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Full Court Top 25: Week of February 8, 2010
By Christopher Thompson
Correspondent
Credit: Original Artwork by Lee Michaelson/Full Court Press©
Only two Division I teams remain unbeaten—Connecticut and Nebraska. Another seven teams are undefeated in conference play. Of those only three are in the Top 25, No. 2 Stanford, No. 7 Xavier and No. 23 Gonzaga. The other unbeatens are Hartford (America East), Princeton (Ivy), North Carolina A&T (MEAC), and Fresno State (WAC). These four teams are a combined 1-11 against major conference teams. Only Hartford was able to beat a major conference team, a 62-50 win over Louisville. Princeton has lost only two games all season, to UCLA and Rutgers. Fresno State has lost five games, four to major conference teams and the other to No. 25 TCU. Hartford may be able to get an at-large bid if it loses in its conference tournament but the others will have to win their conferences and get an automatic bid if they hope for a date at the Dance.
| FCP RANK | TEAM | 2009-10 RECORD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
CONNECTICUT | 23-0 (10-0 in Big East) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court - No. 1; AP - No. 1; USA Today/ESPN - No.1 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. No. 9 West Virginia (W, 80-47); @ Louisville (W, 84-38) | |||
| Connecticut moved to 10-0 in the Big East and is winning those games by an average score of 80-42. West Virginia (last week’s No. 9 team in our rankings), who is generally believed to be the third-best team in the Big East, stayed close for 23 minutes before being blitzed by a 24-3 run that catapulted the Huskies to the easy victory. Last year’s national championship runner-up Louisville was never in the game against UConn, trailing by 36 at the half. | |||
| Up this week: @ DePaul (2/10); v. St. John’s (2/13) | |||
| 2 |  |
STANFORD | 21-1 (11-0 in Pac 10) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 2; AP - No. 2; USA Today/ESPN - No. 2 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. UCLA (W, 74-53); v. USC (W, 77-39) | |||
| Stanford has virtually clinched the regular-season Pac-10 title after a weekend in which it beat its two closest pursuers. The Cardinal are now three games ahead of UCLA, four ahead of USC and at least five up on everyone else. Jayne Appel played her best game of the season against UCLA, tallying 23 points and 13 rebounds. She backed up that performance with 15 points and 13 boards against USC. | |||
| Up this week: @ Washington (2/12); @ Washington State (2/14) | |||
| 3 |  | NEBRASKA | 21-0 (8-0 in Big 12) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 3; AP - No. 4; USA Today/ESPN - No. 4 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. No. 7 Oklahoma State (W, 88-67); v. No. 11 Texas A&M (W, 71-60) | |||
| Nebraska stayed unbeaten with two very impressive wins over nationally ranked competition. The ‘Huskers blitzed Oklahoma State in the first 10 minutes, leading 29-5 and never allowing the Cowgirls to get within 20 the rest of the way. Nebraska ran out to a 12-2 lead against Texas A&M. The Aggies made several runs but never got closer than four the rest of the game. | |||
| Up this week: @ Kansas (2/10); @ Missouri (2/13) | |||
| 4 |  | NOTRE DAME | 21-1 (8-1 in Big East) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 4; AP - No. 3; USA Today/ESPN - No. 3 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Rutgers (W, 75-63); v. Pittsburgh (W, 86-76) | |||
| Skylar Diggins was one of the most prized recruits this season. She has had a solid season, leading Notre Dame in scoring with 14.1 points per game. On Saturday she raised her game to another level against Pittsburgh, scoring a career-high 23 points, taking down a career-high 10 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists without a turnover. | |||
| Up this week: @ Cincinnati (2/9); v. DePaul (2/14) | |||
| 5 |  | TENNESSEE | 20-2 (8-1 in SEC) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 5; AP - No. 5; USA Today/ESPN - No. 5 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Arkansas (W, 74-57) | |||
| Tennessee looked inside to overpower Arkansas. Alyssia Brewer scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Kelley Cain had 14 points and 17 boards. The win gave the Lady Vols their 34th consecutive 20-win season with plenty of action left on the schedule. | |||
| Up this week: @ Vanderbilt (2/8); @ Mississippi (2/11); v. Florida (2/14) | |||
