Women's college basketball ballot breakdown | Trouble on Rocky Top?
Dec. 25—THE NEWS-GAZETTE'S TOP 25
Before the full AP Top 25 women's rankings are revealed around 11 a.m. on Monday, here's The News-Gazette's Top 25 ballot, as voted by women's college basketball and Illini beat writer Joe Vozzelli, with his previous rankings for each team also listed:
1. South Carolina 1
2. UCLA 2
3. Iowa 3
4. North Carolina State 4
5. LSU 5
6. Texas 6
7. Colorado 7
8. Southern California 8
9. Stanford 9
10. Baylor 10
11. Utah 11
12. Virginia Tech 12
13. Notre Dame 13
14. Connecticut 14
15. Ohio State 15
16. Kansas State 16
17. Indiana 17
18. Florida State 18
19. Marquette 19
20. Louisville 20
21. Creighton 21
22. North Carolina 22
23. Gonzaga 23
24. TCU NR
25. Miami 24
Who's up
Is this the year someone unseats Connecticut as Big East champions? The fact is Geno Auriemma's program has won 10 consecutive regular-season conference titles (seven in the AAC from 2014-2020 followed by the last three in the Big East). The 18th-ranked Golden Eagles are off to the best start in program history at 12-0 after a 67-39 win against Bucknell last Thursday afternoon in Milwaukee that saw Marquette take a 21-0 lead and never look back. The big test comes on New Year's Eve. Literally. That's when the Golden Eagles will be in Hartford, Conn., to face No. 17 UConn (9-3) at the XL Center. The two teams played three times last season with the Huskies winning two, including the 81-52 rout UConn handed Marquette in the semifinals of last March's Big East tournament.
Who's down
Tennessee. The Volunteers are one of six teams to start the 2023-24 season in The Associated Press preseason Top 25. And no longer be ranked as of Monday's Christmas Day release. Mississippi, Maryland, Illinois, Washington State and Mississippi State are the others. What separates Tennessee from a majority of those teams is the Volunteers started the season at No. 11 in the AP poll only to slip so far that at 6-5, including an 11-point December home loss to Middle Tennessee, Kellie Harper's team has regressed all the way to 87th in the NET rankings. Maryland, Washington State and Mississippi State all still look like NCAA tournament teams, while Illinois (NET: 62), Ole Miss (NET: 63) and Tennessee will all need strong conference seasons to be among the field of 68.
Who to watch
This coming Saturday has a pair of top-10 matchups on the schedule. Things start off in the early afternoon with No. 10 Baylor (11-0) tipping off against No. 5 Texas (12-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas (FOX). Longhorns point guard Rori Harmon has inserted herself in the conversation for national player of the year honors with the 5-foot-6 junior from Houston putting up 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. The Bears have only one true road win (a 85-61 late November victory at SMU) but already have two Top 25 wins (Utah, Miami). The Saturday nightcap will feature No. 6 Southern California (10-0) at No. 2 UCLA (11-0) for a 7 p.m. tip from Pauley Pavilion in Westwood (Pac-12 Network). A matchup of Bruins senior guard Charisma Osborne vs. USC freshman sensation JuJu Watkins should be fun to watch.
