The Guru Report: Previewing the Locals Beginning Conference Races This Weekend Besides Some Power Collisions on the National Scene

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

The break is over and as the 2024 part of the season looms just ahead, here is how the locals stand with respect to their conferences.

 

Atlantic 10 – Saint Joseph’s and La Salle

 

The Hawks are one game ahead of a year ago record wise making the 11-1 start the best in the 23-year era of Cindy Griffin coaching at her alma mater.

 

Wins include ending a long drought against Villanova to clinch a tie for the Big Five and ending a medium dip in taking their own Hawk Classic a week ago.

 

The one loss was to then-No. 11 Utah, a game the home team was a heavy underdog.

 

If Villanova was clearly ahead of the city pack last year besides being nationally ranked so is Saint Joseph’s, which was picked second in the A-10.

 

But the Hawks were steaming into the A-10 a year ago and hit a rough patch of narrow losses not unlike Villanova’s recent misfortunes.

 

By conference tourney time after beating Saint Louis on the road the Billikens upset the Hawks, the loss was less terrible in terms of Saint Louis went on to win its conference crown.

 

With Talya Brugler and Laura Ziegler, each former A-10 rookies of the year, more experienced, and the addition of Davidson transfer Chloe Welch, the attack is more versatile.

 

But there is a lot of mystery as A-10 gets under way because there are a bunch of fine records and none belong to Rhode Island (8-5), the preseason pick, which barely closed non-conference beating Harvard, but still must be considered formidable until proven otherwise.

 

Richmond looked good on its visit to Villanova and is 10-3 while Davidson and VCU are also 11-1, while George Mason is 9-2.

 

The best formula for Saint Joseph’s is to own January while these other teams knock each other off because they are that good or because the records are a false read.

 

La Salle was picked low and performed as such, which happens with a young roster. But as the saying goes until Saturday everybody is 0-0 except Davidson (1-0) and Duquesne (1-0, 6-6) which won openers over Dayton and Fordham.

 

The Explorers have chance to create a stir opening at George Mason at 6 p.m. while Saint Joseph’s is at Fordham at 4 p.m. The bulk of the league schedule is streamed on ESPN+.

 

Big East – Villanova

 

It’s the year after Maddy Siegrist though in the offseason from the WNBA so she’s back at her alma mater in a created position in the front office. Lucy Olsen has made up for a lot of the scoring but the recent stretch with five winnable games until four weren’t and the other almost wasn’t.

 

Despite the injuries to UConn, going in, they still own the Big East but the Wildcats’ concerns are No. 18 Marquette (12-0), off to its best start, No. 21 Creighton (9-2), a Seton Hall (9-3) team that recently rallied from a 21-point deficit at Georgetown, and avoid potholes like the one they hit two weeks ago against St. John’s in Madison Square Garden. 

 

There are more unknowns than knowns in the Big East so while it may sound silly to say so, Saturday’s 2 p.m. from Xavier (1-9) is a must win (BEDN on FloHoops) because there’s not a lot of margins for error.

 

Coastal Athletic Association – Drexel and Delaware

 

Likewise, Villanova it’s the year after Keishana Washington for the Dragons (4-6), who were picked seventh, so consider the non-conference a tune-up with one more Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. hosting area Division III Arcadia (FloHoops) at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, one of only two locals playing before a heavy slate sets in on Saturday.

 

Drexel begins league action in the conference who changed names from Colonial next Friday at 6 p.m.

 

Delaware was picked fourth (4-7), but so far have managed to lose to the likes of Delaware State, which got routed by a bunch including at Temple, which also beat the Blue Hens.

 

There’s one more non-con coming Sunday on New Year’s Eve when Harvard visits the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark Sunday at 2 p.m. (FloHoops).

 

Delaware begins league play next Friday at 7 p.m. at Northeastern in Boston (FloHoops).

 

Towson (7-3) was picked to win the conference and has done well but Stony Brook (9-1) has been playing like gangbusters, including a win over Columbia.

 

Charleston (8-3) has been a surprise.

 

Ivy – Penn and Princeton

 

As the Quakers (6-5) re-tool, the pieces are coming together with Stina Almqvist and Jordan Obi leading the way.

 

Statistically, Mataya Gayle has been the best in the city to date, though we’ll see if conference play shakes up the list.

 

Penn is still a leading contender for the playoffs and should end up somewhere in the postseason either the new NCAA WBIT or if it’s not out of business, the WNIT.

 

The Quakers wrap up non-conference Saturday and Sunday at The Palestra first hosting American East contender Maine at 1 p.m. and then at the same time Sunday hosting Division III area team Gwynedd Mercy.

 

Ivy play begins Saturday in the deep end of the pool at Columbia, which is the host school for the league tourney. 

