Anecdotally, it feels as though some of the novelty has worn off with Unrivaled, as the new league hits the middle of the season while trying to compete with major off-court action in both the NBA and WNBA, as well as Super Bowl build up. On the court, though, Week 3 delivered great games and strange drama.
The showdown of the last remaining undefeated teams lived up to expectations, as Lunar Owls and Laces battled down to the wire on Friday until Skylar Diggins-Smith hit a game-winning free throw -- the fourth time she's ended a game this season.
Later in the weekend, the referees took center stage. Most notably, Angel Reese became the first player ejected from a game in Unrivaled history after she received two technicals in a strange incident during Rose's win over Laces. Furthermore, Phantom coach Adam Harrington got ejected in the fourth quarter of Phantom's loss to Mist, and Breanna Stewart's ensuing technical free throw ended the game.
Here are CBS Sports' latest Unrivaled Power Rankings.
1. Lunar Owls BC (6-0) – Last week: No. 1
Lunar Owls just keep rolling right along. After a thrilling comeback win over Laces and an easy night against Vinyl, they are now the only undefeated team in the league. Napheesa Collier is simply unstoppable, but Skylar Diggins-Smith's clutch play should not be overlooked. She made the game-ending free throw to take down Laces and has now scored the winning points in four of their six wins.
2. Laces BC (4-2) – Last week: No. 2
Laces' injury issues unfortunately continued this week. Alyssa Thomas remained sidelined with a knee injury, while Jackie Young's return from her own knee issue was short-lived. She left their loss to Rose after an awkward landing on a 3-point attempt. In addition, Tiffany Hayes departed the defeat against Rose with concussion symptoms, and her status for this weekend remains unclear. Their two defeats this week to end their perfect start to the season are secondary to their key players' health status.
3. Mist BC (2-4) – Last week: No. 5
Here come the Mist. After a winless first two weeks, in which three of its four defeats came by five points or fewer, Mist finally got on track by beating Vinyl and Phantom, and have suddenly jumped into third place. Breanna Stewart, who hit a game-ending technical free throw against Phantom, has been on a tear since her rough opening night performance. She's up to sixth in the league in scoring, second in rebounding, fourth in steals and fifth in blocks.
4. Rose BC (2-4) – Last week: No. 4
Bit of a strange week for Rose, who had one of their worst showings of the season against Phantom, then followed it up by beating second-place Laces for their best win thus far despite Angel Reese getting ejected in strange circumstances. Azura Stevens has found her groove after an up-and-down start, and averaged 21 points and seven rebounds this week on 58% shooting off the bench.
5. Phantom BC (2-4) – Last week: No. 6
The Phantom didn't get embarrassed this week, which is not a high bar to clear, but it's the first time they've been able to say that. In fact, they might have won both games if their coach didn't get Td up on game point. Sabrina Ionescu's return was vital, particularly from a playmaking perspective, as she dished out 17 assists this weekend. She's now eighth in the league in total assists despite only playing three games.
6. Vinyl BC (2-4) – Last week: No. 3
After such a positive start to the season, Vinyl have suddenly lost four games in a row, which is the longest active losing streak in the league. They were ice cold from 3-point range this week, going a combined 8 of 32, but their poor defense was the bigger issue. Both Mist and Lunar Owls carved them up, particularly inside the paint, where Vinyl's lack of size can be an issue, especially when Arike Ogunbowale and Jordin Canada are on the court together.
