NCAA Preseason Top-10

[DaBball]

Women's college basketball rankings: The preseason top 10 for 2019-20

Here are the preseason Top 10 women's college basketball teams for 2019-20, ranked by NCAA.com's Michelle Smith.

www.ncaa.com

1. Oregon

2. Baylor

3. Stanford

4. Texas A&M

5. Maryland

6. Oregon State

7. Connecticut

It's been a while since we've seen Geno Auriemma’s team ranked this low to start a season. But it’s also been three years since the Huskies last won a title.

Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson are gone for the pro game and it’s time for a reboot in Storrs.

Crystal Dangerfield and Christyn Williams will be the leaders here. Auriemma is waiting with bated breath to see if he can add Tennessee transfer Evina Westbrook to his roster this season or whether he will have to wait until next year.

8. Mississippi State

9. South Carolina

10. UCLA

 

[meyers7]

Women's college basketball rankings: The preseason top 10 for 2019-20

Here are the preseason Top 10 women's college basketball teams for 2019-20, ranked by NCAA.com's Michelle Smith.

www.ncaa.com

1. Oregon

2. Baylor

3. Stanford

4. Texas A&M

5. Maryland

6. Oregon State

7. Connecticut

It's been a while since we've seen Geno Auriemma’s team ranked this low to start a season. But it’s also been three years since the Huskies last won a title.

Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson are gone for the pro game and it’s time for a reboot in Storrs.

Crystal Dangerfield and Christyn Williams will be the leaders here. Auriemma is waiting with bated breath to see if he can add Tennessee transfer Evina Westbrook to his roster this season or whether he will have to wait until next year.

8. Mississippi State

9. South Carolina

10. UCLA

Well at least she got the breath correct.

 

[UConnCat]

So 8 Stanford players are mentioned by name, including 2 who have yet to play a game, but Megan Walker doesn’t get a mention. Interesting.

 

[Dokey]

I suspect UConn will record up to four losses in regular season but, with luck, make Final Four. Starting the next season, they will start a new run of consecutive national championships.

 

[victor64]

So 8 Stanford players are mentioned by name, including 2 who have yet to play a game, but Megan Walker doesn’t get a mention. Interesting.

Or any mention of the youngest player on the gold medal America Cup team. The more I think about it, the more I think ONO is going to be a monster this year.

 

[PAC-12HoopFan]

Very difficult to believe, Westbrook or not, that UConn shouldn't be included in any preseason Top 4 until the Huskies fail to make a Final Four.

Stanford's incoming (and unproven) talent continues to bolster its preseason rankings.

 

[Bama fan]

Well at least she got the breath correct.

I liked the "bated" breath reference. Shows some grasp of language, and avoids the awful homophone trap. But the analysis was crap.

 

[cabbie191]

More striking to me is the absence of Notre Dame in the top ten.

 

[meyers7]

Again, not that any polls really matter, but polls that are not AP or Coach's/USA polls matter even less.

 

[DEpup]

What a joke. That was only written to create talk and get attention....

 

[Carnac]

Women's college basketball rankings: The preseason top 10 for 2019-20

Here are the preseason Top 10 women's college basketball teams for 2019-20, ranked by NCAA.com's Michelle Smith.

www.ncaa.com

1. Oregon

2. Baylor

3. Stanford

4. Texas A&M

5. Maryland

6. Oregon State

7. Connecticut

It's been a while since we've seen Geno Auriemma’s team ranked this low to start a season. But it’s also been three years since the Huskies last won a title.

Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson are gone for the pro game and it’s time for a reboot in Storrs.

Crystal Dangerfield and Christyn Williams will be the leaders here. Auriemma is waiting with bated breath to see if he can add Tennessee transfer Evina Westbrook to his roster this season or whether he will have to wait until next year.

8. Mississippi State

9. South Carolina

10. UCLA

If these top 7 teams played a ROUND ROBIN tournament at the beginning of the season, which one would come out on top? I can't believe that Stanford, Texas A&M, Maryland and Oregon St are better teams to begin the season than UConn. I'm going to pay particular attention to Oregon and Baylor this season (especially since UConn plays them both). Having potential is one thing, reaching and/or exceeding that potential is something else. I'm not convinced at this point that either of them is THAT good yet. I live I So. California, but I’m from Missouri.

 

[oldude]

I suspect UConn will record up to four losses in regular season but, with luck, make Final Four. Starting the next season, they will start a new run of consecutive national championships.

