The most improved and consistent in terms of scoring per minute has been Kitts. Kitts and Cardosa have worked to improve their high-low post weave, and with Kitts mid range jumper, defenses will have to collapse. And with the number of good 3 point shooters, a collapsing defense won't be enough. Dawn has been ruthless in pulling tired players even when they are at that time the best scorer. Dawn's substitution, tenacity, coaching, and bench will be 4th quarter hell for opposing teams.
I just love Kitts tenacity and game , Cardosa is so incredibly humble and an excellent athlete, I haven't seen her play much this year, but I will get a chance to get caught up. The Shooter on VT , Georgia is awesome, I'm new to Women's College Basketball, about 2 years, I'm so glad I took time to get to know the game, I came from a professional sport in the 70s and 80s , the athletes were in the sport for the love of the sport largely, of course to make a living as well, but we loved the sport, I love the fierceness and joy the women display, and largely terrific fundamentals,
The difference between South Carolina this year and last year is that they can now hit threes. This means you can't just pack the paint against them defensively. Last season, it was 4 people surrounding Aliyah Boston while daring Raven Johnson to shoot. Adding Paopao, along with increased confidence from Johnson and Bree Hall, means teams have to guard them completely in the half-court. And thanks for noticing the blatant flops that Utah was doing against Cardoso.
@@wesleyquan6581 Other than Paopao, those girls were there (Raven played last year), but they weren't as great at shooting 3s as they are this year. Look at the Iowa game in the semis. They backed 10 feet off of Raven Johnson in that game and begged her to shoot. She didn't. This year, she will shoot it and hit it. Same with Bree Hall--who didn't start last year because Zia Cooke and Brea Beal were there. Hall was not a great shooter last year. This year, she is.
@@wesleyquan6581 Then pick your poison. Because if you pressure the outside shooters, The Gamecocks will pound it into the paint. Against USC, you can't stop both at the same time. No one has. With any combination of Cardoso, Kitts, Watkins, and Feagin, they have low post scorers in the game. If you zone them or pack the paint defensively, they shoot 3s over it. If you play them man to stop the outside shooters, they post up and outsize you in the lane. Like I said, pick your poison.
It's easy to hit 3's against inferior opposition. Tell their scheduler to stop scheduling so many cupcakes to pad their won-loss record. UCLA has beaten UConn, Ohio State, Florida State, and Arkansas - all on the road, while South Carolina is taking on mostly cupcakes, with an occasional half way decent team on their home court. If UCLA beats Southern Cal in their next game, they definitely deserve the number one slot.
UCLA should be ranked number one on their strength of schedule. South Carolina has only scheduled one tough road game this season. UCLA has beaten Uconn, Ohio state, Florida State, and Arkansas all on the road. They have Southern Cal up next, and a win against them should vault them into the number one slot. South Carolina should stop scheduling so many cupcakes.
@@user-gn3wq1mt7g you obviously haven’t looked at a schedule this season or don’t know what you’re talking about. Notre dame, Maryland, Clemson, Utah, North Carolina, Duke, just to name a few before conference begins. If you would’ve said LSU and cake schedule your comment probably would’ve made more sense
The Wolfpack have 4 or 5 McDonald’s AAs on their team - including Rivers, Baldwin, Collins, and Brooks. Rivers and James are definitely elite, and Brooks is quickly getting there (just a true freshman).
I think the lack of weapons with Iowa is blown out of proportion. Yes, the team revolves around Clark and losing MC and Warnock was not ideal. But, Sydney and Hannah have proven to play very well so far. Clarks chemistry with Martin and Marshall is still there are and theybare both great pieces. Molly Davis has been a huge suprise player this year. Compeared to other rosters such as SC and UCLA, they arent there, but I think people treat it like Clark is on a team like Chicago St.
@@maxpower247 Based in their player ratings coming out of high school, Paige’s supporting cast is far more talented than Caitlin’s, and that ignores their international players. But that was true for the past three years as well. By the same measure, South Carolina, LSU, UCLA, and USC all have better rosters this year. So probably do most other teams in your top ten. First, that says to me that players, especially young players with good coaching, can get better year-to-year. Second, playing together for more than one season generally makes a team better. Both of these happened with Iowa in 2022-2023. But there is a third factor with Iowa: Caitlin Clark. Having the best player on the court, and Clark is just that game after game, can make up for a lot of deficiencies among other players. The downside is that if the star player has an off night, the team’s weaknesses are more likely to be exposed and exploited. I myself ranked Iowa preseason in the upper single digits. I think their performance thus far merits a continued ranking in the upper single digits. As I have watched games this season, Iowa is improved in some areas (overall defense and rebounding) but their three-point shooting is off, partly because Warnock is no longer on the court, spotting up for Clark to assist. If Iowa's their three-point shooting does not improve, they will lose at least four games within the Big Ten.
@@jacobwatson3781Uconn has played better teams than Iowa. Texas, UCLA, and NC State are T10 teams. Kansas State is the only team that’s arguable as a top 10 that Iowa is played
I don’t disagree. But I don’t think Iowas situation is that much different from Utah/Stanford. Iowas supporting cast is good compared an average team but elite teams have multiple all conference players. Iowa doesn’t have that luxury.
@@harrykern616 The problem is, when they go up against a team with a good 4 and 5, Iowa doesn't have enough team experience with Hannah at forward and Goodman/O'Grady alternating at Center.
