Pre-Season AP Top 25 | The Boneyard

Pre-Season AP Top 25

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I hate to say it, but I think that UConn at #2 is a bit high. Except for Paige, KK, and Shade, there are a lot of unknown (coming back from injuries) and unproven (new players). I would put them on the top 5, but not #2. Not that the pre-season ranking matters much.
 
bballnut90 said:
I think voters nailed the top 10, though South Carolina deserves to be unanimous #1.

Iowa should be top 25, even without Clark. They still have Stuehlke, Affolter, and Olsen.
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Agreed!
 
I think by the end of the year. Once all of the chemistry has been built up. I think it will be apparent that USC is the best team. Until then. South Carolina is the right team in this spot.

I agree with jdote33. I don’t know what voters like about North Carolina. They do seem really high.

Creighton isn’t a top 25 team for me either. Sorry. The big east will not be good this year imo.

Also, I agree that UConn seems too high. But only one spot too high. Notre dame, Texas, UCLA. None are obviously better than UConn at this time.
 
Gamecockfan77 said:
I think it's a little weird to act like SCar doesn't have a good idea what to expect out of players like Fulwiley and Tessa Johnson and Chloe Kitts.

It's fair to question whether Cardoso was the decisive piece, but to act like SCar has anything like uncertainty about whether its roster as a whole is championship quality is a little peculiar. Very few question marks.

The three freshmen are not necessarily needed but pretty sure Joyce Edwards will be over qualified for her role.
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-Kitts is a returning starter who put up a double double in the title game
-Johnson led SC in scoring in the title game and was All-Final Four team (and was consistently excellent in the NCAA tournament)
-Fulwiley was SEC Tournament MVP as a freshman and 2nd on the team in scoring for the season

I'd say those 3 are proven commodities rather than 'promising'
 
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The real top 25 pre-season Poll (plus all teams receiving votes, including UTennesee with 3 votes (@36th) ) has been posted on ESPN:

2024-25 Women's College Basketball Rankings - ESPN​

Find the 2024-25 NCAAW rankings on ESPN, including the Coaches and AP poll for the top 25 NCAAW teams.
www.espn.com

UCONN, as expected, steps off into the season with the #2 ranking to South Carolina's #1.

Through 12/21, the Huskies play:
#15 UNC @ Greensboro, NC, 11/15/24
(possibly) #20 Ole Miss @ Nassau, 11/27/24
#17 Louisville @ Brooklyn, NY, 12/7/24
#6 uNd @ South Bend, 12/12/24
#8 Iowa State @ Mohegan Sun, 12/17/24
AND #3 USoCal @ the XL Center, 12/21/24

The only other BE ranked team is Creighton at #21 (home & home series).

South Carolina is @ Columbia, SC two days after Valentine's Day, and if both the Huskies and Dawn's team run the table to that point it will be a #1 vs. #2 match-up!

Go Huskies!!!
 
bballnut90 said:
I think voters nailed the top 10, though South Carolina deserves to be unanimous #1.

Iowa should be top 25, even without Clark. They still have Stuehlke, Affolter, and Olsen.
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Stuelke relied on CC for open shots. Rarely did she create her own. I wouldn’t say Stuelke will be the same as last year at all but we’ll see.
 
ND above UCLA 1000%. The voters are on something for that one. LSU needs to be a bit lower, maybe 10-11.
 
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yhun89 said:
Stuelke relied on CC for open shots. Rarely did she create her own. I wouldn’t say Stuelke will be the same as last year at all but we’ll see.
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She’s still a strong player and excellent finisher. Iowa won’t be nearly as good without CC but Stuehlke/Affolter/Olsen alone make Iowa a top 25 caliber team.
 
yhun89 said:
ND above UCLA 1000%. The voters are on something for that one. LSU needs to be a bit lower, maybe 10-11.
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Agree on ND over UCLA.

Strong disagree about LSU though. Excluding the Hailey Van Lith disaster last year, Kim has a great track record of implementing PG transfers and I think chemistry will be better this season. Plus a trio of Flaujae/Morrow/Williams is on par with any other trio in the country. Not to mention they’ll have S’Myah Smith back in the post and added depth from the portal. I think people often underestimate the value of good coaching, and Kim is one of the best.
 
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yhun89 said:
ND above UCLA 1000%. The voters are on something for that one. LSU needs to be a bit lower, maybe 10-11.
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I have OU ahead of LSU in the SEC. The sooners bombed out in the tourney so everyone forgets they had a good year AND they added Bears.
 
yhun89 said:
ND above UCLA 1000%. The voters are on something for that one. LSU needs to be a bit lower, maybe 10-11.
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What do you base that on? UCLA probably has the deepest frontcourt in the country. Seems like ND won't be 100% healthy to start the season.

uclabruins.com

Women's Basketball Roster - UCLA

The official Women's Basketball Roster for the UCLA Bruins
uclabruins.com uclabruins.com
 
southie said:
What do you base that on? UCLA probably has the deepest frontcourt in the country. Seems like ND won't be 100% healthy to start the season.

uclabruins.com

Women's Basketball Roster - UCLA

The official Women's Basketball Roster for the UCLA Bruins
uclabruins.com uclabruins.com
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When is ND ever healthy at the beginning of the season?:-(

I think but not sure these came out before the Westbeld Bransford announcements. But it's too early to start declaring the lunatic voters as lunatics yet.
 
bballnut90 said:
I think voters nailed the top 10, though South Carolina deserves to be unanimous #1.

