For the first time since early December, we have a new team topping the women’s college basketball rankings this week, as Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks have found their way back to the top.
Louisville held first place for almost two months, before falling to NC State on Monday. NC State rises to the second position with the victory and it can certainly be a very strong case for the first place. UCLA and Texas A&M climbed to the top five this week, as UConn also dropped to Arkansas, which took them out of the top five
Northwestern had an impressive home win over Ohio, in a game the Buckeyes really needed to win, which catapulted them to 18th place this week. Missouri State and Georgia Tech also enter the ranking. For Missouri State, it’s a return to the top 25 after just over a month, while the Yellow Jackets are making their first appearance of the season after a convincing victory over Syracuse on Tuesday night.
With another week full of big games ahead of me, I’m looking at two: South Carolina at UConn and Arizona in Oregon – both on Monday night.
Below are our top 25 updated rankings as we prepare for another great college basketball weekend.
25 best female power ratings
1. South Carolina (14-1)
Gamecocks returned to the top spot this week for the first time since early December. Dawn Staley’s team has done nothing but win since then, including recent consecutive wins of more than 20 points over the states of Mississippi and Alabama. Many people are likely to have NC State at the top of the polls next week after their victory over Louisville and their previous victory over South Carolina, and that is hard to argue. But for me, South Carolina is the best team in the country. I almost put Gamecocks ahead of Louisville for the past three weeks. Aliyah Boston is the most important player in the country, Gamecocks are increasingly better in defense and have several players who can score. It’s close, but Boston is what makes the difference. She is now, she will be next week and she will be in March. At the moment, it’s South Carolina. Previous: two
2. NC State (12-1)
In my pre-season ratings, I had NC State at No. 9, and I stated that, due to Wolfpack’s talent and experience, this team would be a contender for the Final Four. I was wrong. I should have said, ‘this team is a candidate for the national championship.’ Wolfpack handed another No. 1 team a home defeat in Louisville on Monday night, with a convincing 74-60 victory. Last week, Wolfpack lost its first game of the season, a 12-point loss in overtime to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. They played that game without their best player, Elissa Cunane, who was out on the pitch for about a month. Cunane returned on Monday night and scored 16 points and six rebounds. Although I bet on their losses to Virginia Tech, I don’t bet that much. This team has already proved that it is one of the best in the country. Sophomores Jakia Brown-Turner and Jada Boyd have played very well, both scoring 16 points in Monday’s victory. Add that to the experience that Wes Moore’s team has and this is a team with a legitimate chance of winning everything. My concern is its depth. Wolfpack played only six players for more than 10 minutes on Monday. It may not come into play, but if it does, it is a concern. Previous: 3
3. UCLA (9-2)
Unfortunately, the Bruins had their recent top ten battle with Arizona postponed, but have won five consecutive victories in this weekend’s games against Washington State and Washington. Their game against the state of Washington is to watch Friday. If UCLA strives to score, especially in the final stretch, Washington will win. For now, the Cori Close team is playing very well, especially in defense. It is also closing teams and winning games played. The Bruins have won their last three games over Washington, Stanford and Arizona by a total of nine points. The story remains the same for this team. UCLA will defend, defend and defend, but can it continue to score points? Michaela Onyenwere and Charisma Osborne are the keys to this. If they score at a high level, this is a Final Four team. If they don’t, the Bruins’ defense will keep them in the games, but continuing to beat the closest opponents will become increasingly difficult. Previous: 4
4. Texas A&M (16-1)
When you look at Texas A&M programming, there is a consistent theme and a consistent letter that stands out: “W.” This team continues to win. Although Gary Blair’s team continues to win, I believe that the Aggies also remain somewhat overlooked. They have had four consecutive wins since the solitary defeat at LSU and will host the Tigers on Thursday night, before hosting Tennessee on Sunday. Senior N’dea Jones continues to play well for the Aggies, adding 38 points in his last two wins over Auburn and Georgia. In a loaded SEC, the Aggies are at the top. Previous: 7
5. Stanford (13-2)
