Gamecocks beat Terrapins 66-59 and now beat the top 10 teams 4-0 this season. (1:27)
Entering the sixth week of the college women's basketball season, 10 teams are still unbeaten, led by the number one South Carolina State. But how many people are true contenders in the top four?
There is no doubt that South Carolina defeated the eighth-ranked Maryland 66-59 on Sunday. This is the fourth time the cockfighting team has beaten the top 10 teams. Junior Alia Boston and Zia Cook both reached the 1,000-point career milestone in the game. Gamecocks beat the Terps 61-34-led by 16 people in Boston-coach Dawn Staley believes this may be the best rebounding team she has.
"We have done a great job in this area," Staley said. "This is our big man and our big guard; they really blocked us."
South Carolina was the top four team last season. On Wednesday (7pm EST, ACC Network), they played 10-0 against Duke University, ranked 19th in Durham, North Carolina. . So we know that at least one undefeated player will lose this week.
But apart from South Carolina, which undefeated teams might make it to the semi-finals?
The Wildcats lost in the national championship game last season. Although they lost the WNBA lottery pick Aari McDonald, they got off to a strong start with a score of 9-0. They won a huge victory in the overtime game against Louisville on November 12, and they will face another major test against Texas on Sunday (5:30 PM ET, ESPN).
Tennessee (9-0) has not entered the semi-finals since its last NCAA championship in 2008. It defeated the top ranked South Florida and Texas teams, but defended the national title at home on Saturday Champion Stanford (5: 15 pm EST, ESPN2).
Not yet: Duke, North Carolina
The two projects that used to be the biggest power of the ACC may not show the potential of the final four, but Duke University and North Carolina (9-0) are working in this direction. First, they will try to regain a foothold in their meetings.
From 1994 to 2014, North Carolina or Duke University-or both-reached the ACC Championship finals in only one season. However, in the past seven games, there was only one ACC final between the two schools: Duke University lost to Notre Dame in the 2017 championship game.
The Blue Devils' biggest victory so far this season is over—nothing. December 2nd 9 Iowa. The Tar Heels did not beat the top-ranked team and may not have a chance to win before facing second-ranked North Carolina on January 6. Therefore, only three of North Carolina's opponents currently have a winning record.
Championship seats are significant: Colorado, Nebraska
Nebraska (10-0) did not beat the top-ranked team; its best victory was at Wake Forest University on December 1. The Huskers will face four current top-ranked teams in a row before the start of the Big Ten season, starting in Michigan on January 4. The last time Nebraska participated in the NCAA tournament was in 2018; the last time the Huskers won the NCAA tournament was in 2014.
Colorado (9-0) has not yet been tested; its schedule intensity ranks 244th. The program entered the Elite Eight under the leadership of Ceal Barry, but since she left the coach in 2005, Buffs has only participated in one NCAA tournament (2013).
Now in her sixth season in Boulder, coach JR Payne hopes to return Buffs to the Big Dance. Last season, they entered WNIT and defeated Stanford in the regular season, one of the two teams that defeated the Cardinals.
Hope to compete in their conferences: Tulsa, Cleveland State University, Coastal Carolina
The criteria for these teams are different: how do they perform in the league?
Tulsa was selected ninth in the United States Athletics Conference, but the Golden Hurricanes started 8-0. Tulsa has participated in the NCAA tournament twice, most recently in 2013.
Cleveland State University has also participated in the big prom twice, the last time was in 2010. The Vikings ranked sixth in the Horizon League preseason voting. Cleveland State University has won six games and won two wins by giving up.
Coastal North Carolina ranks 11th in the Sun Belt, but has the best start in project history with an 8-0 score. Chanticleers have never participated in the NCAA tournament, but if the COVID-19 pandemic does not cancel the playoffs, they may participate in 2020.
Georgia Institute of Technology defeated Connecticut 57-44 for third place. After the game, Geno Auriemma talked about his "messy" team.
