The Guru Report: The Big Ten Comes Up Big in the AP Preseason Women’s Basketball Poll That Makes South Carolina an Unanimous Choice To Repeat As NCAA Champions

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn — Last week here in the Target Center the Big Ten Conference spent two days at the site of this year’s women’s tournament offering the annual previews of its men’s and women’s teams.

While everyone in the elite groupings will tout their conference as the best, the Big Ten made good on its claims Tuesday placing six teams in the AP Preseason Women’s Basketball Poll Tuesday that marked the launch of the 47th season of the annual weekly rankings whose history began in November 1976 in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

And Philadelphia influence remains at the top where homegrown product is still there in coach Dawn Staley whose South Carolina Gamecocks are picked the repeat their second NCAA crown won in this arena six months ago.

South Carolina went wire to wire holding the No. 1 slot in 2021-22 and then claimed six NCAA wins, the ultimate one most noteworthy because the Gamecocks felled UConn in the championship, the first time in 12 title games the Huskies, coached by another Philly product in Geno Auriemma, did not prevail.

“This is where we wanted to be and envisioned for our program,” Staley told the AP.  “I got to give it to our players. We constantly get some of the best players in the country. “

One of them is reigning national player of the year Aliyah Boston, who picked up the nod for preseason player of the year at Tuesday’s Southeastern Conference women’s media day in Birmingham, where South Carolina was the choice to be No. 1 and take back the conference crown lost in an upset in the title game to Kentucky, one of only two setbacks in the run to glory.

With the season-ending injury to star Paige Bueckers over the summer, UConn’s perennial seat in the top five took a hit with the national media panel tabbing the Huskies sixth, the first time in 16 seasons the squad dipped that low.

UConn, though remained the top choice of the Big East media coaches at that conference media day at Madison Square Garden in New York where Creighton was chosen second and last season runners up Villanova picked third, while the Wildcats’ Maddie Siegriest, the reigning Big East star, was the preseason top player pick.

 

After all 30 voters gave the Gamecocks their nod, right behind was the 2021 champion Stanford, whose longtime coach Tara VanDerveer baring some unforeseen calamity getting there in week five will make poll history passing the legendary and late Tennessee legend Pat Summitt for the most ever poll appearances.

When Summitt retired in her battle against Alzheimer’s disease she had 618 appearances, and in that time having spanned the rankings history, she missed just 14.

Meanwhile, some former poll dominating teams have made a comeback with Texas, the 1986 unbeaten champion, claiming the third spot in the preseason rankings while Tennessee, at fifth, is close to reclaiming the most Top Five showings that UConn grabbed several years ago.

Leading the Big Ten sextet, one better than the five representation from the Atlantic Coast Conference, was Iowa, with a loaded veteran roster making the Hawkeyes the target in the Target Center this season. The arena is also the home of the four-time WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx, coached by another Philly product in former La Salle star Cheryl Reeve, also the USA national women’s coach that recently won another FIBA World Cup and will be looking for its eighth straight Olympic crown in 2024.

The five Big Ten teams in the AP preseason poll are Indiana at 11th, Ohio State at 14th, Maryland at 17th and Nebraska at 22 right behind its Cornhusker State neighbor in the Big East’s Creighton, while Michigan, whose Naz Hillmon is now in the WNBA as well as a Big Ten Network talent, is 25th.

In the ACC crowd, No. 7 Louisville and No. 9 Notre Dame, another team on the way back, surround No. 8 Iowa State. Of the Big 12.

A third ACC squad, NC State is 10th, while Virginia Tech is 13th.

Talk about dips the other way, while Texas and Iowa State shine for the Big 12 and the conference’s Oklahoma is another comeback star at 15th,  plunge had been taken by Baylor, checking in at 18th.

Though Villanova makes a good local showing tied for the third also-rank slot with Kansas, in the group of the Guru’s area 13 Division I squads, the top notoriety belongs to Princeton, which finished in the final poll and joins Creighton and the Summit League’s South Dakota State with first-ever appearances in the preseason poll.

Just three SEC squad are ranked with No. 16 LSU joining, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The Tigers of Bayou country had a great comeback last season with former Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, who on Tuesday tied retired former Saint Joseph’s coach Jim Foster for ninth with 380 appearances,  pulling off a great flip to better times.

Besides Stanford, the Cardinal are joined by PAC-12 rivals, No. 19. Arizona and No. 20 Oregon, which completes the entire list of teams that made it.

The top also ranks ahead of Kansas and Villanova were Utah and UCLA.

Big East rival DePaul followed Nova.

Princeton coach Carla. Berube, who continued the success of now North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart, told the AP’s Doug Feinberg, “It’s great for the program and for the Ivy League and putting some respect on what we’ve done in the past. 

“I think it’s tremendous for our team and for us to live up to the standards we’ve set, we/ve got lofty goals. To be ranked in the preseason means a lot, but there’s a lot of work to be done.”

Princeton, which has dominated the Ivies, whose men’s and women’s tournament it will host in March, was picked again to win the Ancient Eight at the league’s annual virtual media day on Tuesday,  ahead of Columbia, Yale, Harvard,  and Penn.

The Tigers outside the league host Temple Nov. 7 at the season opener for both teams and Villanova later in the week besides a return visit to Texas, which was at Jadwin in a victory last season, and to visit Banghart’s alma mater UConn.

“We’ve learned that if you have a tough non-conference schedule it can get you ready for the Ivy League and beyond that.”

The Tigers upset Kentucky in the NCAA opener last season and were edged by just a point from Indiana.

UConn, by the way, which saw a year ago when Bueckers got hurt some longtime domination like staying in the Top 5 end, by staying in the poll all season would be should one short of Tennessee’s 584 straight poll appearances.

Besides Kentucky, missing from last season’s final poll, were BYU, UCF, and Florida Gulf Coast.

Here at the Big Ten confab last week, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said, “We have every reason to have high expectations for this upcoming season. We return, in my opinion, the top point guard in the country in Caitlin Clark.”

She noted a first for the sport in Clark leading the country in scoring and assists.

With the team’s prospects looking so good, center Monika Czinano decided to return.

One person not back after a long run on the sidelines is retired Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer, who finally called it quits in June after stepping away from the team last season.

Named to replace her is former Penn State coach Coquese Washington, who was back at her alma mater last season assisting Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey.

“Coach Stringer was known for great defense and low-scoring games,” Washington said. “I kind of like to score a few more points, so the pace may be a little bit different. The styles may be a little bit different.

“But I think that the thing that will remain constant and consistent is the pursuit of excellence, the pursuit of championships, and loving and caring and nurturing our players off the court in a way that’s authentic and truly a positive representation of Rutgers athletics and Rutgers University.”

In answer to a question from your Guru, she noted the helpfulness of Big Ten experience in her time at Penn State.

“When you know how Brenda Frese (Maryland), likes to coach, Kevin McGuff (Ohio State) likes to coach, Teri Moren (Indiana) likes to coach, that’s certainly helpful. It definitely help us understand the conference better.”

Meanwhile over at Penn State, former Marquette coach Carolyn Keiger, who succeeded Washington, feels this year the Nittany Lions may be ready to soar.

“We’ve been making huge strides as a program these last three years. We believe this is the year we’re going to be making huge strides.”

Among the transfers she picked up is former Temple star Alexa Williamson.

Meanwhile former Princeton star Abby Meyers is now at Maryland,which lost key players through the portal but also gained some. 

Noreen Dougherty contributed to this report.