South Carolina is the number one team without a doubt the x factor on that team is feagen and Watkins. Raven looks better this year which make this team extremely dangerous.. three of the top five teams in the poll bigs move their feet and run the court well. South Carolina is a prototype WNBA team.
@@wesleyquan6581 I'm not a real big fan of South Carolina however they are getting first dibs at major talent across the nation with NIL deals and transfers they maybe hard to beat plus the intimidation factor of Dawn Staley over the North Carolina coach.
@@wesleyquan6581 The final score says South Carolina won the game. Last time I checked, that's the only thing that matters. Everything else is excuses or moral victories.
Regarding Iowa they have likely already faced the toughest field goal percentage defenses they will all season. Kansas St. (7th nationally, 32.5%), Virginia Tech (12th, 33.6%), and Iowa State (34th, 35.4%) all currently rank above any team they play for the rest of the season. With that in mind consider this for Czinano last season vs Stuelke and Goodman this season who have split time. Czinano last season (averaged 27.9 minutes/game) Pts Reb FG% 17.1 5.9 67.4 Stuelke and Goodman per 27.9 minutes played this season. Stuelke Pts Reb FG% 20.2 10.2 63.3 Goodman Pts Reb FG% 14.6 9 69.7 The biggest difference by far is rebounding with Stuelke and Goodman being significantly better (and better defensively in my opinion). The average of their points/27.9 minutes is 17.4 vs Czinano's 17.1 with a similar field goal percentage. Stuelke in particular has a much higher all around ceiling than Czinano. Here's a bonus per 27.9 minutes. Sydney Affolter Pts Reb FG% 9 8.6 55.6 Under 6 feet tall and also a significantly better rebounder than Czinano. And the most likely of anyone on the team to get the ball somehow (steals, getting to loose balls, dual possessions) if it is somewhere near her on defense.
Exactly. And now Martin is more than making up for Warnock’s offensive output. Iowa has a better roster this year than last year. They are only lacking some of the incredible chemistry they had by the end of last year but I fully expect this will not be an issue by the post season.
@@maxpower247they definitely have a weak pre conference schedule, 275th strength of schedule is ridiculous. They had the chance to play a somewhat competitive schedule before conference and choose not to, stat stacking is what it looks like
If you watch them play you'll know they will be in trouble when they face actual competition. I wouldn't be surprised if they lose their next game to Minnesota.
@@JaeRell Iowa will not go undefeated in Big Ten conference games. Minnesota appears to be much improved over last season. But I will still be surprised if Iowa loses their next game to Minnesota.
I think Kansas St. is better than you think. They are 7th in the country in field goal percentage defense at 32.5% (including 2 games holding Iowa well under their 50.8% average). From a size perspective they match up well with even teams like South Carolina and UCLA with taller guards and Lee only being one inch shorter than Cardoso and Betts. If they are giving Caitlin Clark fits (33.3% shooting in two games) they would likely do the same to the guards on any other team. I think Betts and Cardoso are even at best with Lee. Lee is averaging 21 points (in 24.5 minutes/game) and shooting 68.5% and would be the most dominant player on the court against a number of the teams ranked higher. Even if her teammates don't shoot well their defense will keep them in the vast majority of games against good teams (they shot 39.3% in their win against Iowa). Ohio State for example so far has not even been close to Kansas St.'s defensive level with 39.2% field goal percentage defense (and have a worse percentage on offense too). They don't really have anyone who could guard Lee effectively. If Marshall from USC could get 18 points and 17 rebounds against them Lee would likely have a monster stat line. She could neutralize the Ohio St. inside game like other teams have done and guards who can make things miserable for Caitlin Clark can do the same to Sheldon and Thierry. Given that I think you are also underestimating Iowa. I do agree that many teams are relatively equal and could beat each other in any given game.
I think some of the 4th Q letdowns are coaches giving playing time to bench players who they will likely need later in the season. Last year UCONN only played 6-7 players and their bench got no time, so when they needed it, it wasn't there. UCONN this year is getting bench production, as is Iowa and some of the other teams. So I don't think those 4th Q stats are as significant as you make it out to be. Can't argue with 1-2, I want to see where NC St is at the end of January after they've played some conference games on the road. And pretty much after that, get your quarter out and start flipping it.
@@richhahn2443 Other than VT they haven't beaten very tough teams, but ... Aneesah Morrow is killing it. Great pickup for them in the portal, particularly when Angel was missing games. And Mikaylah Williams seems to be the real deal. They've got talent, need to see how it meshes when they play tougher opponents.
Iowa is gelling with the new lineups, you are way off, but the schedule will prove it out either way, Overlooking the loss of two key players and one tough loss early, Sorry, I got Iowa 3
Need a video on the freshmen!! and yes, as uconn fan, they look pretty good after how they first played, I believe they will make it far, maybe lose to SC in the process but I’m fully expecting the team to go undefeated in the big east. They’re right where they should be right now, but I’m happy with the progress of this team. they will get better overtime.
@@RustyLou18 there’s a chance, there’s just no way Marquette or creighton is better than them with Paige being back, will they give them trouble? Most definitely. But uconn has the highest chance of going undefeated between any big east team!
I think you're wrong about Iowa. Last year, everyone was saying the same Ohio was going to beat Iowa. Didn't happen. Iowa curb stomped them in the regular season and BIG tourny. I believe Iowa is starting to gel and have a deeper bench than last year.
