Women’s college basketball power rankings: NC State’s jump from preseason unranked to top 5

Thanksgiving lends itself to excess, and there was a buffet of options available on the basketball court this week – in all honesty, too much to consume if you had holiday obligations over the past few days.

It’s hard to know how much to read into these early tournaments when they take place oceans away during what most Americans consider to be vacation time instead of prime basketball-viewing season. One of the most shocking results of the week took place in Cancun between two teams ( Green Bay and Washington State ) who play in the northernmost areas of the U.S., more than 3,000 miles away from the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.

But the basketball happened, and the results mean something now, even if the wins and losses won’t matter as much when March rolls around. So here’s our best attempt to digest the numerous developments of the past week with the inaugural ACC-SEC Challenge on deck.

Dropped out: North Carolina , Oklahoma

Almost famous: Duke, Oklahoma , UNLV , Alabama

How does South Carolina keep rolling?

The Gamecocks, who are once again the comfortable choice for the top team in the rankings, just posted the highest win margin of the Dawn Staley era. They beat Mississippi Valley State by 82 points while holding the Devilettes to six or fewer points in all four quarters. For all the deserved plaudits about South Carolina’s more dynamic offense — their improved assist rate (up 10 percentage points) and effective field-goal percentage (up five points) stand out — their defense continues to set the standard.

South Carolina has the best defensive rating in the country, per Her Hoop Stats, for the third straight season. Through five games, opponents are shooting 43 percent at the rim and getting 25 percent of their shots blocked — also the best marks for any defense in the nation. Kamilla Cardoso gets most of the credit for the Gamecocks’ rim protection, as her 6-foot-7 frame provides an imposing presence in the paint and she’s averaging four blocks per game, but backup center Ashlyn Watkins is also chipping in 3.9 rejections per contest. The pair combined for 17 blocks in two dominating wins this week. No team has been able to truly stretch the Gamecocks’ defense yet (think back to when Iowa opened the floor in the pick-and-roll in the Final Four), not even Notre Dame or Maryland , which is why I’m circling the Dec. 10 matchup against Utah for South Carolina’s next big test.

Backup center Ashlyn Watkins’ contributions have helped the Gamecocks remain steady on defense. (Jacob Kupferman / )

Maybe Jaylyn Sherrod isn’t the key for Colorado ?

The Buffaloes looked unimpressive for the first time this season against NC State, and it coincided with Aaronette Vonleh ’s first bad game of the year. Jaylyn Sherrod has been the head of the snake for Colorado thus far, her steady play as floor general setting the tone for the veteran Buffaloes. But her performance alone wasn’t enough to elevate Colorado against the Wolfpack . Without a solid effort from the frontcourt, it didn’t look the part of a top-five team.

The Buffaloes need Vonleh not just to serve as a post hub, which didn’t go so well against River Baldwin — who torched Vonleh to the tune of 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting — but also to set up handoffs on the perimeter to create space for Colorado’s guards. With NC State’s defense shutting down those exchanges, Vonleh’s decision-making really killed the Buffs. Her passes were easily intercepted and turned into fast-break points on the other end. As long as Quay Miller is struggling to score (her shooting splits of 33.8 / 32.3 / 53.8 are particularly ghastly), Colorado needs Vonleh to anchor the interior. There’s no offensive balance if Sherrod has to generate everything.

How did NC State jump from preseason unranked to top 5?

NC State arguably has the best resume in the country outside of South Carolina and the Pac-12. The Wolfpack started the season outside the top 25 but should be fixtures in the rankings after taking down Connecticut and Colorado. What’s most impressive so far is their ability to consistently get high-quality shots, even though they have a somewhat strange offensive profile. They don’t get to the free-throw line often, force a lot of turnovers or shoot many 3-pointers, but their true shooting percentage of 57.8 still ranks in the 94th percentile of Division I, per CBB Analytics.

Why is that number so high? Some hot shooting will eventually normalize as the year goes on — it’s probably unreasonable for Madison Hayes and Mimi Collins to keep making more than half of their 3s — but what NC State has done well is get a high volume of shots at the rim. Nearly 40 percent of the Wolfpack’s looks have come directly at the basket. Many of their perimeter players are capable of breaking down defenses off the dribble to get into the paint, but something else that stands out with NC State, especially in the Paradise Jam games, has been the passing of Saniya Rivers. At 6-1, Rivers usually has a clear line of sight over her defender and has been delivering clean lob passes to the bigs. Even if the Wolfpack don’t have traditional back-to-the-basket post-up players, they are smart rollers and have good hands to catch the balls Rivers is sending in.

Now that she is more of a primary ballhandler in her second season with NC State, Rivers’ assist percentage has risen from 19 last season to 28.3 so far this season. A year ago, she could only really dominate games with her pace, but Rivers’ passing makes her a threat no matter how fast the Wolfpack are playing.

Virginia Tech is too one-dimensional

The Hokies had a beautiful offensive flow last season, one that has been difficult to fully replicate in the early going after graduating three of their six rotation players. Kayana Traylor ’s absence has been felt the most, as the lone guard to put pressure on the rim and get to the foul line. Virginia Tech is barely generating any free throws (in the ninth percentile of free throw attempt rate, per CBB Analytics), and the Hokies take only 17 percent of their shots at the rim. Their start to the season seems like an inverse of NC State.

Without fast breaks, free throws or layups, Virginia Tech is wholly reliant on jump shooting or non-paint 2s. Considering Georgia Amoore , Cayla King and Matilda Ekh are all shooting below 35 percent from beyond the arc, the Hokies need to get more easy offense in order to become a Final Four threat again.

Why Indiana ’s loss to Stanford isn’t so worrisome

When the Hoosiers lost by 32 to the Cardinal and Mackenzie Holmes had her lunch money taken by Cameron Brink , it didn’t seem like a great omen for life after Grace Berger .

But Stanford has had an outstanding start to the year, with Brink living up to her preseason All-America status and the West Coast powerhouse notching early wins over Duke , Belmont and Florida State . Meanwhile, Indiana has rebounded admirably with victories in the Fort Myers Tip-Off over Tennessee and Princeton , and Sara Scalia is a seamless fit into Berger’s slot in the starting lineup.

With 31 & 38 points respectively, & have been named to the Elevance Health All Island Team! pic.twitter.com/8JlFn5ZPDL

— Indiana Women’s Basketball November 25, 2023

Scalia was willing to take a backseat from her No. 1 option offensive role at Minnesota when she transferred to Indiana — winning was worth the sacrifice. But now that the shots are available again, Scalia has proven she can take on a larger offensive load, and she’s been efficient doing so, thanks to Holmes attracting all that defensive attention. There’s a lot of red on Scalia’s shot chart — she’s shooting 52.6 percent on 2s, 46.2 percent on 3s and hasn’t missed a free throw yet — as the Hoosiers boast the nation’s seventh-best offensive rating. Scalia’s 28 points against Princeton were her best total in an Indiana uniform, and she had to defend Madison St. Rose of the Tigers in the process, limiting St. Rose to only 11 points.

The Hoosiers’ ceiling is probably still dependent on how well Holmes can control the paint and how well her body holds up throughout the season. But it helps to have perimeter players who can lessen the load on Holmes before the tournament, allowing her to be at her best in March, which clearly wasn’t the case in 2023. Scalia is doing her part to make that happen.

(Top photo of Saniya Rivers: Lance King / )