The first Top 16 reveal somewhat usurps the AP Top 25 poll in terms of importance.
While the AP poll, a compilation of the evaluations of approximately 30 media members, offers a weekly snapshot of the season, reflecting where a team stands based a the season-long and more recent performances, the Top 16 reveal provides insight into where teams might find themselves in the NCAA Tournament bracket, something that tangibly influences their path to a championship.
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The more predictive purpose of the Top 16, however, can only be pushed so far, as several results from Sunday afternoon proved.
The basketball, performed by young people equally prone to amazing plays and maddening mistakes, quickly can disrupt the designs of voters and committee members. See Dani Carnegie outscoring Mikayla Blakes to captain now-No. 24 Georgia’s upset of previously-ascendant and No. 5 Vanderbilt with 29 points or now-No. 14Maryland storming back from a 19-point deficit to deny No. 10 Ohio State what was trending towards a certain home win.
So, don’t put too much stock into the opining of experts. Instead, give all your energy to your favorite team, helping them to come through with comfortable and confident wins as the conference schedule winds down.
Here’s how the latest top 25 settled, with first-place votes denoted in parentheses, movement from last week’s poll tracked in brackets and teams entering (or re-entering) the poll identified with an asterisk:
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Here’s more on the supremacy of UConn, the SEC and two teams from the ACC.
Add yet another record to the UConn ledger
No. 1 UConn often fades from the national spotlight in February, as they take care of business in expeditious fashion against Big East opponents.
Yet, the reminders are there that, come March, all eyes will be on the team from Storrs—as has been the case for much of the past 30 years.
This week, head coach Geno Auriemma’s Huskies made their 654th poll appearance, matching the record set by former Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer. UConn also has been ranked for 619-straight weeks, a streak that dates back to the 1993-94 preseason poll.
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On Saturday, this season’s Huskies scored the program’s 43rd -straight win, a winning streak that has extended over one year. The 71-56 victory over Marquette was also UConn’s 63rd-straight Big East win. That UConn did not win by 25 points or more—their first time failing to do so in 21 games—shouldn’t diminish any notion of their dominance.
The SEC, once again, has a record 10 teams ranked
Georgia’s upset of Vanderbilt vaulted the Dawgs back into the top 25 at No. 24, once again giving the SEC a record-matching 10 teams in the top 25.
Fair or not, voters, as well as the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee that determines the Top 16, believes in the SEC. It is assumed that the conference is elite, and thus wins and losses between the conference’s best teams do not cause much rankings tumult.
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For example, an active week for Vanderbilt, with commanding wins over No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 4 Texas followed by a last-second loss to Georgia, saw the Commodores stay at No. 5. Similarly, despite head coach Vic Schaefer’s displeasure with his team’s performance in Nashville, Texas did not suffer in the standings due to their loss to Vandy, which they quickly salvaged with a victory at No. 21 Tennessee. No. 7 LSU, unsurprisingly, dropped just one spot after losing to No. 3 South Carolina.
The madness of March will reveal if the SEC was deserving of this reverence.
Duke and Louisville are redeeming the ACC
In contrast, the ACC has just three ranked teams.
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However, two of them—No. 8 Louisville and No. 9 Duke—are in the top 10. No. 22 North Carolina rounds out the ACC trio.
Despite losing to Duke at home, Louisville remains a spot ahead, with the Cardinals getting credited and the Blue Devils getting dinged for their non-conference performances.
Recent ranked wins over Louisville and North Carolina lend legitimacy to Duke’s in-season progress, easing most of the skepticism that surrounded their winning streak, as, until the games against the Cardinals and Tar Heels, they had racked up victories against unimpressive ACC teams.
Although it’s also been a down year for NC State, Thursday’s date with the Wolfpack gives Duke another opportunity to add more substance to their resume. In particular, it would be encouraging to continue to see the Duke offense not be a drag. Head coach Kara Lawson’s team is always going to be defense-first, but the ability to more consistently generate quality offense is what has propelled them back inside the top 10.