| 6 |  | DUKE | 18-4 (6-1 in ACC) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 6; AP - No. 6; USA Today/ESPN - No. 6 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Boston College (L, 57-61) | |||
| Duke lost its first ACC game of the year at Boston College but still leads the conference by a game over Florida State. The difference in the loss was free-throw shooting. Duke hit a respectable 9-13 but Boston College was 20-21, including 6-6 in the final minute. | |||
| Up this week: v. No. 20 North Carolina (2/8); v. North Carolina State (2/11); @ Virginia Tech (2/14) | |||
| 7 |  | XAVIER | 18-3 (8-0 in A-10) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 8; AP - No. 7; USA Today/ESPN - No. 7 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ George Washington (W, 72-56); v. Richmond (W, 67-55) | |||
| Xavier had its toughest game in the Atlantic 10 this season, struggling at home against Richmond. The Musketeers trailed with less than four minutes to go in the game but went on a 15-2 run to finish off the pesky Spiders. Reserve guard Dee Dee Jernigan led Xavier with 15 points and four assists. | |||
| Up this week: v. Saint Joseph’s (2/10); @ Duquesne (2/13) | |||
| 8 |  | WEST VIRGINIA | 21-3 (8-2 in Big East) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 9; AP - No. 11; USA Today/ESPN - No. 8 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ No. 1 Connecticut (L, 47-80); @ Providence (W, 75-59) | |||
| West Virginia hung with Connecticut for a while, trailing by only seven points early in the second half, but eventually lost by 33. The Mountaineers haven’t beaten a team with a winning record in the Big East since they opened the season with a win at St. John’s, but they will get a chance this Saturday when they host Georgetown. | |||
| Up this week: v. Georgetown (2/14) | |||
| 9 |  | OKLAHOMA | 16-6 (6-3 in Big 12) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 9; AP - No. 13; USA Today/ESPN - No. 13 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. No. 15 Texas (L, 57-75); @ No. 7 Oklahoma State (W, 77-66) | |||
| Oklahoma split its two games the past week, losing at home to Texas before going on the road and beating in-state rival Oklahoma State. The loss to Texas broke a 20-game home winning streak for the Sooners. Danielle Robinson had a career game against Oklahoma State, scoring 36 while pulling down nine rebounds and dishing six assists. | |||
| Up this week: v. No. 7 Baylor (2/10); v. Colorado (2/13) | |||
| 10 |  | OKLAHOMA STATE | 18-5 (6-3 in Big 12) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 7; AP - No. 10; USA Today/ESPN - 11 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ No. 3 Nebraska (L, 67-88); v. No. 10 Oklahoma (L, 66-77) | |||
| The Cowgirls fall in the rankings after dropping two games against ranked teams during the past week. The loss at Nebraska may have been expected (though the margin was greater than one would have thought) but the loss at home to intrastate rival Oklahoma was not. Andrea Riley had a bad week, hitting only 15-49 field-goal attempts. | |||
| Up this week: v. Texas Tech (2/13) | |||
| 11 |  | OHIO STATE | 23-3 (11-2 in Big Ten) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 12; AP - No. 8; USA Today/ESPN - No. 9 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Iowa (W, 86-82); @ Penn State (W, 86-73) | |||
| Ohio State struggled in both its games last week but managed to come up with two victories. The Buckeyes trailed by 11 at the half in both games but turned the tides around with strong second-half performances. Ohio State can clinch the Big-Ten regular-season title with two wins this week. | |||
| Up this week: v. Purdue (2/11); @ Minnesota (2/14) | |||
| 12 |  |
TEXAS A&M | 16-5 (4-4 in Big 12) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 11; AP - No. 12; USA Today/ESPN No. 10 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Missouri (W, 2/10); @ No. 3 Nebraska (L, 60-71) | |||
| Texas A&M has now lost three of its last four games in the ultra-competitive Big 12. Danielle Adams led the Aggies with 19 points and 7 rebounds against Missouri, the team she initially signed with out of high school. Instead, Adams went to junior college for two years to focus on her academics before signing with A&M this year. | |||
| Up this week: @ Texas Tech (2/10); v. Kansas State (2/13) | |||
| 13 |  | FLORIDA STATE | 20-4 (6-2 in ACC) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 14; AP - No. 15; USA Today/ESPN - No. 12 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ No. 13 North Carolina (W, 83-73); v. Wake Forest (W, 83-3) | |||
