Undefeated Texas Tech welcomed the biggest addition in college basketball last week. Literally.
The Red Raiders added 7-foot-1 center Stephanie Okechukwu from Umunneochi, Nigeria. She will be the tallest player in the history of the women’s college game when she takes the court.
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Okechukwu is on campus and awaiting the NCAA’s determination of her eligibility. She has never played collegiate or professional basketball. Coach Krista Gerlich said she signed in October, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
“She was worth the time, effort and teamwork that went into getting her here,” Gerlich said in a news release. “She brings an element to our team that is an instant impact. Her ability to protect the rim and alter shots will be unique to one. She has great hands and touch around the basket and clearly will provide a big inside target at the rim.”
Okechukwu played high school basketball at Fukuchiyama Seibi in Kyoto, Japan, and speaks English, Igbo and Japanese. YouTube videos show her towering over Japanese competition, not even jumping for game-opening tip-offs, and easily dunking.
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Associate coach Erik DeRoo said the signing was the culmination of a two-year focus on international recruiting. Okechukwu becomes the fifth international player on the Red Raiders’ roster, joining teammates from France, Spain and the Czech Republic. Gemma Núñez (Spain) and Sarengbe Sanogo (France) have started every game.
Texas Tech, ranked 17th, is 16-0 and off to the best start in school history.
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Turning things around
Duke opened the season as the No. 7 team in the country but plummeted out of the poll after a 3-6 start that included four straight losses. The Blue Devils were playing one of the toughest schedules in the country and fell to then-No. 2 South Carolina, then-No. 3 UCLA, then-No. 5 LSU and then-No. 16 Baylor.
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Since that skid, Duke has ripped off six straight victories, culminating Sunday with an 82-68 win over then-No. 18 Notre Dame for its first ranked win. Sophomore Toby Fournier has flourished during the run with 11 straight games scoring 20-plus points. She had a career-high five assists against the Fighting Irish.
“Fournier is one of the top players in the country,” Duke Coach Kara Lawson said, “and she doesn’t get a lot of publicity from that standpoint relative to a lot of the other top players.”
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Shake up to start 2026
The first few days of the new year were stormy for ranked teams that cruised through the nonconference season.
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The top 10 got knocked around with LSU (previously No. 5), Michigan (previously No. 6), Maryland (previously No. 7), TCU (previously No. 8) and Iowa State (previously No. 10) falling and moving down. The Tigers dropped back-to-back games against then-No. 11 Kentucky and then-No. 12 Vanderbilt as they faced ranked teams for the first time. The Wolverines, Terrapins and Horned Frogs dropped games to unranked opponents. The Cyclones lost to Baylor. Notre Dame had its five-game winning streak end in a 95-90 overtime loss to unranked Georgia Tech before losing to unranked Duke.
The carnage wasn’t limited to the highly ranked teams. Previously undefeated Alabama, Georgia and Arizona State also took their first losses.
After the Vanderbilt loss, LSU Coach Kim Mulkey was asked about the parity in college basketball.
“Money, money, money, money,” Mulkey sung, alluding to the O’Jays song “For the Love Of Money.” “Have you been keeping up with college athletics? It’s called NIL.”
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Odds and ends
Iowa State center Audi Crooks had her fifth straight 30-point game before being held to 26 in the loss to Baylor. … TCU point guard Olivia Miles recorded her fourth triple-double to set the Big 12 single-season record. … Maryland guard Oluchi Okananwa had career highs twice in the past week, setting a new mark with 34 points against Indiana on Sunday. The junior surpassed 20 points just three times in two seasons at Duke, topping out at 22. … Sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes scored 32 points in Vanderbilt’s 65-61 win over LSU. That was her fourth 30-point game of the season and the Commodores’ first win over a top-five team since 2009.
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Poll movement
There were massive changes up and down the poll after upsets highlighted the week. Moving up five spots apiece were No. 6 Kentucky and No. 7 Vanderbilt, while No. 5 Oklahoma bumped up three slots. Louisville improved three positions to No. 10.
On the opposite end, No. 11 Iowa State, No. 12 LSU and No. 13 TCU fell out of the top 10. Maryland dropped from No. 7 to No. 8, and No. 9 Michigan slid three places.
Michigan State made the biggest jump, nine spots to No. 15. No. 16 Baylor climbed six spaces, and No. 17 Texas Tech improved from No. 21. Tennessee moved from No. 23 to No. 20, and No. 24 Princeton stepped up one spot.
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Dropping three places was No. 18 Mississippi, while No. 21 USC fell four slots and No. 22 North Carolina plummeted from No. 16. Nebraska barely held on to a place in the poll at No. 25 after falling five spots. Notre Dame is unranked for the first time this season.
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Games of the week
A top-five showdown highlights the week as No. 2 Texas hits the road to face No. 12 LSU on Sunday. The Longhorns remain undefeated, and LSU is trying to recover from back-to-back losses against ranked opponents. These are the top two teams in the nation in scoring margin, with LSU at plus-48.1 and Texas at plus-38.4.
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Other games to watch: No. 12 LSU at Georgia on Thursday; No. 18 Mississippi at No. 5 Oklahoma on Thursday; No. 6 Kentucky at Alabama on Thursday; No. 15 Michigan State at No. 23 Washington on Thursday; No. 19 Ohio State at No. 8 Maryland on Sunday; No. 5 Oklahoma at No. 6 Kentucky on Sunday; Mississippi State at No. 18 Mississippi on Sunday; and No. 4 UCLA at No. 25 Nebraska on Sunday.
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