Women's Basketball 2024

[GSCfan1275]

The Glenville system has made it to the big time, Kim Stephens Caldwell is now the coach at Tennessee!

[Bballfan]

The Glenville system has made it to the big time, Kim Stephens Caldwell is now the coach at Tennessee!

Will see if it succeeds at the big time. Now you get to take on Mulkey and Staley at a program where expectations are unrealistic in this day and age. Tennessee at best is third to South Carolina and LSU in the SEC. It begins with recruiting. In the end you are as good as the players you have.

[D2Rover]

Bumping in case anybody wants to get this conversation started back up. I haven't had much time between work and volleyball to follow a ton so far, but I'll be up and active again as the season goes on.

[Bballfan]

The team to watch is Grand Valley. Not sure who beats them. Through 5 games their average margin of victory is 35 points/game. And in those 5 games were two victories over top 10 opponents. Just don't see anyone touching them this year. They go 12 deep, play full court, and have a crazy amount of talent for a D2 school.

[D2Rover]

The team to watch is Grand Valley. Not sure who beats them. Through 5 games their average margin of victory is 35 points/game. And in those 5 games were two victories over top 10 opponents. Just don't see anyone touching them this year. They go 12 deep, play full court, and have a crazy amount of talent for a D2 school.

Went back and watched pieces of the Billings game. GVSU is very good, but I don't know if they're actually miles ahead of everyone else. Billings lost 2 starters from last year, they're still very good, but not what they were. 1-15 from three is an anomaly, but letting a team that didn't play a girl over 5'11 shoot over 45% on twos isn't exactly overwhelming defense - teams finished with 18 turnovers each, so no advantage there. The big advantage was rebounding, unsurprisingly.

Haven't seen Union, but that Region seems perpetually overrated in the rankings. At least Union actually uses a bench.

I think Grand Valley deserve the #1 or #2 spot for now (with Texas Woman's) and will stay in the top 5 all year, but "Don't see anyone touching them this year" is a bit dramatic. There are a number of teams in the Central region that can compete with them. And if Ferris is going to get 4 shots at them this year, they can get hot enough offensively to win one of those.

[Bballfan]

I don't think i am being dramatic at all. Watched them dismantle another team (Thomas More) today by 38 points on the road.

Ashland plays at Grand Valley next week. If they lose by less than 20, I will be surprised. Ferris already lost to Central Missouri. I dont think they are as good this year either. Time will tell.

[LukeMcConnell1]

Came away from Friday's game between Southern Nazarene and Texas Woman's with thoughts on both teams. Thought TWU is a mirror image of the Crimson Storm from last year. Great defensively, all-everything post, key pieces all around, nothing wow, but suddenly you look up and you've lost by 20. Was encouraged by the SNU performance. Held TWU to 55 points and had every opportunity to win that game. Just shot really poorly, which was disappointing, given it was at home. I think TWU is a really good team, but SNU playing them pretty evenly given the younger players stepping into bigger roles was really encouraging for GAC play.

[D2Rover]

I don't think i am being dramatic at all. Watched them dismantle another team (Thomas More) today by 38 points on the road.

Ashland plays at Grand Valley next week. If they lose by less than 20, I will be surprised. Ferris already lost to Central Missouri. I dont think they are as good this year either. Time will tell.

I got around to watching a little of the game against Union, I definitely see what you're seeing. I just think there are at least two other teams at that level (Texas Woman's and Fort Hays State), and probably another set of teams that are close enough to compete, or at least match up well enough to upset them on the right day.

[Bballfan]

Texas Women definitely should be in the conversation I agree. Haven't watched Fort Hays State yet.

Typically, Grand Valley has played a slow down style and not very up tempo. So they have low scoring games (with great defense). Often that would catch up with them in tournament time as they rarely got by Ashland or Drury over the last decade. But now they have adopted the style that Ashland and Drury have played in the past. The fact they are very deep with a lot of redshirt seniors make them a very dangerous foe. They do have both Ashland and Drury on their schedule over the next month (along with Ohio State..lol). Will be very interesting to see how those opponents do against them. In conference there is Ferris, but I was not overly impressed with them in Missouri. A good team that will get a lot of wins, yes. But I don't see them as good as last year, while Grand Valley is better this year.

