It's that time of the season where the parasocial be parasocialing, where people are accusing 19 year olds of devious schemes and deception, where speculation abounds over injuries and rotations and everything else, where conspiracy theories about people trying to like, stay in college until they're 30 to evade the WNBA draft are swirling. In short, it's that time of the season where fans are creating so much drama around a sport that is -- at its core -- about students learning, developing, and growing their skillsets.

ie, We older-than-college-aged fans need to chill out and try to remember what it's all about: joy, teamwork, and growth.

I'll start.

My favorite Sparty joy thing:

I'm a faculty member at MSU, and I can tell you that my favorite thing about our team under Robin Fralick isn't just how GOOD we've gotten -- it's how absolutely joyful the team is when they're together. At home games where I've got season tix, it's not only common but pretty much a given that we will see some TikTok dancing, slow twerking, teasing of the coaches, and uproarious cheering from the players on the sidelines. They make each other laugh constantly. They dance. They smile. They're clearly having fun.

This matters to me because I see these players and others their age in my classroom. I know that this is a tender age -- everyone wants to be an adult but there's a lot of anxiety, and stress, and trying to "get it right," and pressure from the adults in their lives. Really, they're kids. I say that affectionately. I know how hard people their age are trying to make a life for themselves and find their way. I also know how much the world surrounding young adults does most of what it can to rob them of joy and peace -- whether its dismal job market prospects, or the state of the world, or new things to feel pressured about or insecure about. So when I see young people in a healthy environment (meaning, like, not just at the cLuB or something) where they're clearly showing joy and even more clearly feeling loved and supported -- maaaaan, for me, that's the business. That's what it's all for. That is all any of us can or should be wishing for the young adults in our lives. Some teams, I see how stressed they look the whole game and I wish that wasn't the culture surrounding them. The MSU Spartans have laughter and dancing and I love that for them.

I'll note, too, that Fralick really understands this. She has said many times in interviews "I see them through the eyes of my eight year old," referencing the things she admires in her players and the way they treat one another. She sees that they are good people, good role models, and that they need support and care to keep growing into being those things.

So that's my favorite joy: seeing their joy and knowing they feel loved by one another and their coaches.

My favorite Sparty growth thing: I feel like Fralick must make them watch film and then say, "What ELSE could you be doing?" Because the longer players play within her system, the more active they become on the court. If you watch individual players closely, you will be able to see that they're actively working on developing specific skillsets during the season and sometimes you can even clock the debut of a new skill or a new level of permission. There's a lot of cohesion and high-IQ ball going on for Sparty, and I think a lot of it comes from some sort of framework where they're constantly told that any moment they're on the court, they should be doing something. And then perfecting those somethings. I can still remember when, last season, we seemed to unlock shot blocking. For this year, it's watching them manifest one of the finest full-court presses you'll see.

Below is what Coach Washington had to say about Kiyomi missing the USC game. These are the words of someone who cares about her players as humans first and not only as a “Product”, and I really hope Kiyomi starts listening to these type of adults instead of “advisors” like Ellerbe.

*"The thing with Kiyomi is - we're going to keep it internal," Washington said. "Somebody sent me a post that the Kansas State men's basketball coach said at this recent press conference and talked about his faith and how he sees coaching as a ministry. And what he does it terms meeting and connecting with the young men on his team springs from his perception, understanding that what he does is a ministry.

"For me, coaching is not just about what happens on the court on game day, it's about how we impact these young women that are in our program in all aspects from their character to their growth into womanhood into their decision-making. I see my role as a coach as being more than X's and O's and wins and losses but how am I impacting young women in my care? That's always going to be first and foremost.*

:( Watkins will miss the remainder of the season

From the article:

Geno Auriemma says Paige Bueckers has a knee sprain. Nothing torn or seriously damaged. Her ankle is fine but sore. He’s hoping she’ll be back in a week.