After consecutive defeats to Colorado and UCLA earlier this month and a brief hiatus from our top five, Tara VanDerveer’s team is back. The cardinal has won four consecutive games after his last loss to UCLA, including consecutive wins against a good Washington state team. Stanford won those four games by 103 points combined. Haley Jones remains the star of a deep and talented Stanford team. They had nine players playing more than ten minutes in their last win over Washington. While Jones may be the most wanted player, Stanford can score points in a number of ways and senior Kiana Williams is the glue. Home games against Colorado and Utah await this weekend, before Stanford travels to Oregon next weekend to face Oregon and Oregon State. Previous: 8
6. Louisville (16-1)
This may seem like a steep drop from No. 1 to No. 6 with just one defeat, especially knowing how much I like Jeff Walz’s team, but the margin for error is small now. The only thing that prevented some from putting Louisville at the top was their programming power and that is showing up here now. DePaul’s beating in December was impressive, but the teams above them have a larger collection of victories. That said, the Cardinals will be fine. Dana Evans was fantastic in losing to NC State, losing 29 points, and she has been great all year. Louisville’s youth seemed to catch up with them. Freshman Hailey Van Lith scored 3 out of 10 on the field, scoring just six points, and Wolfpack did a great job defensively. The other freshman Olivia Cochran did well, with eight points and nine rebounds, but she never really stood up against Cunane. Louisville is only going to get better with this as it moves on to what appears to be a deceptively difficult stretch. Previous: 1
7. UConn (12-1)
The Huskies had their first loss of the season last week, losing 90-87 to Arkansas. Their two wins over DePaul and Tennessee remain strong, and the Huskies will benefit greatly from Monday night’s game against No. 1 South Carolina. I give a lot of credit to UConn and Arkansas for putting this game on schedule – this will help both teams. Despite the defeat, Paige Bueckers was excellent, scoring the team’s best mark with 27 points from 10 of 15 shots. She followed up with a 22-point display, seven rebounds and 10 assists in a dominating victory over DePaul. Bueckers also played his best game of the season in Wednesday’s big win over St. John’s. Christyn Williams also had a good week, highlighted by losing 29 in the victory over DePaul, but missed out on Wednesday’s game against St. John’s due to an ankle injury. She should be back this weekend. The Huskies’ defense court is clicking and is happening at the right time. Olivia Nelson-Ododa needs to be more consistent with Geno Auriemma’s team. She scored just two points in 20 minutes against Arkansas, but then managed a solid 10-point performance and seven rebounds against DePaul. It needs to be a double threat each time, especially as they prepare to welcome Aliyah Boston and South Carolina on Monday. Previous: 5
8. Arizona (11-2)
Having three consecutive games postponed certainly did the Wildcats (or their opponents) no favors, but the fact is that Adia Barnes has a really good team, especially in defense, and has a star in Aari McDonald. Arizona hasn’t played since January 22 and is set to take the court again this weekend for a very challenging Pac 12 road series against Oregon State on Friday and Oregon on ESPN2 Monday night. Previous: 6
9. Oregon (11-3)
In a situation very similar to that of Arizona, the Ducks have not played since January 24, as they have also had their last three games postponed. They will have a difficult time coming, with three of the next four games against teams from the top ten, starting with a home game against Arizona on Monday. Previous: 9
10. Maryland (12-2)
This is where it gets a little complicated for me. This was a virtual dispute between Maryland, Baylor and the state of Ohio, but I am going with Maryland here due to a better overall set of work – the same reason I have South Carolina in the first place over NC. Despite the two-point loss to the State of Ohio, the Terrapins’ victory over Arkansas now looks even better, while the victory over Indiana is also solid. Brenda Frese also has her team at the top of the Big Ten ranking, which needs to take care of something. With four active players averaging double digits (Ashley Owusu, Diamond Miller, Katie Benzan and Chloe Bibby), Terps can score with anyone in the country. The question is, can they defend themselves consistently enough to make a deep run? Currently, they are giving up 75.1 PPG, which is the country’s 309th. This will not be done in March, but there is still plenty of time for the Terps to improve on that side of the ball. Previous: 12
| Classification | Team | Record | Ant. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Baylor | 12-2 | 11 |
| 12 | Ohio State | 10-2 | 10 |
| 13 | Arkansas | 13-6 | 20 |
| 14 | DePaul | 9-4 | 15 |
| 15 | USF | 10-1 | 13 |
| 16 | Kentucky | 13-4 | 16 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 12-3 | 18 |
| 18 | Northwest | 10-3 | NR |
| 19 | South Dakota State | 13-2 | 19 |
| 20 | Gonzaga | 16-2 | 22 |
| 21 | Michigan | 10-1 | 21 |
| 22 | Indiana | 10-4 | 14 |
| 23 | West Virginia | 14-2 | 24 |
| 24 | Missouri State | 11-2 | NR |
| 25 | Georgia Tech | 10-3 | NR |
First five: Iowa State, Mississippi State, Texas, Georgia and Syracuse
Who fell? Mississippi, Georgia and Texas State
Who entered? Northwestern, Missouri and Syracuse