Iowa should be top 25, even without Clark. They still have Stuehlke, Affolter, and Ol n.
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Well, I‘m not so sure about whether they should be ranked right now, but I do believe they will be ranked at some point this season. (Assuming of course, that the new coach, the longtime key assistant to Lisa Bluder doesn’t let the side down) If Lucy Olson can develop a good chemistry with Hannah Stuelke and the rest of the team, they should certainly be OK on the offensive side. I’m not sure who all is in their rookie class but one player in particular imo, (Ava Heiden) is going to be a star. Perhaps not right away, but I do think she will be a force in the post for them. Stuelke and Olson will be a force to be reckoned with, so if the rest of the team can help on the offensive side, they will be fine. The defensive side is where my concern would be. If they can just be decent defensively, they will be fine.
 
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Mike72fl said:
I hate to say it, but I think that UConn at #2 is a bit high. Except for Paige, KK, and Shade, there are a lot of unknown (coming back from injuries) and unproven (new players). I would put them on the top 5, but not #2. Not that the pre-season ranking matters much.
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As far as ranking, at this point, early in the season, I would agree, but due to possible chemistry (lot of shooters who like the same spots on the floor) and not player(s) being unknown or unproven. Kaitlyn Chen is a proven problem. Strong may be new, and I rarely get excited about freshman, but I'm all in here with confidence. I'm watching two players this year to solidify a one or two ranking come March...Azzi Fudd and Jana El Alfy.
 
southie said:
What do you base that on? UCLA probably has the deepest frontcourt in the country. Seems like ND won't be 100% healthy to start the season.

uclabruins.com

Women's Basketball Roster - UCLA

The official Women's Basketball Roster for the UCLA Bruins
uclabruins.com uclabruins.com
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Coaching. Close doesn’t seem to know X and O unlike Ivey.

Horrible misuse of Betts/guard play lost them the game vs LSU. Coaching mishap cost them the OSU game and the PAC 12 title. Close has had 2 years worth of a roster that under any other coach, like Dawn, Geno, Ivey, Vic, etc would’ve gotten to a Final four. She hasn’t even made an Elite 8.
 
yhun89 said:
Coaching. Close doesn’t seem to know X and O unlike Ivey.

Horrible misuse of Betts/guard play lost them the game vs LSU. Coaching mishap cost them the OSU game and the PAC 12 title. Close has had 2 years worth of a roster that under any other coach, like Dawn, Geno, Ivey, Vic, etc would’ve gotten to a Final four. She hasn’t even made an Elite 8.
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Close has a great school to recruit to, UCLA has a storied history in WBB and there is tremendous HS talent on the West Coast. But yes, through the years, Close has come up short with really talented teams.

This year, UCLA is loaded. Can Close finally get the Bruins over the hump? We’ll see……
 
yhun89 said:
Coaching. Close doesn’t seem to know X and O unlike Ivey.

Horrible misuse of Betts/guard play lost them the game vs LSU. Coaching mishap cost them the OSU game and the PAC 12 title. Close has had 2 years worth of a roster that under any other coach, like Dawn, Geno, Ivey, Vic, etc would’ve gotten to a Final four. She hasn’t even made an Elite 8.
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I remember when Ivey squandered a late 10-point lead in a Sweet 16 game against NC State in 2022. Ivey has yet to prove herself on the big stage. Close at least has made a handful of Elite 8's.


Niele Ivey (ACC) (2020–present)​
2020–21Niele Ivey10–108–76th
2021–22Niele Ivey24–1013–5T-3rdNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2022–23Niele Ivey27–615–31stNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2023–24Niele Ivey28–713–5T-2ndNCAA Sweet Sixteen
 
oldude said:
Close has a great school to recruit to, UCLA has a storied history in WBB and there is tremendous HS talent on the West Coast. But yes, through the years, Close has come up short with really talented teams.

This year, UCLA is loaded. Can Close finally get the Bruins over the hump? We’ll see……
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Agree with your comments other than UCLA having a storied history in WBB; don't believe they've ever made the Final Four.
 
southie said:
I remember when Ivey squandered a late 10-point lead in a Sweet 16 game against NC State in 2022. Ivey has yet to prove herself on the big stage. Close at least has made a handful of Elite 8's.


Niele Ivey (ACC) (2020–present)​
2020–21Niele Ivey10–108–76th
2021–22Niele Ivey24–1013–5T-3rdNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2022–23Niele Ivey27–615–31stNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2023–24Niele Ivey28–713–5T-2ndNCAA Sweet Sixteen
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Coaching wise though, she clearly outcoached us this season. Outcoached a literal 11 time champion coach.

No offense to Close, but her coaching is just subpar compared to other Top 10 schools. Her guards are out of sync with Betts, and never communicate the pass. And it never got better through the season either. She had 3 5 stars in her starting lineup, the #1 and 2 recruits from 2023 no less. And she still couldn’t make an Elite 8.
 
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