A big part of that was Monica Czianno. She dropped 20 in both of those games and over 80% FG each time. Jacy didn’t play in the regular season game and the big 10 tournament she came off the bench because she was still recovering with injury. Ohio State beating Iowa without their best player isn’t realistic. I agree Iowas bench is deeper, but their starting lineup is worse.
@maxpower247 OU has the same problem as last year. No real bigs, Goodman will dominate down low if Iowa goes that route. If they play fast, Hannah will get lots of open outlets. Hannah had 8 points in limited minutes during BIG tourny championship. I believe you are severely under estimating the growth of both post players. We will see come January 21st.
Iowa’s starting team is better than last year and their bench is better too. It’s unfair to compare them now vs end of season Iowa from last year. Remember last year through January 1 Iowa had lost four games. Right now they are 12-1 with a supposedly inferior lineup. Get real. Stuelke and Goodman and Affolter are dramatically better on defense than Czinano and Warnock were, and with Martin’s increased scoring output they are outscoring last year’s team. Further their bigs are collectively shooting and scoring at as good or better a percentage as Czinano ever did. Those writing down Iowa will regret it later.
@@maxpower247idk I think Iowa has the beat on Ohio this season also. Ohio lacks size and I don’t think they will be able to stop Steulke from having a good game offensively and on the boards. Coty has to have a good game for them to be competitive. Unlike last season Ohio will also be able to get max minutes from Sheldon so we shall see.
West Virginia is a team to watch. They're undefeated and underrated. Take a look at their coach's record. His teams have never had a losing season. Over his career he has almost an 800 winning percentage. The man can flat coach, and he has some really talented players this year.
Old Tara at Stanford is past her time. You can't have a point guard that can't score if her life depended on it.The portal has robbed her blind. The school needs a modern head coach
Tara has been depending on the idea of a Stanford degree keeping players in their program rather than the portal. For top players, that has less influence than it once did. As for bringing players in through the portal, that can be difficult at Stanford because of academic admission standards.
Notre Dame!?😕 #5?! Those rankings you mentioned, comparing them and South Carolina, are skewed...because South Carolina is doing that against top competition and Notre Dame hasn't played anyone besides South Carolina. So they are padding stats against weaker comp. Later this year they play Louisville twice, UConn, North Carolina, and NC State. We'll know who they are once they play some real teams.
@@maxpower247 Good point. Maybe all three of the teams are pretenders? Time will tell. Either way, great video and I'm glad I found the channel. I just got into women's college basketball and can't get enough.
Okay, a lot of comments: First, I agree with the Iowa take. They're in the 11th to 15th range to me. Leaving Baylor out of the top ten... Alright... I think you may be on to something with NC State. They're due for a loss Notre Dame at five though... they're good, but I think that may be your biases at play on this one. Stats don't lie I understand, but Tennessee ain't what they use to be, and that's really the only other team the Irish faced since SC. Let's see how they do conference play, then we'll talk. Everything else I have no real problems with; in agreement for the most part.
It’s going to be a while before I do another one of these which determined some of the placements. I could’ve took out Uconn for Baylor but I don’t believe they could’ve beat the teams Uconn lost to. I’m hoping Texas beats them otherwise I’m gonna have to hold that L. ND will have the opportunity to prove themselves in January. UNC should still be ranked and Miami (potentially) will be ranked if they beat Louisville. If those are double digit wins I feel comfortable with my ranking. And if they are able to beat Uconn (which no one has been able to do so far) then I’m definitely confident about them being a T5 team.
(15:08) Good to see that it is in fact painfully obvious that certain teams (plural) blatantly just flop when playing the Gamecocks. This has to be addressed.
Like Mike Tyson said everybody got a plan until they get punched in the mouth. This isn't a bad list at least its better than the AP preseason rankings. I agree with coach Yow from OleMiss lets wait till teams have a body of work. This is good timing to rank teams prior to conferences play at least they have a body of work to measure. You at least have seen the talent on the floor saw a few test run games with some ranked teams go at it and can see how the stars players are emerging. I'll say this the last team standing this season is going to likely come out of nowhere but it will be a better measure of who rises to the top after conference play. But based on the current body of work I think your poll is reasonable but I still would have Iowa in the top 10 as long as they have Clark they got a chance in every game IMO.
Are these rankings based off of talent? If so, Iowa wouldn't have been top 10 last season, either. Btw, to those getting fired up about these rankings, it's just an opinion video. So Iowa will have their opportunity to disprove this video, OR validate it.
She was recruited out of HS as a point guard. That's what she is supposedly famous for. There was debate during recruitment whether she was the # 2 point guard behind Paige B (news flash she wasn't and isn't). She was supposedly the tip top talent of the transfer portal this year. 12 points and a few assists on a roster stuffed with talented players is mediocre at best. She has definitely lost a step compared to her freshman year. Now she misses the month of December with an owie in her foot. She's contributing a little compared to the hype, which was a lot. @@mojo_phee
You bugging HVL is the best closer in the game Louisville didn't go to the final four and sweet sixteens because she was some scrub. Someone who averages 19 points a game has over 1500 points in three years is not overated. When you call someone overrated would it be too much to qualify your statement other wise we can't follow your point.