| Maybe Florida State just needed a wake-up call. The Seminoles bounced back from their devastating loss to Duke by beating North Carolina and then destroying Wake Forest. Jacinta Monroe led Florida State over North Carolina with 16 points and 17 rebounds. Everyone contributed against Wake with all eleven players scoring as the Seminoles collectively shot 56 percent from the floor while holding the Demon Deacons to just 22 percent field-goal shooting. | |||
| Up this week: v. Clemson (2/11) | |||
| 14 |  | TEXAS | 16-6 (4-4 in Big 12) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 15; AP - No. 17; USA Today/ESPN - No. 23 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ No. 10 Oklahoma (W, 75-59); v. Texas Tech (W, 81-51) | |||
| Texas moved within one-half game of second place in the Big 12 with two wins last week. Ashleigh Fontenette scored 21 in the Longhorns’ win at Oklahoma, breaking the Sooners 20-game home winning streak. The Longhorns needed double overtime to beat Texas Tech the first time the two teams met this season, but it was no contest this time as Texas rolled to 30-point victory. | |||
| Up this week: @ Colorado (2/10); @ Kansas (2/13) | |||
| 15 |  | KENTUCKY | 20-3 (8-2 in SEC) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 16; AP - No. 20; USA Today/ESPN - No. 18 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Mississippi (W, 80-66); @ Arkansas (W, 71-57) | |||
| Kentucky continues to win and is now solidly in second place in the SEC, two games clear of the three teams tied for third. The Wildcats were picked to finish eleventh in the media poll before the season started. | |||
| Up this week: v. Georgia (2/11); @ Vanderbilt (2/14) | |||
| 16 |  | GEORGETOWN | 19-3 (8-1 in Big East) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 17; AP - No. 18; USA Today/ESPN - No. 16 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. No. 24 St. John’s (W, 67-57) | |||
| Georgetown ran out to a big lead against St. John’s and then held on for the win. The Hoyas led by 16 at the half but St. John’s got as close as three points in the second period. Georgetown travels to West Virginia on Saturday in what could be a game for third place in the Big East. | |||
| Up this week: @ Pittsburgh (2/10); @ West Virginia (2/14) | |||
| 17 |  |
BAYLOR | 17-5 (4-4 in Big 12) |
| Last week’s ranking: Full Court Press - No. 18; AP - No. 15; USA Today/ESPN - No. 17 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Kansas State (W, 65-47); v. Colorado (W, 76-42) | |||
| Baylor bounced back from its loss to Texas a week ago with two wins this past week, both led by Brittney Griner. Against Kansas State, Griner scored 26 points, blocked eight shots and had her fourth dunk of the season. She came back with 24 points, 11 blocks and 10 rebounds against Colorado to get her second triple-double of the season. Griner now has 133 blocks for the season, just 31 behind the record held by Brittany Pittman of Morehead State. | |||
| Up this week: @ Oklahoma (2/10); @ Iowa State (2/13) | |||
| 18 |  | IOWA STATE | 18-4 (6-3 in Big 12) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 20; AP - No. 22; USA Today/ESPN - No. 19 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Texas Tech (W, 63-48); @ Missouri (W, 65-39) | |||
| Iowa State has moved into a tie for second place in the Big 12 with two wins against two of the unranked teams in the conference. This week is much tougher as the Cyclones first host No. 17 Baylor and then travel to Lincoln to play unbeaten Nebraska (No. 3). | |||
| Up this week: v. No. 17 Baylor (2/10); @ No. 3 Nebraska (2/13) | |||
| 19 |  | VIRGINIA | 16-6 (5-3 in ACC) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 22; AP - Not Ranked (received 67 votes); USA Today/ESPN - No. 24 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Clemson (W, 82-60) | |||
| Monica Wright scored 25 points to lead Virginia to an easy victory over Clemson. Monday, the Cavaliers will try to avenge an earlier loss to Maryland (in the game in which Wright moved past Dawn Staley to become the all-time leading scorer in UVA history) as they endeavor to stay in third place in the ACC. | |||
| Up this week: @ Maryland (2/8); @ Miami-Florida (2/11) | |||
| 20 |  |
NORTH CAROLINA | 16-5 (4-3 in ACC) |
| Last week’s ranking: Full Court Press - No. 13; AP No. 9; USA Today/ESPN No. 15 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. No. 14 Florida State (L, 73-83); @ Miamia-Florida (L, 69-80) | |||
