Elite Teams

[donalddoowop]

Just some thoughts with which I'm sure someone will disagree . I believe the only elite teams in women's D1 BB are Uconn, Texas, and Baylor. Notre Dame is close but elite teams don't lose to the teams they have lost to. Elite teams don't lose to Tennessee. Maryland may be elite but they are hard to determine based on their OOC schedule. However, if they don't lose in conference play then consider them to be elite. FS, Washington, SC and MS are very good teams that are a level beneath elite. I don't believe any of the west coast teams are elite although some have elite players. The thing that keeps MS and other SEC teams from being elite is the problem they have scoring consistently in the 70's or 80's against the better teams. Just saying. Why do I mention elite. Because the teams that have won the past five NCAA's have been elite teams.

 

[EricLA]

Just my $.02... I believe elite is more expansive than a 1 game loss. I think to be elite you need to go back 5-7 years and look at the history of each program and see who has performed well in that time frame. Then you need to look at who's performing well now. Then you need to look at how those teams are recruiting over the next few years.

Going back to 2010, NC winners have been UCONN (5), Baylor, and aTm
Final 4's have been UCONN (7), ND (5), Stanford (4), Baylor (2), Maryland (2), and 1 each for aTm, L'ville, Washington, Syracuse, South Carolina, Oregon State, Cal, and Oklahoma.

This is NOT in order, but I believe the elite teams in WCBB are:

UCONN - far and away the pinnacle of WCBB
Baylor - ND has more FF's, but less talent at the moment IMHO. They also continue to recruit at an elite level.
Notre Dame - 4 final 4's in 7 years - that makes them elite. They continue to recruit at an elite level as well.

IMHO those are the elite of the elite. The next tier IMHO is

Stanford - I left them off because while they are percolating around the top 10, they don't have "great" classes on the horizon and I don't see them as a final 4 threat in the next few years
Maryland - Left them off because they are close but no cigar. They need more final 4 consistency and appearances in NC games to bump up
SC - Same as Maryland. For all their talent, 1 final 4 in the last 7 years does not make a team elite.

There's really no one else "worthy" IMHO of making the list. Individual teams may have a great recruiting class, may land a top 5 player or 2, but none of them do it consistently. Don't get me wrong - there are a lot of really good teams behind that lists of 6 I threw out there, but just not elite. Florida State, Texas, UCLA, L'ville, OSU, and Duke all seem to be recruiting well and should stick around the top 10 for the next several years.

I question whether teams like Mississippi State, Washington, Oregon State, Syracuse, Miami and NC State can continue to be top 15 threats, or if their recruiting will fall off after stars leave. And then there's Tennessee - good recruiting classes the next 2 years, but they've done so much less with more that it's hard to know if the new kids will be any help at all...

 

[donalddoowop]

I am not speaking of elite programs. I am referring only to the teams on the court this season. It makes me wonder when I hear some of the television people say that last season Texas, ND or some other teams gave Uconn a tough game and should be prepared when they face them this season. They did not play this particular Uconn team last season. Comparisons should not be made. The teams I mentioned are elite teams this season. What they did in previous seasons I did not take into consideration.

 

[Plebe]

Just some thoughts with which I'm sure someone will disagree . I believe the only elite teams in women's D1 BB are Uconn, Texas, and Baylor. Notre Dame is close but elite teams don't lose to the teams they have lost to. Elite teams don't lose to Tennessee. Maryland may be elite but they are hard to determine based on their OOC schedule. However, if they don't lose in conference play then consider them to be elite. FS, Washington, SC and MS are very good teams that are a level beneath elite. I don't believe any of the west coast teams are elite although some have elite players. The thing that keeps MS and other SEC teams from being elite is the problem they have scoring consistently in the 70's or 80's against the better teams. Just saying. Why do I mention elite. Because the teams that have won the past five NCAA's have been elite teams.

I would like to announce a contest in which people guess how many times the word "elite" appears in this paragraph. No cheating!

 

[EricLA]

I am not speaking of elite programs. I am referring only to the teams on the court this season. It makes me wonder when I hear some of the television people say that last season Texas, ND or some other teams gave Uconn a tough game and should be prepared when they face them this season. They did not play this particular Uconn team last season. Comparisons should not be made. The teams I mentioned are elite teams this season. What they did in previous seasons I did not take into consideration.

Gotcha. Well then it depends on who you think will make the final 4. If you are ONLY asking about elite teams this year, then I would say UCONN, Maryland, and then after that it's a Crapp Shoot. Baylor, Notre Dame, Mississippi State, SC, Florida State, and Texas are all question marks. All have at least 1 loss to a team NOT named UCONN. So what conclusions can be drawn? No idea, but I'm sure we'll have a better idea once the conference tourneys are completed...

 

[Orangutan]

Notre Dame - 4 final 4's in 7 years - that makes them elite. They continue to recruit at an elite level as well.

Ahem, 5.

I think of it more in terms of tiers. UConn on Tier 1. Baylor on Tier 2. And then a large group in tier 3 - South Carolina, Florida State, Mississippi State, Maryland, Washington, Texas, Notre Dame.

If you draw the "elite" line after tier 2, there are only two elite teams. If you draw it after tier 3, there are closer to ten elite teams.

 

[EricLA]

Ahem, 5.

I think of it more in terms of tiers. UConn on Tier 1. Baylor on Tier 2. And then a large group in tier 3 - South Carolina, Florida State, Mississippi State, Maryland, Washington, Texas, Notre Dame.

If you draw the "elite" line after tier 2, there are only two elite teams. If you draw it after tier 3, there are closer to ten elite teams.

I elevated Baylor and Notre Dame based on NC's, final 4's, and current/future roster. That's why I did not include any of the other teams (Stanford, Maryland, SC) on the currently elite programs in WCBB. Stanford has several FF's, but not a "great" team right now, altho they do have 2 top 15 kids from 2017. SC has a great team right now, but only 1 FF, and they don't have elite level recruits from the 2016 class (current freshmen) or the 2017 class. Maryland has a great 2016 but struck out in 2017. Too inconsistent...

Of the other teams you mentioned (FSU, SC, Miss State, Wash, Tex, and even L'ville, etc), only Texas has been recruiting really well and I think will jump near the top tier next year. UCLA has also been recruiting really consistently as well...and you could probably add Duke in there too...All just my opinion of course...

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I elevated Baylor and Notre Dame based on NC's, final 4's, and current/future roster. That's why I did not include any of the other teams (Stanford, Maryland, SC) on the currently elite programs in WCBB. Stanford has several FF's, but not a "great" team right now, altho they do have 2 top 15 kids from 2017. SC has a great team right now, but only 1 FF, and they don't have elite level recruits from the 2016 class (current freshmen) or the 2017 class. Maryland has a great 2016 but struck out in 2017. Too inconsistent..

Of the other teams you mentioned (FSU, SC, Miss State, Wash, Tex, and even L'ville, etc), only Texas has been recruiting really well and I think will jump near the top tier next year. UCLA has also been recruiting really consistently as well..and you could probably add Duke in there too..All just my opinion of course..

I sort of agree with your thinking about elite programs.

I actually can't imagine calling a single year's team "elite".

 

[DaddyChoc]

Elite is anyone with a McDonalds HS All-American on the roster

 

[alexrgct]

Elite? You know it when you see it. UConn must be elite because the ahuskies are #1. It's a self-fulfilling definition. You beat the brains out of every team you face, and you're elite. Congratulations!


If UConn beats South Carolina, the Huskies must be elite. 100 in a row is unheard of. If any accomplishment is without precedent, it must be elite. Yes, rare and widely sought. That's elite. Fair enough?