Leaving out the best player in history won't age well. Memories of last year... Clark is pacing herself most games and isn't even close to showing her ceiling yet. Once in the tourney there won't be an answer for her. If just two of her team mates can show up on offense we will see Clark enter the Matrix, eclipsing her all-time performance from last year.
She’ll have to score 40 a game come tournament time to have a chance on going multiple rounds, the little help she did have last season is not there anymore. Teams know this and will force her teammates to step up
@@davidedwards4720 🤡 Van lith is hurt .van lith took Louisville to the elite 8 and was the number 1 seed going into March madness ..do your research before you say this garbage
Nc State isnt just that good they just lost to the Hokies and the Hokies didn't play that well VT had no business being in that game but yet the Wolfpack blew multiple double digit leads in that game 😂😂
My current Top 5 ; 1. UCLA ( Those girls are buckets. Seriously the 3s never miss) 2. NC-State ( They just seem ready) 3. A draw btn. LSU and South Carolina ( I know SC are everyone's top team but after the Utah game, I'm not so convinced. As a team I think my Tigers can beat them. But then I remember Pao Pao doesn't miss. So I dont know. 😅) 5. Notre Dame ( Hanah Hidalgo is just that girl, that I dont see a top 5 without ND in it.) PS: Lists a side, I hope my Tigers win it all come march. 😊
Uconn is the #1 team in the country until some other team earns 12! No one is better than UCONN - the mens and women's teams. UCONN women's basketball team created the competition it now has. Paige Bueckers if the #1 player of all time.
@lindsaymathews5127: "Paige Bueckers if [sic] the #1 player of all time." Even for a UCONN fanatic, which you appear to be, your claim is ludicrous. Bueckers is an outstanding player who appears, thankfully, to have fully recovered from her injuries. But at her best, Bueckers is not better than other UCONN greats such as Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and Breanna Stewart.
And, how many National Championships has IOWA won? Zero! How many has LSU won? Two? How many has UCLA won? Zero? That's why UCONN is still the #1 team in the country. We're #1 until some other team wins 12 National Championships. And, I don't think there's one team that's won even three!
LSU was in their first ever National Championship last year, so how in the heck have they won two nattys? Also, UConn just got knocked out in the Sweet 16 last year. UConn's on a downward spiral, and to rank them ahead of other teams that are on better trajectory's, based on very past success, is ludicrous.
South Carolina should stop scheduling so many cupcakes. They scheduled only one tough road game this year. UCLA should be ranked number one due to beating better teams overall, and many on the road(unlike South Carolina). UCLA has beaten UConn, Ohio State, Florida State, and Arkansas all on the road. If UCLA beats Southern Cal in their next game, UCLA should definitely take over the number one slot, while South Carolina beats up on weaklings like Presbyterian, Bowling Green, and East Carolina.
Wins against UNC and Duke ON THE ROAD. Battle tested for certain and you can see how Coach Staley is "adjusting" to these two tight wins.@@user-gn3wq1mt7g
The most improved and consistent in terms of scoring per minute has been Kitts. Kitts and Cardosa have worked to improve their high-low post weave, and with Kitts mid range jumper, defenses will have to collapse. And with the number of good 3 point shooters, a collapsing defense won't be enough. Dawn has been ruthless in pulling tired players even when they are at that time the best scorer. Dawn's substitution, tenacity, coaching, and bench will be 4th quarter hell for opposing teams.
I just love Kitts tenacity and game , Cardosa is so incredibly humble and an excellent athlete, I haven't seen her play much this year, but I will get a chance to get caught up.
The Shooter on VT , Georgia is awesome,
I'm new to Women's College Basketball, about 2 years,
I'm so glad I took time to get to know the game,
I came from a professional sport in the 70s and 80s , the athletes were in the sport for the love of the sport largely, of course to make a living as well, but we loved the sport,
I love the fierceness and joy the women display, and largely terrific fundamentals,
Kitts looks like a Hollywood model
The difference between South Carolina this year and last year is that they can now hit threes. This means you can't just pack the paint against them defensively. Last season, it was 4 people surrounding Aliyah Boston while daring Raven Johnson to shoot. Adding Paopao, along with increased confidence from Johnson and Bree Hall, means teams have to guard them completely in the half-court. And thanks for noticing the blatant flops that Utah was doing against Cardoso.
That was silly as f . The sand girls playing now were there last year raven was injured but she back
@@wesleyquan6581 Other than Paopao, those girls were there (Raven played last year), but they weren't as great at shooting 3s as they are this year. Look at the Iowa game in the semis. They backed 10 feet off of Raven Johnson in that game and begged her to shoot. She didn't. This year, she will shoot it and hit it. Same with Bree Hall--who didn't start last year because Zia Cooke and Brea Beal were there. Hall was not a great shooter last year. This year, she is.
@@USCndaATL here's what you don't factor good defense is not going let you just shoot a 3 ...
@@wesleyquan6581 Then pick your poison. Because if you pressure the outside shooters, The Gamecocks will pound it into the paint. Against USC, you can't stop both at the same time. No one has. With any combination of Cardoso, Kitts, Watkins, and Feagin, they have low post scorers in the game. If you zone them or pack the paint defensively, they shoot 3s over it. If you play them man to stop the outside shooters, they post up and outsize you in the lane. Like I said, pick your poison.
