-touted freshman JuJu Watkins has looked every bit like an instant program-changing star that some thought she might be (and USC undoubtedly hoped she would be). Watkins has already broken a Trojans record for most 30-point games in a season by a freshman, with five, and she became only the fourth USC player to record consecutive 30-point games.

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Jennings: JuJu has delivered on what seemed like unreasonable expectations.

But here’s the crazier thing: I’m not sold that she’s the obvious or breakaway Freshman of the Year candidate at this point, even though she has elevated the Trojans to a completely different level. I look around the country and it seems as though you can close your eyes and point in a different direction at a freshman who is absolutely going to have their number hanging in the rafters when all is said and done. How do you pick?

Madison Booker has one of the most pure jump shots I’ve seen and she’s a blast to watch. Most impressively, in the Longhorns’ win over UConn, with Taylor Jones struggling, she was that fearless offensive spark Texas needed. Just incredible. Similarly, with Olivia Miles still sidelined at Notre Dame (as well as Sonia Citron now), Hannah Hidalgo has carried the Irish backcourt (and team). Taliah Scott has been excellent at Arkansas. South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley has been a “SportsCenter” Top-10 highlight reel all season. And with UConn’s injury issues, four of their top eight players are freshmen, and it seems like one will become that perimeter counterpart to Paige Bueckers at some point. (My vote is KK Arnold.)

We’ve said it all season, but it just keeps becoming more true: THE FRESHMEN ARE NOT FRESHMEN.

👀 @mkwill12_ on a roll!#NCAAWBB x 🎥 ESPN / @LSUwbkb

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) December 1, 2023

Pickman: Plus, lest we forget, LSU’s Mikaylah Williams, who has shown off her smooth jumper, shooting 54.6 percent from the field while taking more than 17 shots per game. Her 42-point outing (on 75 percent shooting from the field) against Kent State might have been her coming out party, but her 20-point, six-rebound, five-assist performance against Virginia Tech might have been even more impressive. There’s little she can’t do offensively. She’s shooting 75 percent at the rim and 55.6 percent on 3-pointers shorter than 25 feet, according to CBB Analytics. Her midrange game is similarly excellent.

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It’s going to be amazing to see how this class continues to develop — and to see who else inevitably becomes a star as their college careers progress.

Jennings: That’s the fun part. As many names as we’ve listed, it sort of seems as though another two or three freshmen could still burst onto the national radar this season.

I’m curious to watch not only how these freshmen grow through the season but how they grow within conference play. This is when we’ll really see how players develop and handle adversity because the scout gets more specific as it’s not just a single game. A lot of players will match up with opponents twice through the year, and we’ll see how they react in these stressful situations. Plus, there’s just so much more familiarity between the coaches and the systems.

But taking it away from the individual players, and even teams, as we look onto the conference level with league play around the corner, which conference has your eye?

Pickman: I’m not sure if the conference I’m about to mention is the best or deepest in the country, but I am intrigued to see how the Big 12 ends up shaking out. As our colleague Sabreena Merchant pointed out in her power rankings earlier this week, six of the nation’s 20 undefeated schools are in the Big 12 and some of the most notable results of the year have come from such schools. Baylor defeated what was then No. 4 Utah in Waco, getting Utes star Alissa Pili into foul trouble and limiting her to only 21 minutes. As you mentioned, Texas just blew out UConn, forcing 21 turnovers, leading wire-to-wire and stretching its lead to 18 along the way. Kansas State went on the road and upset then-No. 2 Iowa, while holding Caitlin Clark to 9-of-32 shooting. The conference might be a bit slept on in comparison to others, but last season, the Big 12 sent 90 percent of its teams — the most nationally — to the NCAA Tournament or WNIT. A Big 12 team didn’t make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in 2023 but that seems likely to change this March.

Jennings: As someone who lived on the West Coast (best coast) for nearly a decade, I’m both legally and morally obligated to say the Pac-12. In this final season of the conference as we know it, I’m excited to see the teams going out on their own terms — strong nonconference scheduling that will turn into a fantastic conference race.

But I’m also curious to see how the ACC and SEC shake out. Those races will be just as contested. The tops of both leagues are elite, and thanks to not only the top-tier freshmen but transfer portal talent, we’ve seen teams absolutely restock their cupboards in a way that wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago.

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Ultimately, and we’ve already seen this play out quite a bit this season, a lot of this (as it often does) will come back to which teams can stay the healthiest through the year. That continuity is key, and from UConn (Fudd, Jana El Alfy, Caroline Ducharme) to Utah (Gianna Kneepkens) to Notre Dame (Miles, Citron, Cassandre Prosper), injuries have already played a huge role in the landscape of the national title race.

How have all of these factors we’ve discussed changed the way you’re thinking about the Final Four in Cleveland?

Pickman: Well, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about spending the beginning of April in Cleveland. (If any readers have food recommendations, please drop them in the comments!) In terms of on-court basketball, I don’t think it’s a surprise that the top-two teams in the country might have the two deepest rosters in the country. No. 1 South Carolina has seven players averaging at least 17 minutes per game, with each averaging at least 9 points per contest. Meanwhile, all but one player on UCLA’s roster is averaging double-digit minutes this season, with five players scoring at least 13 points per game. Both teams have great optionality and can adjust their lineups depending on their opposition. As you mentioned, too, both the Pac-12 and SEC have tons of talent. South Carolina and UCLA will certainly be battle-tested by the time they get to the tournament.

Chantel: It’ll be interesting to see how those minutes get divvied up when these top teams get into conference play. Even though a lot of players are getting many minutes overall, we’ve seen coaches shorten their benches already in close games. Against UNC, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley ran with six (with four of her South Carolina starters getting 32-plus minutes). Against UConn, UCLA coach Cori Close still went with eight, but went heavy on minutes with Kiki Rice, Charisma Osborne and Lauren Betts (all played at least 35 minutes).

Regardless, these nonconference experiences give us a taste of what’s to come, and I don’t think there’s a conference where it’s clear-cut. We’ve got one heck of a season ahead of us — that I know for sure.

This week, however, doesn’t just feature college hoops. The WNBA Draft lottery which will be broadcast Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (ET) in between a trio of fantastic matchups (No. 20 Florida State-No. 2 UCLA, No. 1 South Carolina-No. 11 Utah, No. 17 UConn-No. 24 North Carolina).

These are the current odds for teams to receive the No. 1 pick:

Indiana Fever — 44.2 percent
Phoenix Mercury — 27.6 percent
Los Angeles Sparks — 17.8 percent
Seattle Storm — 10.4 percent

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Let’s go rapid fire; If the lottery falls according to the mathematical odds, who do you predict will be the top four picks?

Pickman: Clark, Reese, Cameron Brink and Kamilla Cardoso. And I should note, I think Bueckers will return to the Huskies for another season, hence her omission. What about you?

Jennings: I agree that Bueckers returns to UConn, which makes the top part of this draft (outside of Clark) particularly post-heavy. It’s hard to know what new Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts (and new associate head coach Kristi Toliver) will do with the No. 2 pick, but if they’re going with a big, Brink has the resume for Phoenix. So I’ll say: Clark, Brink, Cardoso, Reese.

We’re in the thick of it and Sunday will be a perfect example: Three back-to-back-to-back ranked games with a draft lottery in the middle of it. With every passing week it feels like we’re getting a few more answers and also being presented with several more questions. Gotta love college hoops for that.

(Photo of JuJu Watkins: Kirby Lee / Getty Images)