NCAA Women's Basketball

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Kansas Jayhawks vs. #10 TCU Horned Frogs

Tip-Off: 8:00 PM ET - Wednesday, January 08, 2025

Venue: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS

TV: ESPN+

Thread Notes:

• The rankings used on this post are from the r/NCAAW poll, not the AP poll. Anybody is welcome to vote in the weekly poll on the sub.
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Utah breathe a sigh of relief as head coach Gavin Petersen told the media that she suffered a high ankle sprain on her left ankle and that it was not season ending. Still a tough loss with Kansas State, Baylor, and TCU all coming up within the next 10 days.

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/01/07/kennady-mcqueen-injury-update-playing-status-utah-womens-basketball/

We get somewhat more of the same today as yesterday. While only five D1 games are on tap, they’re, at least, a little better comp-wise. We do have the number one team in the country on schedule, as well as a few tournament hopefuls.

The rankings in the above table are from the r/NCAAW poll, not the AP poll.

• If you'd like to see the rest of today's Division I schedule (on ESPN), you can click here.
• You're encouraged to use this thread to discuss anything you want, not just the day's games.
• If you want a flair on this sub (a favorite team or two next to your name), comment here and ask or message the mods.

With the win on the road against Iowa Maryland improves to 14-0, which marks the longest winning streak since the 2018-1019 basketball season. Maryland has benefited this season with big pickups in the transfer portal. Is this season where Maryland ends the season with their 7th Big Ten championship?

Reposted a ton of stories related to calling her “THE GOAT” and people saying “Rutgers needed her”, things like that. Not a great look.

1. UCLA
2. South Carolina
3. Notre Dame
4. USC
5. Texas
6. LSU
7. UConn
8. Maryland
9. Ohio State
10. Oklahoma
11. TCU
12. Kansas State
13. Georgia Tech
14. Duke
15. Kentucky
16. Tennessee
17. West Virginia
18. Alabama
19. UNC
20. Michigan State
21. NC State
22. Utah
23. Iowa
24. Cal
25. Michigan

Link to the poll

Week 10

• Preseason
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8 - Lost to the sands of time :'(
• Week 9
• MBB Version
• Football Version

This is a series I've been doing on /r/CollegeBasketball and /r/CFB for quite a while now, and I'm doing for WBB for the first time. The post attempts to visualize consistency between voters in the AP Poll in a single image. Additionally it sorts each AP voter by similarity to the group. Notably, this is not a measure of how "good" a voter is, just how consistent they are with the group. Especially preseason, having a diversity of opinions and ranking styles is advantageous to having a true consensus poll. Polls tend to coalesce towards each other as the season goes on.

Angel Gray was the most consistent voter this week. Christy Winters Scott, Matt Dowell, Mark Story, Joe Vozzelli, and Angel Gray are the 5 most consistent on the season.

Percy Allen was the biggest outlier this week. Mitchell Northam, Percy Allen, Jeff Linder, Sabreena Merchant, and Carl Adamec are the biggest outliers on the season.

Conference play is officially here and that means top end matchups from now until April. Which games should you watch first? We got you covered.

As we approach the halfway point of the season (and some teams are already there), how do you feel about your squad? What do you think is their ceiling in conference play and for the postseason? Which players are you high on and which ones would you like to see improve in the second half? Any airing of grievances?

These scores are a calculation based on weighted values for Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocks, Turnovers, True Shooting Percentage, and Projected Team Ranking