It's easy to hit 3's against inferior opposition. Tell their scheduler to stop scheduling so many cupcakes to pad their won-loss record. UCLA has beaten UConn, Ohio State, Florida State, and Arkansas - all on the road, while South Carolina is taking on mostly cupcakes, with an occasional half way decent team on their home court. If UCLA beats Southern Cal in their next game, they definitely deserve the number one slot.
I think Iowa shouldn't be ranked top #5 like the AP has it, but I do think they should be in the 8-10 range. Everything else I'm cool with.
I’m with you on that. Iowa is still ranked too high
This is probably the best top 10 breakdown that I have seen on the season. I think it’s a pretty accurate and logical list. Well done
It’s one unanimous #1 team right now and that’s the gamecocks, everyone else can fall in line as they see fit
UCLA should be ranked number one on their strength of schedule. South Carolina has only scheduled one tough road game this season. UCLA has beaten Uconn, Ohio state, Florida State, and Arkansas all on the road. They have Southern Cal up next, and a win against them should vault them into the number one slot. South Carolina should stop scheduling so many cupcakes.
@@user-gn3wq1mt7g you obviously haven’t looked at a schedule this season or don’t know what you’re talking about. Notre dame, Maryland, Clemson, Utah, North Carolina, Duke, just to name a few before conference begins. If you would’ve said LSU and cake schedule your comment probably would’ve made more sense
Don’t sleep on Baylor! I love their defense and ball movement.
I don’t know about NC State not having an elite player. Saniya Rivers was a 5 star recruit and is starting to play like it.
The Wolfpack have 4 or 5 McDonald’s AAs on their team - including Rivers, Baldwin, Collins, and Brooks. Rivers and James are definitely elite, and Brooks is quickly getting there (just a true freshman).
Rivers use to play for South Carolina and transferred because of playing time at SC.
@@anthonygalloway2084 yep
I think the lack of weapons with Iowa is blown out of proportion. Yes, the team revolves around Clark and losing MC and Warnock was not ideal. But, Sydney and Hannah have proven to play very well so far. Clarks chemistry with Martin and Marshall is still there are and theybare both great pieces. Molly Davis has been a huge suprise player this year. Compeared to other rosters such as SC and UCLA, they arent there, but I think people treat it like Clark is on a team like Chicago St.
Fair enough. I don’t think they are scrubs or anything. But other star players like Paige have more talent to work with.
That doesn't explain why UCONN has 3 losses. The 3 losses do matter.
I agree with you 100% and have been saying this.
@@maxpower247
Based in their player ratings coming out of high school, Paige’s supporting cast is far more talented than Caitlin’s, and that ignores their international players. But that was true for the past three years as well. By the same measure, South Carolina, LSU, UCLA, and USC all have better rosters this year. So probably do most other teams in your top ten.
First, that says to me that players, especially young players with good coaching, can get better year-to-year. Second, playing together for more than one season generally makes a team better. Both of these happened with Iowa in 2022-2023. But there is a third factor with Iowa: Caitlin Clark. Having the best player on the court, and Clark is just that game after game, can make up for a lot of deficiencies among other players. The downside is that if the star player has an off night, the team’s weaknesses are more likely to be exposed and exploited.
I myself ranked Iowa preseason in the upper single digits. I think their performance thus far merits a continued ranking in the upper single digits. As I have watched games this season, Iowa is improved in some areas (overall defense and rebounding) but their three-point shooting is off, partly because Warnock is no longer on the court, spotting up for Clark to assist. If Iowa's their three-point shooting does not improve, they will lose at least four games within the Big Ten.
@@jacobwatson3781Uconn has played better teams than Iowa. Texas, UCLA, and NC State are T10 teams. Kansas State is the only team that’s arguable as a top 10 that Iowa is played
Iowa has a supporting cast that's getting better as the season goes on. It's not all Caitlin, she's getting the help she needs.
I don’t disagree. But I don’t think Iowas situation is that much different from Utah/Stanford.
Iowas supporting cast is good compared an average team but elite teams have multiple all conference players. Iowa doesn’t have that luxury.
Stuelke is going to be a star. I'm hating the 4 guard offense though.
@@richhahn2443 yes not a fan of that eirher but seems a lot of teams doing it. Will see what happens thou.
He’s getting better? Okay, we’ll see
@@harrykern616 The problem is, when they go up against a team with a good 4 and 5, Iowa doesn't have enough team experience with Hannah at forward and Goodman/O'Grady alternating at Center.
South Carolina is the number one team without a doubt the x factor on that team is feagen and Watkins. Raven looks better this year which make this team extremely dangerous.. three of the top five teams in the poll bigs move their feet and run the court well. South Carolina is a prototype WNBA team.
North Carolina exposed sc😊
@@wesleyquan6581 I'm not a real big fan of South Carolina however they are getting first dibs at major talent across the nation with NIL deals and transfers they maybe hard to beat plus the intimidation factor of Dawn Staley over the North Carolina coach.
@@wesleyquan6581 That's sarcasm, right?
@@USCndaATL north Carolina was ahead in the game after the altercation there game was thrown off ... fullwilly was benched ....her defense sucks
@@wesleyquan6581 The final score says South Carolina won the game. Last time I checked, that's the only thing that matters. Everything else is excuses or moral victories.
