Games to watch during the 2019-20 women's college basketball season

This is the first big matchup of the 2019-20 season featuring two squads that open the campaign ranked in The Associated Press Top 25. Preseason All-American Kaila Charles (17.0 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game, 2.3 assists per game in 2018-19) and Maryland are ranked fourth, while the Gamecocks enter at No. 8.

Kellie Harper (formerly Kellie Jolly), the former Volunteers guard who guided Missouri State to the Sweet 16 last season, is now in charge of the Tennessee program. Some of the luster is gone in Knoxville (Vols not ranked in preseason for first time since 1976), but this should be the first real test of the season for Harper's squad. The Irish lost a ton from last season's national runner-up but enter this season ranked 16th.

There's more than one Pac-12 school from Oregon that has high hopes for the 2019-20 season. The Beavers reached the Sweet 16 last season and begin this one ranked seventh in the country. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, are 18th in the Top 25 and expect to make noise in the ACC behind preseason All-American Beatrice Mompremier (16.7 ppg, 12.2 rpg).

The final day of the final Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands should be a good one. Preseason No. 1 Oregon, looking to make a return trip to the national semifinals, takes on Louisville in a matchup of top 10 programs. While the Ducks bring back some major talent, the Cardinals need to move from losing star Asia Durr to the WNBA.

Ranked No. 2 to open the season, reigning national champion Baylor faces what should be its first major test on the young season against the Gamecocks in the Virgin Islands at the Paradise Jam. Coach Kim Mulkey's Bears have AP All-American Lauren Cox (13.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.7 apg) healthy and ready to help her team take on a South Carolina squad in this rematch of last season's Sweet 16 contest.

Notre Dame has had UConn's number during the postseason with Final Four victories in each of the last two seasons. Muffet McGraw's Irish, however, last beat Geno Auriemma's Huskies during the regular season back on March 4, 2013 — and needed triple overtime to get it done. UConn has more talent entering the season and should be a sizable favorite in this contest.

If there's one under-the-radar team to watch, it could be Arkansas. Entering the season ranked 22nd, the Razorbacks open in the Top 25 for the first time since 2005 thanks to the return of six of their top seven scorers from a squad that reached the WNIT. This should be their first major test of the season against the Aggies, who open 2019-20 ranked sixth.

This meeting between national powers will come just over one year from the date Baylor snapped UConn's 126-game regular-season winning streak with a 68-57 home victory over the then-No. 1-ranked Huskies on Jan. 3, 2019. That was also the turning point on the Bears' season and one that would conclude with the program's third national title. UConn gets its shot at payback at home this season.

Judging by the AP Poll, the Pac-12 is in store for a potentially special season. Four teams are ranked inside the top 11, with Oregon and Stanford in the top three. This will be their first meeting of the season, in Eugene. DiJonai Carrington scored 22 points, as Stanford beat Oregon 64-57 to win the Pac-12 Tournament championship last season.

Perhaps the greatest rivalry in women's college basketball history, Tennessee and Connecticut will meet again on the hardwood for the first time since 2007. The Vols ended the series back then under late Hall of Fame coach Pat Summit after claims that UConn committed violations related to recruiting. Though UConn is still a national power and Tennessee is trying to restore the glory of the program, the renewal of this rivalry is a long time coming.

Let's go with a two-fer here, considering the Ducks and Beavers will meet twice over a three-day span in January. The Oregon-Oregon State rivalry is pretty intense at the moment. These teams split their two regular-season matchups last February, with each winning at home. The scene inside Oregon State's Gill Coliseum for the Beavers' 67-62 win over Oregon last season was pretty special.

By the time these two powers meet in early February, they both should be well-tested and starting to round into their postseason form. The Ducks have the star power in Sabrina Ionescu (19.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 8.2 apg) and Ruthy Hebard (16.1 ppg, 91. rpg), but UConn at home, this late in the season, with talent such as Crystal Dangerfield, Megan Walker and Christyn Williams, seems too tough to beat. 

Any fan of college basketball — men's or women's — should make a point to watch 5-foot-7 Texas A&M guard Chennedy Carter. The preseason all-American averaged 23.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season. Carter's Aggies might be thinking Final Four, and this matchup with Mississippi State (which begins 2019-20 ranked 10th) could have a bearing on the SEC regular-season title chase.

Gone are the likes of Asia Durr and Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale, but it would not be a surprise to see the Cardinals and Irish meet here with the ACC regular-season title perhaps in the balance. These teams will have already met Jan. 30 in South Bend, but there should be more riding on this late-season get-together.

When these teams met at Stanford during the 2018-19 regular season, the Ducks rolled to an 88-48 victory. It was the worst defeat in legendary Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer's career with the program. Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu had 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Ruthy Hebard added 18 points with eight rebounds. Think Stanford will be hungry to avenge this defeat?