UConn’s toughest road game this season is against a rebuilding SC, a team the Huskies have never lost to. All the other top teams play UConn in CT, where the Huskies haven’t lost in almost 6 years. I’m not sure where you come up with 4 losses?

 

[soxfan23]

More striking to me is the absence of Notre Dame in the top ten.

Why? ND is going to be abysmal this year, they lost everybody!

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Very difficult to believe, Westbrook or not, that UConn shouldn't be included in any preseason Top 4 until the Huskies fail to make a Final Four.

Stanford's incoming (and unproved) talent continues to bolster its preseason rankings.

As I've said in another thread, Stanford have 9 McDonald's All Americans on their roster. Add to that they have a top 4 coach and you have a recipe for great success.

I think (along with myself), that people are having an issue with UConn's fifth starter. If Westbrook waiver is granted, all this talk about UConn not being a top 3 team will end.

 

[Alydar]

Michele is hunting clicks, not being honest.

But it’s also been three years since the Huskies last won a title.

True, but is it honest? And if that is so important to mention why not tell us how long it's been for the other teams. This is what Michele seems to feel is honest journalism. I say she has a fallback career as a shill in a carnival. Too harsh? She is well aware that of the 6 teams she picks in front of UConn only Baylor has won one in the last 10 ten years. UConn has won 5. In the previous 10 years Maryland has one, UConn has 5. So if she wants to pick UConn 7th she should at least have some serious reasons to do so. The one she uses isn't.

I know they do this to incite UConn fans. And it works. What annoys me is that when the final four rolls around they never go back and grade themselves on this kind of astute "analysis". So I'll save this article and will retieve it in April, for better or worse.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Michele is hunting clicks, not being honest.



True, but is it honest? And if that is so important to mention why not tell us how long it's been for the other teams. This is what Michele seems to feel is honest journalism. I say she has a fallback career as a shill in a carnival. Too harsh? She is well aware that of the 6 teams she picks in front of UConn only Baylor has won one in the last 10 ten years. UConn has won 5. In the previous 10 years Maryland has one, UConn has 5. So if she wants to pick UConn 7th she should at least have some serious reasons to do so. The one she uses isn't.

I know they do this to incite UConn fans. And it works. What annoys me is that when the final four rolls around they never go back and grade themselves on this kind of astute "analysis". So I'll save this article and will retieve it in April, for better or worse.

I thought that was a stupid comment. If that was the case, Maryland should be ranked 35th because they haven't gotten past the round of 32 three of the past four years.

 

[AmeriConn]

Women's college basketball rankings: The preseason top 10 for 2019-20

Here are the preseason Top 10 women's college basketball teams for 2019-20, ranked by NCAA.com's Michelle Smith.

www.ncaa.com

1. Oregon

2. Baylor

3. Stanford

4. Texas A&M

5. Maryland

6. Oregon State

7. Connecticut

It's been a while since we've seen Geno Auriemma’s team ranked this low to start a season. But it’s also been three years since the Huskies last won a title.

Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson are gone for the pro game and it’s time for a reboot in Storrs.

Crystal Dangerfield and Christyn Williams will be the leaders here. Auriemma is waiting with bated breath to see if he can add Tennessee transfer Evina Westbrook to his roster this season or whether he will have to wait until next year.

8. Mississippi State

9. South Carolina

10. UCLA

Hmmmm. So it makes you wonder, does NCAA.Com already know the conclusion on the Westbrook waiver?

 

[cabbie191]

Why? ND is going to be abysmal this year, they lost everybody!

Didn't say that I disagreed with the preseason rankings - point was that ND has been top ranked for a really long time so it is notable that they weren't in this top ten list.


But to your point, I remember a few years ago when the Irish also lost a whole lot of talent and were expected to be down and out. Didn't happen then; not so sure it happens now.

 

[Alydar]

Didn't say that I disagreed with the preseason rankings - point was that ND has been top ranked for a really long time so it is notable that they weren't in this top ten list.


But to your point, I remember a few years ago when the Irish also lost a whole lot of talent and were expected to be down and out. Didn't happen then; not so sure it happens now.

By March the Irish will be a good team because they have a great coach. I wouldn't want MM in my region as a 3 or 4 seed.

 

[TheFarmFan]

As I've said in another thread, Stanford have 9 McDonald's All Americans on their roster. Add to that they have a top 4 coach and you have a recipe for great success.