On Sunday, the Frogs' fifth-year guard scored 33 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. They beat the 18th-ranked Texas A&M University 87-75. She made 7 of 12 shots and 18 of 21 from the free throw line. This is TCU's fifth victory over Texas A&M in their 42-game series, and the first victory since 2009. In the Big 12's first team and All-Defensive team last season, Heard averaged 18.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season.
On Sunday, the Gators beat Florida State University 69-55. This was their first victory in the Sunshine State since 2015, ending a five-game losing streak against Seminole. Florida State also defeated Dayton 60-57 on Wednesday. With the Frogs' victory over Texas A&M University, the Alligators won a 63-54 victory in the TCU on December 5 to occupy a larger proportion. With the resignation of head coach Cam Newbauer, it was a challenging offseason for Florida, but in the 9-3 game, the Gators, led by interim coach Kelly Rae Finley, had a total victory last season. China has scored three victories.
The Yellow Jackets became the first unranked team to beat the Huskies since 2012, and the University of Connecticut has the lowest score since 2006. Of course, the University of Connecticut is dealing with critical injuries, but the 8-2 Georgia Institute of Technology was praised for its suffocating defense, allowing the Huskies to maintain five points in the fourth quarter. After a big victory on Thursday, Georgia Tech was no less inferior in Sunday's 63-36 victory over Furman.
After losing 69-60 at Louisiana State University on December 2nd—the Tornado’s first defeat of the season and their lowest score so far—Fenelli allowed his team to regroup and win The next three games included a 77-70 victory over rival Iowa State in front of 11,348 fans at the Ames Hilton Stadium on Wednesday. On Sunday, in another interstate game, Iowa State University, ranked 15th, was pushed to the end, but still defeated Northern Iowa 70-69. The 10-1 Cyclones played only one game for the rest of the month, playing against Prairie View A&M on December 19, and then starting the Big 12 season against West Virginia on January 2.
1. South Carolina Cockfighting Team (10-0) Previous ranking: 1 This week: Duke University (Wednesday)
In Sunday's victory over Maryland, head coach Dawn Staley didn't want offense, but the defense was still very good. Gamecocks blocked 15 shots and kept the Terps' scoring at a season-low 59 points.
2. NC State Wolfpack (10-1) Previous ranking: 2 This week: vs. Georgia (Thursday), vs. Virginia (Sunday)
Wolfpack defeated Pittsburgh and St. Mary. Their game against Georgia will be North Carolina's third time this season against a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opponent. The wolves settled in South Carolina and defeated Florida.
3. Louisville Cardinals (8-1) Previous ranking: 4 This week: vs. Eastern Kentucky (Thursday), vs. Connecticut (Sunday)
How the Cardinals defeated Kentucky 64-58 on Sunday prevented the star player's defensive clinic: Louisville made 3 of 13 shots and controlled the Wildcats' Ryan Howard to 9 points. Louisville will look forward to trying to make the University of Connecticut game difficult in the upcoming game.
4. Tennessee Women's Walls (9-0) Previous ranking: 5 This week: vs. Stanford (Saturday)
Tamari Key and Jordan Horston both won double-doubles in Saturday's 84-60 victory over Georgia State University, and Lady Vols continued to perform well on the rebounds. Their rebound rate (17.3) ranks among the top five in the first group.
5. Baylor Bears (9-1) Previous ranking: 6 This week: vs. Michigan (Sunday)
On Wednesday, the Bears beat Alcorn State University 94-40, and Narissa Smith won the ninth double-double of the season. The upcoming matchup with the Wolverines will be Baylor's second game of the season against the top-ranked team.
6. Arizona Wildcats (9-0) Previous ranking: 7 This week: vs. Northern Arizona (Friday), vs. Texas (Sunday)
Like Baylor, Arizona has only played a top-ranked opponent so far. The Longhorns matchup will be Wildcats' last non-conference match before the start of the Pac-12 schedule.