[D2Rover]

My thoughts so far. Haven't watched quite as much this year as I did the last two years, but probably still more than most.

Grand Valley is the clear #1. I don't think they are unbeatable, but their backcourt depth is unmatched by anything I've seen following D2. I saw Ashland and Ferris live at the start of the year, good teams but not sold on their ability to win a region. Ferris seems better equipped to pull off an upset, looked capable of getting really hot from outside.. But Grand Valley would be extremely disappointed not to win the region this year, they're up while everyone else is down.

There are two great teams (Texas Woman's and UT Tyler) in Texas, one really good one (Lubbock Christian). Texas Woman's is the defending runner up, lost nobody, and the only loss so far this year is to Tyler. Double-Digit wins over SNU and LCU confirm what they're capable of. UT Tyler might be the best defensive team in the country, and their two losses come by a combined 8 points to Lubbock Christian and MSU Billings. My inclination is that LCU's ceiling is a little lower, but when Billings is your worst loss, you don't really have a significant blemish on your record - although the 18 point loss to TWU is concerning. I'd be surprised if anyone else wins the South Central Region, but the RMAC is hard to read.

The Central Region is the deepest. Pitt State has losses to Nova SE and Ferris, but has a pretty balanced attack that includes a double-double machine, physical wing scorers, solid 3pt shooting, and the runaway leader in D2 for ast/to ratio. Fort Hays has the best frontcourt in the country (I don't think it's close), long athletic guards, and play well together - their best is as good as anybody. Minnesota State dropped one at Northern State last week, but returns a lot of key pieces from the national title team. Concordia St. Paul, Missouri Western, Harding, maybe Nebraska Kearney, Southern Nazarene, Southwest Minnesota State are all really solid teams. Northern State, Northwest Missouri, Missouri Southern would all be competing for regional spots in any other region, but are out of reach in the Central. Could go on for weeks, but there's decent discussion about this in the Central Region boards.

Out west, Dominguez Hills is probably better than they were when they made the Elite Eight two years ago, might be the most athletic team in the country. Anchorage also likes the chaotic pressing game, might be a little more talented offensively, although they dropped a couple weird non-conference games. Cal Poly Pomona has two losses, the season opener and a close one against Dominguez Hills. Montana State Billings isn't as big inside as they have been, but has a really strong core that have been playing together for a while - wins over Lubbock Christian and UT Tyler are an indicator of what they are capable of. There are 27 players in D2 shooting over 40% from 3pt, three of them play for Central Washington. Azusa Pacific, Cal State LA, Chico State are all solid. Western Washington has been injured enough they were playing volleyball players significant minutes, is just starting to get healthy - not sure we're going to be a legitimate contender for an Elite Eight run, but could definitely be a team that plays better than its seed if we get into the regional.

I haven't watched much from Florida, but Nova Southeastern (win over Pitt State) and Embry-Riddle (win over Lubbock Christian) have pretty compelling resumes. I'm clueless in the Southeast, North Georgia and Coker have 1 loss each, but a UNG win over Nova Southeastern is the only game that proves anything out of region. Gannon has an incredible backcourt, good enough to compete with anyone nationally, and defends well. Everything I've seen from the rest of the Atlantic region looks like it would give up 90 points to the top teams in the country. I'd be surprised if anyone from the East region is competing in the Elite Eight, although Bentley has an experienced group that shoots it well and is functional inside.

If I were putting together my own power rankings:
1. Grand Valley
2. Dominguez Hills
3. Pitt State
4. Texas Woman's
5. Fort Hays State
6. UT Tyler
7. Minnesota State
8. Embry-Riddle
9. Alaska Anchorage
10. Nova Southeastern
11-15 (no order). MSU Billings, Concordia-St.Paul, Lubbock Christian, Gannon, Cal Poly Pomona

[Bballfan]

Agreed on most of what you saying. Great respect for Texas Women, UT Tyler, and Lubbock. Will be a battle to win that region, and that winner has the best shot of knocking off Grand Valley. Maybe Dominguez Hills.

