Women’s Hoops Heat Check is back with Cole Huff and Mitchell Northam. Part 1: Standout Players can be read here. In Part 2 we’re looking at the things we loved seeing this week.
Cole: Kansas in the Top 25
A national championship on the men’s side, a return to relevance on the football field, and now the Jayhawks’ women’s basketball team has entered the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2013. It’s got to be a tremendous feeling these days to be a Kansas Jayhawk fan.
According to Bet For The Win’s very own KU alum, Black Schuster, the vibes are immaculate.
Anyways, KU crossed the country and went into Tucson last Thursday with something to beat the “this team isn’t legitimate quite yet” allegations. Their response? How about completely stomping the then-undefeated and 12th-ranked Arizona Wildcats by nearly 30 points on their home court? The win itself served as a statement to the rest of the basketball world, like, “Yeah, we are for real.”
Allow us to reintroduce ourselves…
YOUR #22 KANSAS JAYHAWKS‼️ pic.twitter.com/Dbl0Yf0w3D
— Kansas Women's Basketball (@KUWBball) December 12, 2022
The good news for those somehow still on the fence about KU’s rapid rise is that this is an experienced Jayhawks team. Four current starters (Taiyanna Jackson, Holly Kersgieter, Zakiyah Franklin and Chandler Prater) played a role in the team’s NCAA Tournament appearance last season. Now, with the transferring in of junior guard Wyvette Mayberry from Tulsa, the Jayhawks have a mature group that’s taken a step and is building off of last season’s momentum.
Mitch: Additional Unlikely Undefeateds
Cole mentioned Kansas above, and indeed, the Jayhawks are having a great start to their season. As of Thursday night, Kansas was one of 12 undefeated teams remaining in women’s college basketball. A few of them – like South Carolina, Indiana and LSU – could’ve been predicted before the season started. But there’s a couple others like Kansas that are having historically great starts this year.
Let’s start with Virginia. The Cavaliers are 11-0, giving them their best start to a season since 1991, and their first 11-game winning streak since 1995. Back in those days – under the direction of Debbie Ryan – the ‘Hoos were regularly making deep runs in March. Just a berth in the NCAA Tournament this season would be a welcome change of pace for fans in Charlottesville, as the Cavaliers never had a winning season – much less went dancing – in Tina Thompson’s four seasons at the helm. Coached now by Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, this Virginia team is powered by Mir McLean, who is averaging a double-double.
The Rice Owls are undefeated too with an 8-0 record – their best start in program history – in Lindsay Edmonds’ first season on the job. Most recently, Rice has registered three straight in-state wins over power programs in Texas A&M, TCU and Houston. The Owls are 17th in the nation in rebound rate and 20th in 3-point defense, allowing opponents to connect on just 24.2% of their shots from deep. Rice’s C-USA opener against Middle Tennessee State (which upset Louisville) on Dec. 20 is shaping up to be a sneaky-good matchup.
And then there’s St. John’s, which is 10-0 and has a win over a ranked Creighton team. It’s the best start to a season by a Red Storm team since the 2014-15 season, and they need just one more win to tie the best start in program history set in the 2004-05 season. St. John’s is led this season by three-time transfer Jayla Everett, who is averaging 15.6 points per game while shooting 40.6% from the floor.
Go DJ, that’s our DJ!👏
In yesterday’s win over Houston, Destiny Jackson became the first player since 2019 with 30+ Points, 80+ FG%, 7+ Rebounds, 5+ Assists, and 3+ Steals in a single game!🤯#GoOwls👐 x #AtOwlCost pic.twitter.com/VntfUs8wYm
— Rice Women’s Basketball (@RiceWBB) December 11, 2022