 

Like the A-10, the bulk of Ivy games are on ESPN+.

 

Meanwhile after Courtney Banghart left for North Carolina, Princeton (8-3) has not missed a beat – CoVid shutdown excluded – under former UConn star Carla Berube. 

 

The Tigers have played a schedule to date befitting a Power 5 program. Had they not tripped up at Rhode Island after getting ranked, they likely would still be in the poll. The resume today with reigning Ivy player of the year Kaitlyn Chen includes a rally over host Villanova, Rutgers, then-ranked Oklahoma, double overtime win against visiting Seton Hall, a near upset of now-No. 2 UCLA in Pauley Pavilion, and competitive loss to No. 16 Indiana.

 

The only other local in action Friday, Princeton visits Vermont at 1 p.m. (ESPN+) and finishes non-league play Sunday at LeMoyne (NEC Front Row) at noon in Syracuse.

 

 Princeton opens defense of the Ivy title next Saturday at Cornell.

 

Columbia (7-4), a title contender, is finishing non-league, rallying to beat host San Francisco 74-67 as Abbey Hsu scored 31 and visits Pacific Saturday at Pacific at 5 p.m. (ESPN+).

 

Brown (8-3) has been a surprise on the high side while Yale (2-10) is on the low.

 

American Athletic Conference – Temple

 

The Owls (6-6) have improved of late and nearly had a four-game winning streak heading into the AAC, until succumbing at home to a rally by Northwestern.

 

The American has a bunch of unknowns to which the Owls can take advantage if their act is finally getting together.

 

South Florida (8-5), which recently lost one of its better players with an injury, could be vulnerable, newcomer UTSA (6-5), which is at Temple Saturday at 1 p.m. (ESPN+) and North Texas (10-2). Which is at the Liacouras Center Tuesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) give the Owls a chance to make an early statement. 

 

 

Aleah Nelson has been a force for Temple in her grad season.

 

MAAC – Rider 

 

The Broncs (2-8, 0-2) have struggled both in non-conference and MAAC play, needless to say.

 

They step out of league play Saturday at 1 p.m. to visit Lehigh at Staples Arena (ESPN+) in Bethlehem, Pa., and then back on Thursday to host Iona at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

 

Niagara (5-7) was picked to win the league and is off to a 2-0 start but overall, down at 5-7.

 

Fairfield (9-1) has been performing well.

 

Big Ten – Penn State and Rutgers

 

The lady Lions (9-3) have performed well, even got ranked a week, ending a long drought, losing close to No. 6 Southern Cal and at now No. 17-Ohio State in overtime besides a loss at West Virginia right after returning to the poll.

 

Leading scorer Makenna Marisa got hurt in the Ohio State game but is expected to return soon after missing the last two games.

 

The signs are there that a return to the NCAA is possible and the Big Ten schedule the rest of the way will provide the answer.

 

It begins Saturday hosting Michigan at 4 p.m. hosting Michigan State in the Bryce Jordan Center on the Big Ten Network.

 

Kaylene Smike has been a bright spot for Rutgers (6-8), one of only two in the league with overall losing records.

 

The Scarlet Knights visit Northwestern Saturday at 3 p.m. and then next Friday at 6 p.m. host No. 4 Iowa in Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J., in front of an advance sellout drawn by Iowa’s reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark, the nation’s leading scorer.

 

Patriot League – Lehigh and Lafayette

 

While Holy Cross (6-5) was the preseason pick, Lehigh (8-2) has been the big surprise paced by Ella Stemmer, among the nation’s leading scorers at 19.5.

 

The Mountain Hawks host Rider Saturday (ESPN+) and begin league play Wednesday hosting American at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).

 

Lafayette (5-6) had an improved non-conference performance paced by Abby Antognoli and Makayla Andrews.

 

The Leopards begin league play Wednesday at Army at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).

 

The National Scene As conference play begins, right from the get-go are major games on the final weekend of 2023.

 

Friday at 5 p.m. No. 9 Stanford goes across the San Francisco Bay in the Pac-12 for its 100^th meeting with Cal as Tara VanDerveer with 1,196 victories needs seven more to eclipse retired Duke men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski for the most victories men or women in collegiate basketball.

 

Saturday at 8 p.m.on the Pac-12 network, unbeaten No. 6 Southern Cal visits unbeaten No. 2 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. Earlier at 3 p.m. No. 12 Utah visits No. 8 Colorado in the Pac-12.

 

In the Big 12 on FOX No. 10 Baylor at 2 p.m. visits No. 5 Texas in Austin while later No. 23 TCU, one of the last 10 unbeatens, hosts new member BYU at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.

 

And That’s The Report.