1. Hannah Hildalgo - ND - G - SO - 52.3
2. JuJu Watkins - USC - G - SO - 51.9
3. Olivia Miles - ND - G - SR - 50.8
4. Sarah Strong - CONN - F - FR - 49.5
5. Sedona Prince - TCU - C - SR* - 49.4
6. Lauren Betts - UCLA - C - JR - 48.8
7. Ta’Niya Latson - FS - G - JR - 47.9 
8. Khamil Pierre - VAN - F - SO - 47.7
9. Paige Bueckers - CONN - G - SR* - 46.9
10. Makayla Timpson - FS - F - SR - 46.0 
11. Hailey Van Lith - TCU - G - SR* - 43.7
12. Aneesha Morrow - LSU - F - SR - 43.5
13. Akoya Lee - KSU - C - SR - 43.2
14. Raegan Beers - OLK - C - JR - 41.0
15. Madison Conner - TCU - G - SR* - 40.6
16. Kiki Iriafen - USC - F - SR - 40.2
17. Flau’jae Johnson - LSU - G - JR - 39.6
18. Laitu King - ND - F - SR - 39.4
19. Madison Booker - TEX - F - SO - 39.0
20. Jordan Harrison - WVU - G - JR - 38.6
21. Audi Crooks - ISU - C - SO - 38.5
22. DeYona Gaston - AUB - F - SR - 38.4
23. Clara Strack - UK - C - SO - 38.3
24. Kiki Rice - UCLA - G - JR - 38.1
25. Mikayla Blakes - VAN - G - FR - 37.2
26. Talaysia Cooper - TENN - G -SO - 37.0
27. JJ Quinerly - WVU - G - SR - 36.2
28. Sonia Citron - ND - G - SR - 36.1
29. Georgia Amoore - UK - G - SR - 35.9
30. Cotie McMahon - OS - F - JR - 34.2

This is not the main NCAAW user poll ballot, for that ballot go here. The link to vote for the Mid-Major+ user poll is at the bottom of this post.

This poll features the top 20 weekly rankings of ALL teams excluding those from the ACC, B10, B12, BE & SEC. While the future of the P12 is sorted out, Oregon St and Washington St are also now eligible on ballots, at least for 2024-25, while they are in the WCC.

The "+" in this poll's name is a nod to the varied usage of the term "mid-major", as there are teams in this poll sometimes discussed as outliers, high or low majors etc. and the scope of this poll includes ALL teams outside of the 5 conferences mentioned above. Mid-Major is not an official term used by the NCAA and is not interpreted the same by all. The primary purpose of this poll is for starting conversations about the teams themselves, not the concept of a mid-major. Remember have fun and be courteous to others!

After asking around with some folks who voted last season we are trialing Top 20 rankings, up from 15. If the increase becomes too challenging for voters who have wanted to participate in the past, we may revert back to 15 next season, or if it's a precipitous drop off in participation, sooner if necessary.

This poll utilizes a drop down menu that abbreviates many teams with geographic/compass directions. For example: C. Arkansas for Central Arkansas & W. Carolina for Western Carolina. Some teams won't have these abbreviations and a small number of team names may vary on different websites compared to the ballot list, but hopefully it should be pretty straightforward. If there’s any confusion please feel free to contact me.

Expect for the foreseeable future this will be free to all voters, no application required, just like the main NCAAW user poll. User names are required for submitting ballots, in case any follow up is required, but ballots will be anonymous and not shared with the results for the time being.

I don’t anticipate there to be many voters here that don’t already participate in the main NCAAW user poll. However, if this would be the first poll for any voters and you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments section.

Google form link to vote:

https://forms.gle/hYj7SjNhFNgdATVV8

Like the main user poll:

The poll will lock today, January 6th at 11 PM ET. And, please only take into consideration all games through the end of Sunday, January 5th, when filling out this ballot.

Well, we're back into the swing of things now that the holidays are over. We’re getting into the heart of conference scheduling and we’ve had some decent games this last week that could help to shape things out in the poll. As always, new voters are always encouraged to contribute and join the process.

CLICK HERE to cast your ballot. We’ll close the poll down tonight at 11pm (EST). PLEASE remember to not use today’s games when considering your rankings!

Well. Yesterday was great, but that means today leaves a lot to be desired. Our new bot friend u/ncaaw_GameThreads will have no work to do today, because there are only three D1 games today, and one of them has been postponed. Neither of the two games which will take place today project to be especially competitive. So. I don't know what to tell ya. However, if you're a fan of Diamond Johnson, you're in luck, because Norfolk State plays today and they can be fun to watch.

• The rankings in the above table are from the r/NCAAW poll, not the AP poll.
• If you'd like to see the rest of today's Division I schedule (on ESPN), you can click here.
• You're encouraged to use this thread to discuss anything you want, not just the day's games.
• If you want a flair on this sub (a favorite team or two next to your name), comment here and ask or message the mods.

Certainly a terrible time to bench your star. Rutgers fans, any idea why?