Regarding Iowa they have likely already faced the toughest field goal percentage defenses they will all season. Kansas St. (7th nationally, 32.5%), Virginia Tech (12th, 33.6%), and Iowa State (34th, 35.4%) all currently rank above any team they play for the rest of the season.
With that in mind consider this for Czinano last season vs Stuelke and Goodman this season who have split time.
Czinano last season (averaged 27.9 minutes/game)
Pts Reb FG%
17.1 5.9 67.4
Stuelke and Goodman per 27.9 minutes played this season.
Stuelke
Pts Reb FG%
20.2 10.2 63.3
Goodman
Pts Reb FG%
14.6 9 69.7
The biggest difference by far is rebounding with Stuelke and Goodman being significantly better (and better defensively in my opinion). The average of their points/27.9 minutes is 17.4 vs Czinano's 17.1 with a similar field goal percentage. Stuelke in particular has a much higher all around ceiling than Czinano.
Here's a bonus per 27.9 minutes.
Sydney Affolter
Pts Reb FG%
9 8.6 55.6
Under 6 feet tall and also a significantly better rebounder than Czinano. And the most likely of anyone on the team to get the ball somehow (steals, getting to loose balls, dual possessions) if it is somewhere near her on defense.
Exactly. And now Martin is more than making up for Warnock’s offensive output. Iowa has a better roster this year than last year. They are only lacking some of the incredible chemistry they had by the end of last year but I fully expect this will not be an issue by the post season.
Interesting. I had not done that research. Glad you did.
It's hard to gauge how good lswho is since they prefer a cupcake schedule and refuse to challenge themselves and face adversity.
That’s definitely the hardest part when making lists like this. It’s a guessing game if a team has a weak schedule
@@maxpower247they definitely have a weak pre conference schedule, 275th strength of schedule is ridiculous. They had the chance to play a somewhat competitive schedule before conference and choose not to, stat stacking is what it looks like
LSwho plays cupcake schedule with teams with losing records to pad their stats so double double really is not so.
If you watch them play you'll know they will be in trouble when they face actual competition. I wouldn't be surprised if they lose their next game to Minnesota.
@@JaeRell
Iowa will not go undefeated in Big Ten conference games. Minnesota appears to be much improved over last season. But I will still be surprised if Iowa loses their next game to Minnesota.
I think Kansas St. is better than you think. They are 7th in the country in field goal percentage defense at 32.5% (including 2 games holding Iowa well under their 50.8% average). From a size perspective they match up well with even teams like South Carolina and UCLA with taller guards and Lee only being one inch shorter than Cardoso and Betts. If they are giving Caitlin Clark fits (33.3% shooting in two games) they would likely do the same to the guards on any other team. I think Betts and Cardoso are even at best with Lee.
Lee is averaging 21 points (in 24.5 minutes/game) and shooting 68.5% and would be the most dominant player on the court against a number of the teams ranked higher. Even if her teammates don't shoot well their defense will keep them in the vast majority of games against good teams (they shot 39.3% in their win against Iowa).
Ohio State for example so far has not even been close to Kansas St.'s defensive level with 39.2% field goal percentage defense (and have a worse percentage on offense too). They don't really have anyone who could guard Lee effectively. If Marshall from USC could get 18 points and 17 rebounds against them Lee would likely have a monster stat line. She could neutralize the Ohio St. inside game like other teams have done and guards who can make things miserable for Caitlin Clark can do the same to Sheldon and Thierry.
Given that I think you are also underestimating Iowa. I do agree that many teams are relatively equal and could beat each other in any given game.
I think some of the 4th Q letdowns are coaches giving playing time to bench players who they will likely need later in the season. Last year UCONN only played 6-7 players and their bench got no time, so when they needed it, it wasn't there. UCONN this year is getting bench production, as is Iowa and some of the other teams. So I don't think those 4th Q stats are as significant as you make it out to be. Can't argue with 1-2, I want to see where NC St is at the end of January after they've played some conference games on the road. And pretty much after that, get your quarter out and start flipping it.
I would have LSU as 3.
@@richhahn2443 Other than VT they haven't beaten very tough teams, but ... Aneesah Morrow is killing it. Great pickup for them in the portal, particularly when Angel was missing games. And Mikaylah Williams seems to be the real deal. They've got talent, need to see how it meshes when they play tougher opponents.
Iowa is gelling with the new lineups, you are way off, but the schedule will prove it out either way,
Overlooking the loss of two key players and one tough loss early, Sorry, I got Iowa 3
Need a video on the freshmen!! and yes, as uconn fan, they look pretty good after how they first played, I believe they will make it far, maybe lose to SC in the process but I’m fully expecting the team to go undefeated in the big east. They’re right where they should be right now, but I’m happy with the progress of this team. they will get better overtime.
Uconn will not go undefeated in the Big East.
@@RustyLou18 there’s a chance, there’s just no way Marquette or creighton is better than them with Paige being back, will they give them trouble? Most definitely. But uconn has the highest chance of going undefeated between any big east team!
The video on the freshmen will be a out on the 31st!
@@maxpower247 I can’t wait!
I think you're wrong about Iowa. Last year, everyone was saying the same Ohio was going to beat Iowa. Didn't happen. Iowa curb stomped them in the regular season and BIG tourny. I believe Iowa is starting to gel and have a deeper bench than last year.
A big part of that was Monica Czianno. She dropped 20 in both of those games and over 80% FG each time. Jacy didn’t play in the regular season game and the big 10 tournament she came off the bench because she was still recovering with injury. Ohio State beating Iowa without their best player isn’t realistic.
