The opening week of women’s college basketball was a wild one that challenged our preseason expectations. It’s clear now that some teams have adjustments to make, while others have adapted quickly to offseason changes.
In the preseason poll, LSU was nearly the unanimous No. 1, garnering 35 of 36 first-place votes. A lot of us thought that the Tigers would start the season off strong and keep rolling. But the reigning national champs are grappling with the losses of Alexis Morris and LaDazhia Williams, while also trying to build chemistry with star-studded additions like Hailey Van Lith, Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams. LSU was exposed in a season-opening loss to Colorado, which reminded us all how good the Buffs were a year ago.
UConn, it seems, is still finding its footing too as it welcomes injured stars back into the lineup. Defense and rebounding – and an inability to stop Saniya Rivers – were a concern as the Huskies fell at previously unranked N.C. State on Sunday.
Iowa looks the most equipped to make it back to the Final Four after topping Virginia Tech in an incredible atmosphere in Charlotte. And it’s fair to say that many of us underestimated South Carolina, who looked like a juggernaut in wins over Notre Dame and Maryland despite replacing its entire starting lineup from last season.
Below is a breakdown of how – and why – I voted in the AP Top 25 Poll ahead of Week 2…
Mitchell Northam's ballot
- South Carolina
- Iowa
- UCLA
- USC
- Virginia Tech
- Utah
- North Carolina
- Stanford
- N.C. State
- Colorado
- Florida State
- Tennessee
- LSU
- UConn
- Mississippi State
- Maryland
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Notre Dame
- Kansas State
- Texas
- Louisville
- Oklahoma
- Miami
- Baylor
Stock up: Florida State, Colorado, N.C. State
For me, these three teams had the most impressive wins of the week, so they took the biggest leaps in my ballot.
Florida State topped Tennessee in Tallahassee, 92-91. And while star guard Ta’Niya Latson played well – scoring 20 points and notching four steals – this result proved that FSU has the caliber of supporting cast around Latson that is necessary to compete with the top teams in the country. O’Mariah Gordon had 22 points, Alexis Tucker had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Makayla Timpson and Amaya Bonner made key contributions as well.
Colorado and N.C. State’s rises are pretty self-explanatory: The Buffs and the Wolfpack took down the preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams, beating LSU and UConn, respectively.
We should’ve expected Colorado to put up a good fight against the Tigers. Remember, this team returns four starters from its best season in 20 years, one that upset Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
And N.C. State – despite losing starters Diamond Johnson, Jakia Brown-Turner and Camille Hobby to the transfer portal – look even better than they did last season as players have more defined roles. A dynamic backcourt rotation of Saniya Rivers, Aziaha James and Zoe Brooks combined for 63 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in the win over UConn.
Stock down: LSU, UConn, Ohio State
LSU will have the chance to work on some chemistry issues as the Tigers will face four more mid-major teams before taking on Virginia on Nov. 25. The hope for LSU is that Hailey Van Lith finds her groove in the offense between now and then, as she’s shooting just 33 percent from the floor and scoring just 9.3 points per game through the Tigers first three contests. Kim Mulkey and co. are rooting for improvement from Aneesah Morrow too, as she has yet grab double-digit rebounds in a game this season.
UConn needs to fix some things in the defense and rebounding department. Its loss to N.C. State was the first time since 2001 that UConn allowed an opponent to score 92 points in regulation.
Ohio State needs some work too after adding a few key players and losing some from last season. The stellar defense that the Buckeyes leaned on last season was nonexistent in their season-opening loss to USC. Its performance against IUPUI was better, as Ohio State forced 28 turnovers. Now, let’s see them do that against a Power Five opponent.
New to the poll: Oklahoma
Oklahoma replaced Ole Miss on my ballot after the former beat the latter 80-70 in Oxford, Mississippi last week. OU won despite shooting poorly from 3-point range and turning the ball over 19 times, but Skylar Vann played big, scoring 24 points. Oklahoma also had wins over Wichita State and Oral Roberts. Against ORU, Payton Verhulst – a transfer from Louisville – broke out with a career-best scoring performance of 33 points to go along with six rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
The start of something great ☝️@payton_verhulst x #ONE pic.twitter.com/0pR9qtT1lM
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_WBBall) November 13, 2023
The top two: Iowa, South Carolina
Iowa had probably the single most-impressive win of the week, beating fellow Final Four team Virginia Tech on a neutral court in Charlotte. While Caitlin Clark was incredible with 44 points, the result also showed that the Hawkeyes won’t miss Monika Czinano all that much, as they were able to rebound, defend and score inside effectively despite a disadvantage in size.
But South Carolina gets the top spot this week for me. Because not only are the Gamecocks 2-0, but they looked absolutely dominant against two fellow ranked opponents, beating Notre Dame and Maryland by an average margin of 33.5 points. While Aliyah Boston and the Freshies are gone, Dawn Staley’s group still looks awesome. In both victories, at least five players scored in double figures. Kamilla Cardoso, Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins each notched double-doubles, Raven Johnson and Te-Henia Paopao have combined for 29 assists, and Milaysia Fulwiley looks like the next top freshman to play for Staley.
After starting the season off with a pair of ranked opponents, South Carolina won’t face another ranked team until Nov. 30, when it travels to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for a matchup with the Tar Heels.