I think (along with myself), that people are having an issue with UConn's fifth starter. If Westbrook waiver is granted, all this talk about UConn not being a top 3 team will end.

Even I have a hard time with this ranking. I kind of feel like the author doesn't know much about the current status/progress of our team. First, Fingall is still recovering from a late season ACL surgery and I've not heard anything about when they think she'll be cleared to play, let alone how quickly she'll be back to her old form. Personally, I've assumed it will be until at least January that she's even back to playing starter minutes absent obvious signals to the contrary. And Tara historically has not rushed her players back from injury.

Second, Dodson was both a foul machine and had more bunny misses than any post I've seen at Stanford as a sophomore, so she is still a ways to go before I'd be confident needing her for more than 15-20 minutes a game. Indeed, losing both Smith and Coffee really hurts us at the high post because neither Fingall nor Dodson (especially) is great at jumpers.

Third, I believe Carrington had surgery in the offseason (at least, she spent a considerable chunk of the summer in a boot), and I don't remember seeing her in the practice photos/videos the team has released. So that suggests she may not be court-ready yet, either.

Fourth, the twins are great glue players, but Lexi missed half of last season with a stress fracture in her foot, so it remains to be seen how many minutes she can give this season. Hopefully many more than last, but!

So, I guess my assessment is that unless Jones and Belibi are "shovel-ready" projects that can start from day one, I actually think Stanford has way more question marks than UConn. Sure, best case scenario, Stanford probably warrants a higher pre-season ranking, but at this point I'm skeptical of the best case scenario...

...and the best case scenario for UConn, of course, is having Westbrook trade off point duties with Dangerfield from day one. So, yeah. We'll see.

 

[EricLA]

As I've said in another thread, Stanford have 9 McDonald's All Americans on their roster. Add to that they have a top 4 coach and you have a recipe for great success.

I think (along with myself), that people are having an issue with UConn's fifth starter. If Westbrook waiver is granted, all this talk about UConn not being a top 3 team will end.

I don't disagree with you regarding Westbrook, but even without her, IMHO UCONN is a top 4 team. I know I'm a bit of a homer, but between Makurat, Adebayo, and Griffin, I suspect the 5th starter would be between Anna and Aubrey. Given Anna's tremendous international experience, and Aubrey's insane athleticism, the non-starter will be first off the bench with plenty of time for Adebayo and Camara (if healthy).

Pollsters seem to forget - if you count Ionescu as a 2G, Danger is probably the best PG in the nation. Williams came on so strong at the end of the season and has had a terrific summer, she should be on everyone's AA pre-season watch list (perhaps honorable mention to start the season). Same goes for ONO (to a lesser degree).

And why no one (or very few) is mentioning Walker is a bit of a mystery when you see 8 or 9 players talked about for "Stanford", as if Jones will be better than Walker or Williams.

 

[Vowelguy]

Bad subject header. It's NOT the NCAA top 10. It's Michelle Smith's.

 

[Zorro]

I liked the "bated" breath reference. Shows some grasp of language, and avoids the awful homophone trap. But the analysis was crap.

You must be thinking of the cat who ate the cheese and waited by the mouse hole with baited breath, no?

 

[ctkaiser]

So 8 Stanford players are mentioned by name, including 2 who have yet to play a game, but Megan Walker doesn’t get a mention. Interesting.

Hopefully someone mentions it to her so she can have another reason to get motivated.

 

[Carnac]

Didn't say that I disagreed with the preseason rankings - point was that ND has been top ranked for a really long time so it is notable that they weren't in this top ten list.


But to your point, I remember a few years ago when the Irish also lost a whole lot of talent and were expected to be down and out. Didn't happen then; not so sure it happens now.

Not having a single returning starter would be extremely challenging for any coach. You start at square one with everybody, and pray it comes together before too long. Those are the cards Muffet was dealt. Those are the cards she’ll play. They won’t be 29-2, but they won’t be 2-29 either. I’m guessing they lose 5-7 games.

Those of you that are familiar with me know that I am not a fan of McGraw or Notre Dame, but I do respect her ability to recruit quality players and coach them up. Unlike some, she usually gets the most/best from ALL of her players.

Regardless of the circumstances, Notre Dame will be formidable this year. McGraw can put a “patchwork” starting lineup together as well as anyone and make it float. I wouldn’t be too quick to count them out. Let’s see how fare during their OOC schedule before we draw any conclusions.