7. Stanford Cardinals (6-2) Previous ranking: 8 This week: vs. UC Davis (Wednesday), Tennessee (Saturday)
In Sunday's 91-62 victory over the Pacific, sophomore Cameron Brink was unstoppable (25 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks). Her inside matchup with Tamari Key of Tennessee is a game that the Cardinals will watch at their upcoming annual meeting with Lady Vols.
8. UConn Huskies (6-2) Previous ranking: 3 This week: vs. Louisville (Sunday)
In the first game after Paige Bux suffered a knee injury, the Huskies lost 57-44 to Georgia Tech. But seemingly on the verge of losing two consecutive games for the first time since 1993, the University of Connecticut reversed the situation and defeated the University of California, Los Angeles 71-61. If the University of Connecticut behaves like this in the second half against the Bruins, the matchup with Louisville will be a wonderful game.
9. Texas Longhorns (7-1) Previous ranking: 9 This week: vs. Arizona (Sunday)
It is too early, but so far, the Longhorns offense (83.8 PPG) looks more effective than last season (68.9 PPG). We will take a look at how this pair of Arizona and the Big 12 game from January will perform.
10. Maryland Terrapins (9-3) Previous ranking: 10 This week: No competition
The Terps team beat Purdue University 86-71 and let South Carolina fight for their own money. Despite leading by 27 points, they still lost the game by 7 points. Maryland lost to the top 10 teams in all three games. Sophomore Angelis averaged a double-double (18.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG) per game.
11. Indiana Indiana (8-2) Previous ranking: 11 This week: vs. West Michigan (Sunday)
For the Indians, this was a statement week—they beat Penn State, Fairfield, and Ohio State by an average of 27.7 points—and junior forward McKenzie Holmes, in these victories. Averaged 23 points and 6.0 rebounds.
12. Michigan Wolverines (10-1) Previous ranking: 13 This week: vs. Baylor (Sunday)
In the victory over the top ten rivals Wisconsin and Minnesota, the Wolverines scored 46 points from Naz Silmon. After a poor performance in the game against Louisville on December 2, Michigan had another chance to win in a non-conference match against Baylor on Sunday.
13. Iowa State Hurricanes (9-1) Previous ranking: NR This week: vs. Prairie View A&M (Sunday)
After slipping out of the power rankings last week, Iowa State University returned after defeating its in-state rivals Iowa and Northern Iowa. Sophomore Lexi Donarski played the best game of the season against the Panthers, scoring 19 points and 8 rebounds.
14. Duke Blue Devils (8-0) Previous ranking: 14 This week: against South Carolina (Wednesday), Miami (Sunday)
The Blue Devils did not participate in the game last week, so they have enough time to prepare for South Carolina. We will see how Duke fights a defense that only allows 50.6 PPG.
15. Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket (8-2) Previous ranking: NR This week: against Wake Forest (Sunday)
Since losing to Purdue University on December 1st last year, beating the University of Georgia, the University of Connecticut and Furman, the Yellow Jackets have made a major response. Their victory over the Huskies was their first time against a top five opponent since 2009. Lorela Cubaj is a rebounding machine, averaging 12.5 per game.
16. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-2) Previous ranking: NR This week: against Pittsburgh (Sunday)
Freshman guard Olivia Myers' triple-double led the way in defeating Valparaiso. She was one of the six Irish players to score in double figures when they defeated Purdue Fort Wayne.
Louisiana State University Tigers (7-1): The Tigers beat South Texas 96-55 on Sunday, and the next two opponents-Alcorn State University and New Orleans-should do the same .
Oklahoma Sooners (9-1): After their 99-91 overtime victory over 16th ranked BYU, Sooners may enter the Associated Press rankings this week.
BYU Cougars (8-1): The loss of the Cougars to the Sooners was their first game of the season. They got a pretty good shooting performance from Tegan Graham. He made 10 three-pointers. They were ranked 12th in the power rankings last week.