Ferris is not going to be a threat to beat Grand Valley. Their All-American has been out since early January. Don't think she is coming back. They lost to Northern Michigan by 30 at home a week or so ago. Now, Northern Michigan is the only team that has played Grand Valley to 10 points or less this year (I am not counting Grand Valley's loss to Ohio State). Grand Valley actually plays Northern at Northern tomorrow (January 30th). Last real shot for somebody to knock off Grand Valley in the regular season. But they are just so, so deep. No other D2 team in the country has that much depth. And a lot of 5th year seniors. They redshirted a lot to stack the team this year, and brought in quality transfers and freshman to stack it even more.

Nova is stacked with a lot of transfer, as always. They get better as the season progresses as the team learns to play better together.

I have no respect for the East women's basketball whatsoever. Teams that won't even make the tournament in the Midwest or Central would have a good chance of winning the east.

[D2Rover]

I think any team that can make it out of the West or Central Regions can compete with Grand Valley. Will be an underdog, but I think most of the top teams in those regions match up well inside with GVSU.

Didn't realize Blanchard was out for Ferris, definitely hurts them. I watched Northern at some point earlier this year, they looked like a good team. Nice renovated facility they're in, even if it's a little small.

My view of the East is slightly less cynical. I think the Southeast and Atlantic tend to produce a better top 2 or 3 teams, but the rest aren't that much better than what the East is. Elite Eight seeding is always goofy, Bentley could compete if they got the right matchup.

[Bballfan]

Blanchard's been out since...the Grand Valley home matchup. Talk about bad timing. Ferris had one practice without her.

Northern is a strange team. Lost at home to Saginaw and Wayne State, but played Grand Valley to 10 on the road and beat Ferris to a pulp on the road.

The keys to beating Grand Valley is you have to score 70+, minimize turnovers, and hit the three. I would like to see Texas Women win, but they have a brutal regional and going to be tough to get to the Elite Eight again.

[D2Rover]

WBCA NCAA DIVISION II WBB COACHES POLL – 2/4/2025

The WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll, with teams’ RECORDS THROUGH SUNDAY in parentheses, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last week’s poll, and first-place votes received.

Rank	School (record thru Sunday)	Total Points	Ranking in Preseason Poll	First-Place Votes
1	Grand Valley State (22-1)	574	1	22
2	Texas Woman’s (21-1)	550	2	0
3	Cal State Dominguez Hills (22-0)	525	3	1
4	Bentley (20-1)	508	4	0
5	North Georgia (18-1)	470	5	0
6	Pittsburg State (19-2)	437	6	0
7	Texas-Tyler (19-2)	433	7	0
8	Fort Hays State (18-2)	393	8	0
9	Seton Hill (19-2)	362	10	0
10	Ashland (20-3)	340	11	0
11	Gannon (20-3)	298	13	0
12	Coker (19-1)	295	12	0
13	Embry-Riddle (18-2)	279	16	0
14t	Azusa Pacific (18-3)	242	9	0
14t	Concordia-St. Paul (20-2)	242	19	0
14t	Lubbock Christian (20-3)	242	17	0
17	Union, TN, (18-3)	211	18	0
18	Montana State Billings (19-4)	168	20	0
19	Southwest Minnesota State (20-2)	161	22	0
20	Nova Southeastern (17-3)	149	21	0
21	Minnesota State Mankato (18-4)	130	14	0
22	Cal Poly Pomona (17-3)	120	15	0
23	Tampa (19-4)	68	23	0
24	Fairmont State (17-3)	65	25	0
25	Alaska Anchorage (19-3)	53	RV	0

Dropped out: No. 24 Belmont Abbey (17-4).

Others receiving votes: Malone (18-2) 35; Lewis (17-2) 26; Chowan (13-2) 23; Belmont Abbey (17-4) 19; UNC Pembroke (17-4) 11; Eckerd (15-4) 3.

[Bballfan]

That region with Texas Women, Tyler Texas, and Lubbock is brutal. Probably the toughest region in the country this year.

Blanchard is out for the year for Ferris BTW. Not sure they will even make the NCAA tournament now as they are dropping a lot of games recently and have a brutal schedule the rest of the way.

The winner of the Texas region or Cal State Dominguez Hills are the only two that might have a chance against Grand Valley. No doubt 1 seed in Elite Eight will be Grand Valley, then your 2 and 3 seeds will be a tossup between those teams. Rooting for Texas Women to finish the deal this year but not confident they can.