I agree Iowas bench is deeper, but their starting lineup is worse.
@maxpower247 OU has the same problem as last year. No real bigs, Goodman will dominate down low if Iowa goes that route. If they play fast, Hannah will get lots of open outlets. Hannah had 8 points in limited minutes during BIG tourny championship. I believe you are severely under estimating the growth of both post players. We will see come January 21st.
Iowa’s starting team is better than last year and their bench is better too. It’s unfair to compare them now vs end of season Iowa from last year. Remember last year through January 1 Iowa had lost four games. Right now they are 12-1 with a supposedly inferior lineup. Get real. Stuelke and Goodman and Affolter are dramatically better on defense than Czinano and Warnock were, and with Martin’s increased scoring output they are outscoring last year’s team. Further their bigs are collectively shooting and scoring at as good or better a percentage as Czinano ever did. Those writing down Iowa will regret it later.
@@maxpower247idk I think Iowa has the beat on Ohio this season also. Ohio lacks size and I don’t think they will be able to stop Steulke from having a good game offensively and on the boards. Coty has to have a good game for them to be competitive. Unlike last season Ohio will also be able to get max minutes from Sheldon so we shall see.
West Virginia is a team to watch. They're undefeated and underrated. Take a look at their coach's record. His teams have never had a losing season. Over his career he has almost an 800 winning percentage. The man can flat coach, and he has some really talented players this year.
South Carolina, ucla, usc, Texas, Stanford, Iowa, LSU, Utah, nc State, Colorado.
The PAC 12 big advantage is that every week is a ranked opponent so improvement
Love your top ten teams
Thanks! There will be more in the future
Old Tara at Stanford is past her time. You can't have a point guard that can't score if her life depended on it.The portal has robbed her blind. The school needs a modern head coach
Tara has been depending on the idea of a Stanford degree keeping players in their program rather than the portal. For top players, that has less influence than it once did. As for bringing players in through the portal, that can be difficult at Stanford because of academic admission standards.
poor Stanford just took the toughest conference by far again @@RichardII_Lionheart
Notre Dame!?😕 #5?! Those rankings you mentioned, comparing them and South Carolina, are skewed...because South Carolina is doing that against top competition and Notre Dame hasn't played anyone besides South Carolina. So they are padding stats against weaker comp. Later this year they play Louisville twice, UConn, North Carolina, and NC State. We'll know who they are once they play some real teams.
Notre Dame hasn’t played the hardest competition. But neither has LSU and USC and they don’t have the metrics they have.
@@maxpower247 Good point. Maybe all three of the teams are pretenders? Time will tell. Either way, great video and I'm glad I found the channel. I just got into women's college basketball and can't get enough.
Lsu v.colorodo they was 2 relaxed .. not happening. Reeses morrow Williams Johnson playing yhere best games right now
Who are they playing against
Facts
LSU!!
Okay, a lot of comments: First, I agree with the Iowa take. They're in the 11th to 15th range to me.
Leaving Baylor out of the top ten... Alright...
I think you may be on to something with NC State. They're due for a loss
Notre Dame at five though... they're good, but I think that may be your biases at play on this one. Stats don't lie I understand, but Tennessee ain't what they use to be, and that's really the only other team the Irish faced since SC. Let's see how they do conference play, then we'll talk.
Everything else I have no real problems with; in agreement for the most part.
It’s going to be a while before I do another one of these which determined some of the placements.
I could’ve took out Uconn for Baylor but I don’t believe they could’ve beat the teams Uconn lost to. I’m hoping Texas beats them otherwise I’m gonna have to hold that L.
ND will have the opportunity to prove themselves in January. UNC should still be ranked and Miami (potentially) will be ranked if they beat Louisville. If those are double digit wins I feel comfortable with my ranking. And if they are able to beat Uconn (which no one has been able to do so far) then I’m definitely confident about them being a T5 team.
Great video!
(15:08) Good to see that it is in fact painfully obvious that certain teams (plural) blatantly just flop when playing the Gamecocks. This has to be addressed.
Like Mike Tyson said everybody got a plan until they get punched in the mouth. This isn't a bad list at least its better than the AP preseason rankings. I agree with coach Yow from OleMiss lets wait till teams have a body of work. This is good timing to rank teams prior to conferences play at least they have a body of work to measure. You at least have seen the talent on the floor saw a few test run games with some ranked teams go at it and can see how the stars players are emerging. I'll say this the last team standing this season is going to likely come out of nowhere but it will be a better measure of who rises to the top after conference play. But based on the current body of work I think your poll is reasonable but I still would have Iowa in the top 10 as long as they have Clark they got a chance in every game IMO.
Are these rankings based off of talent? If so, Iowa wouldn't have been top 10 last season, either.
Btw, to those getting fired up about these rankings, it's just an opinion video. So Iowa will have their opportunity to disprove this video, OR validate it.
Heavy on the UConn fans cheering for Utah to win. lol that was crazy!
If UConn was playing Utah in South Carolina, who do you think South Carolina fans would cheer for? Probably Utah lol it’s not that deep
@@bennybenson5I know it’s not that deep hence the “lol”. Don’t take everything out of context
Hailey Van Lith is very overrated and has contributed essentially zero this year. Glad she’s on LSU.
