HHS Top 25: 7 Ranked Teams Lose, Chaos Ensues in Week 2

We’re two weeks into the women’s college basketball season, and already there have been plenty of surprises. Undefeated Notre Dame and Connecticut are still rolling toward their December 2 showdown after strong performances this week, but other top-25 teams have taken some lumps, whether in the form of upset losses or devastating injuries.

Here is the ballot that we submitted to the Sport Tours International (STI)/Hoopfeed Top 25 Poll for Week 2, which covered games played from Tuesday, November 13 through Monday, November 19. Movement up or down from our Week 1 ballot is denoted in parentheses.

1. Notre Dame
2. UConn
3. Louisville
4. Oregon
5. Mississippi State
6. Baylor
7. Stanford
8. Oregon State
9. Maryland (↑1)
10. Tennessee (↑1)
11. South Carolina (↓2)
12. Texas
13. Iowa
14. DePaul (↑2)
15. North Carolina State (↑2)
16. Syracuse (↑2)
17. Missouri (↓2)
18. Georgia (↓4)
19. South Florida (↑1)
20. Marquette (↓1)
21. Texas A&M
22. Arizona State (↑1)
23. West Virginia (↑1)
24. Miami (FL) (↓2)
25. California

Others receiving votes: Drake

Our 25 teams were unchanged from Week 1, and there was also no change in the order of our top 8 teams. Beyond that, it was chaos, starting with Maryland supplanting South Carolina at No. 9 after the Terps’ dominant 85–61 win over the Gamecocks on Sunday. (Not to mention, the Terps held George Washington to only 17.5% shooting from the field on Wednesday in a 39-point rout.) The Gamecocks, who staved off a comeback bid from in-state rival Clemson on Thursday, fell to No. 11.

South Carolina was just one of several Southeastern Conference (SEC) teams that had rough weeks. On Tuesday, Missouri managed to beat its own in-state rival, Missouri State, 65–61 despite not scoring a field goal for over 14 minutes in the second half. On Friday, the Tigers weren’t so fortunate, falling to Green Bay and snapping their 54-game nonconference home winning streak. Missouri’s 1–1 week dropped them two spots to No. 17. Georgia lost twice as many games and fell twice as far; the Bulldogs now sit at No. 18 and will look to rebound in Week 3 from defeats to UCLA and Georgia Tech. No. 21 Texas A&M was the fourth SEC team to lose this week, falling 75–65 to No. 16 Syracuse, but the strong showing against a higher-ranked opponent was enough for them to maintain their ranking from Week 1. (For more on how we treat losses like these, check out last week’s article.)

Elsewhere around the country, No. 14 DePaul and No. 1 Notre Dame played perhaps the most entertaining game of the week, with the Fighting Irish prevailing in a barnburner, 101–77. The game was more tightly contested than the score would suggest; after the first quarter, DePaul led by seven points and had forced 10 Notre Dame turnovers. (Notre Dame finished with 25 turnovers for the game and clearly struggled at times with DePaul’s pressure and 3-point shooting prowess.) DePaul did not drop in our rankings for the hard-fought loss, and even rose two spots due to losses by higher-ranked teams.

Meanwhile, in the Preseason WNIT, a semifinal matchup of ranked teams saw Marquette lose to Miami, but Miami promptly lost to Iowa State by 23 points in the championship game. For their efforts this week, Marquette fell one spot to No. 20 and Miami fell two to No. 24. Iowa State remains unranked despite a 4–0 start, but a win over No. 13 Iowa on December 5 could make voters reconsider.

Finally, the team that narrowly missed a spot in our top 25 was Drake. Ranked first in ESPN’s Week 1 mid-major poll, the Bulldogs are 4–0 with wins over Nebraska and South Dakota (ESPN’s fourth-ranked mid-major). Drake is a fast-paced but efficient offensive team, ranking 50th in the country in pace and eleventh in points per scoring attempt. Drake has also registered assists on over 76 percent of its baskets, which is third nationally. The Bulldogs have all five starters back this season and ample opportunities to pick up quality nonconference wins, including this week’s Vancouver Showcase and a tough three-game stretch against South Dakota State, Iowa State, and Iowa in December. A strong showing this week against Rutgers and then either Gonzaga or Notre Dame could vault the Bulldogs into our Top 25.

How do you think we did with our ballot? What teams did we miss, underestimate, or overrate? Let us know in the comments section below or on Twitter (@herhoopstats), and keep an eye out for our rankings on the Hoopfeed website throughout the season.

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