She’s definitely not overrated. She’s just use to being a scorer and now she’s a PG and having trouble with settling in her new role.
There's been at least one game that she's carried them
She's a good player but she's still adjusting
She's averaging 12 ppg and averaging 5 ast and 2.5 turnovers. How is this "contributing zero"? LOL!
She was recruited out of HS as a point guard. That's what she is supposedly famous for. There was debate during recruitment whether she was the # 2 point guard behind Paige B (news flash she wasn't and isn't). She was supposedly the tip top talent of the transfer portal this year. 12 points and a few assists on a roster stuffed with talented players is mediocre at best. She has definitely lost a step compared to her freshman year. Now she misses the month of December with an owie in her foot. She's contributing a little compared to the hype, which was a lot. @@mojo_phee
You bugging HVL is the best closer in the game Louisville didn't go to the final four and sweet sixteens because she was some scrub. Someone who averages 19 points a game has over 1500 points in three years is not overated. When you call someone overrated would it be too much to qualify your statement other wise we can't follow your point.
Leaving out the best player in history won't age well. Memories of last year... Clark is pacing herself most games and isn't even close to showing her ceiling yet. Once in the tourney there won't be an answer for her. If just two of her team mates can show up on offense we will see Clark enter the Matrix, eclipsing her all-time performance from last year.
Best player in history...........................? LOL!
She’ll have to score 40 a game come tournament time to have a chance on going multiple rounds, the little help she did have last season is not there anymore. Teams know this and will force her teammates to step up
@iguillo Yep, nearly won the NCAA without another top talent. Will leave with the top records.
@@chrisj6express She already set the NCAA tourney scoring record once.
@@destinypiratethey had czinano who avg 20 in march madness
Yout a hater they lost 1 gorl who waa s factor last year morris ... they gained Williams number 1 morrow amd Hailey...top notch players
Hailey Van Lith is extremely overrated and has done next to nothing at LSU. I am so glad they wasted a roster spot on her.
@@davidedwards4720 🤡 Van lith is hurt .van lith took Louisville to the elite 8 and was the number 1 seed going into March madness ..do your research before you say this garbage
We will see
Ohio State has 1 good scorer. That's it! She is a beautiful woman, though!!
Nc State isnt just that good they just lost to the Hokies and the Hokies didn't play that well VT had no business being in that game but yet the Wolfpack blew multiple double digit leads in that game 😂😂
Iowa in definitely top 5 team after Ohio State game I will message you
UCONN is NOT a top 15 team, you're going to get burned.
you can say not top 10. But not top 15 is a stretch…
@@violetforpbok, UCONN is not a top 20 team😂
My current Top 5 ;
1. UCLA ( Those girls are buckets. Seriously the 3s never miss)
2. NC-State ( They just seem ready)
3. A draw btn. LSU and South Carolina ( I know SC are everyone's top team but after the Utah game, I'm not so convinced. As a team I think my Tigers can beat them. But then I remember Pao Pao doesn't miss. So I dont know. 😅)
5. Notre Dame ( Hanah Hidalgo is just that girl, that I dont see a top 5 without ND in it.)
PS: Lists a side, I hope my Tigers win it all come march. 😊
Your tigers can’t beat South Carolina!
Uconn is the #1 team in the country until some other team earns 12! No one is better than UCONN - the mens and women's teams. UCONN women's basketball team created the competition it now has.
Paige Bueckers if the #1 player of all time.
@lindsaymathews5127: "Paige Bueckers if [sic] the #1 player of all time."
Even for a UCONN fanatic, which you appear to be, your claim is ludicrous. Bueckers is an outstanding player who appears, thankfully, to have fully recovered from her injuries. But at her best, Bueckers is not better than other UCONN greats such as Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and Breanna Stewart.
Well said but you're talking to a delusional UConn fan. Don't waste your time@@RichardII_Lionheart
And, how many National Championships has IOWA won? Zero! How many has LSU won? Two? How many has UCLA won? Zero? That's why UCONN is still the #1 team in the country. We're #1 until some other team wins 12 National Championships. And, I don't think there's one team that's won even three!
You haven't won an NCAA championship in almost 8 years. Go sit down somewhere.😂
It's over for UCANT, face it.
LSU was in their first ever National Championship last year, so how in the heck have they won two nattys? Also, UConn just got knocked out in the Sweet 16 last year. UConn's on a downward spiral, and to rank them ahead of other teams that are on better trajectory's, based on very past success, is ludicrous.
South Carolina should stop scheduling so many cupcakes. They scheduled only one tough road game this year. UCLA should be ranked number one due to beating better teams overall, and many on the road(unlike South Carolina). UCLA has beaten UConn, Ohio State, Florida State, and Arkansas all on the road. If UCLA beats Southern Cal in their next game, UCLA should definitely take over the number one slot, while South Carolina beats up on weaklings like Presbyterian, Bowling Green, and East Carolina.
I smell jealousy here...
What you smell is reality, and you'll get a taste of it if South Carolina ever plays a good team on the road.
Wins against UNC and Duke ON THE ROAD. Battle tested for certain and you can see how Coach Staley is "adjusting" to these two tight wins.@@user-gn3wq1mt7g
Ya all dont like Iowa. Your opinion. Take a hike. You belong on espn with the other talking bobble heads
ESPN is spotting CC very well this year, what you talking about?