| North Carolina plummets in the rankings after losing two games to the Florida schools and has fallen to fifth place in the ACC. And it doesn’t get any easier for the Tar Heels as they have to travel down Route 15 to take on first-place Duke. | |||
| Up this week: @ No. 6 Duke (2/8); v. Boston College (2/11) | |||
| 21 |  |
GEORGIA | 19-5 (6-5 in SEC) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 19; AP - No. 14; USA Today/ESPN - No. 14 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. No. 21 LSU (W, 49-46 - OT); v. South Carolina (L, 42-52) | |||
| Georgia has now lost four of its last five games and five of its last eight after starting the season 16-0. The Bulldogs’ offense has been poor in SEC play, scoring 53 points or less in six of their 11 conference games. The Lady Bulldogs shot just 32 percent from the floor for the week. | |||
| Up next week: @ No. 15 Kentucky; v. Alabama (2/14) | |||
| 22 |  | GEORGIA TECH | 19-5 (5-3 in ACC) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. NR; AP - No. 21; USA Today/ESPN - Not Ranked (received six votes) | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Maryland (W, 61-60) | |||
| Georgia Tech moves back into the Full Court Top 25 with a narrow victory over Maryland. The Yellow Jackets were led by Alex Montgomery who scored 20 points including two clutch free throws in the final 10 seconds to win the game. | |||
| Up this week: @ Clemson (2/8) | |||
| 23 |  | GONZAGA | 19-4 (8-0 in West Coast Conference) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 23; AP - No. 24; USA Today/ESPN - Not Ranked (received 49 votes) | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Portland (W, 70-58) | |||
| Gonzaga played its closest game in conference, beating Portland by only 12 points. It was only the second time this season that the ‘Zags failed to win by at least 29 points. The other game was a 14-point victory over Loyola Marymount. | |||
| Up this week: @ St. Mary’s (2/11); @ San Diego (2/13) | |||
| 24 |  | TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY | 17-5 (7-2 in Mountain West) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 25; AP - Not Ranked (received 72 votes); USA Today/ESPN - Not Ranked (received 46 votes) | |||
| Last week’s action: v. BYU (W, 64-40); v. Air Force (W, 77-47) | |||
| TCU played one of its best games of the season, trouncing BYU to move back into sole possession of first place in the Mountain West. Emily Carter led the Horned Frogs with 16 points and BYU was held to just 36 percent shooting from the field. | |||
| Up this week: @ Utah (2/10); v. Wyoming (2/13) | |||
| 25 |  | ST. JOHN’S | 19-4 (7-3 in Big East) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 24; AP - No. 25; USA Today/ESPN - No. 25 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ No. 17 Georgetown (L, 57-67); @ Seton Hall (W, 66-45) | |||
| St. John’s clings to the rankings by a thread after falling to last week’s No. 17 team, Georgetown. But the Red Storm quickly bounced back, blowing by Seton Hall, 66-45. Eugeneia McPherson led the Storm in the losing cause with a career high 14 points, while five Storm players finished in double figures in the victory over Seton Hall. | |||
| Up this week: v. Louisville (2/10); @ Connecticut (2/13) | |||
Dropping out of this week’s rankings:
| 21 |  | LSU | 15-7 (4-6 in SEC) |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 21; AP - No. 19; USA Today/ESPN - No. 21 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ No. 19 Georgia (L, 46-49 - OT); v. Mississippi (L, 101-102 - 3OT) | |||
| LSU drops out of the Top 25 after collecting two more losses last week. The two games were about as different as can be imagined. In a grinder of a defensive contest, the Lady Tigers clawed their way to a 42-42 tie against No. 19 Georgia, before the Bulldogs took the win in OT. Then Sunday’s match turned into a shooting fest with very little defense in evidence, as unranked Mississippi won by a whisker in triple overtime. After a winning, but largely unimpressive, non-conference schedule, LSU is now near the basement in ninth place in the SEC. | |||
| Up this week: @ Florida (2/11); @ Auburn (2/14) | |||
A Quick Look at the Outliers
As our Top 25 beat up on one another, and some suffer upsets at the hands of unranked teams, several teams are hovering just outside the rankings, receiving strong consideration on a week-to-week basis. Some were ranked earlier in the season, and may return to the rankings with signature wins. Listed alphabetically, they include:
| NR |  | BOWLING GREEN STATE | 19-5 (9-1 in MAC) |
| NR |  | DAYTON | 18-5 (6-2 in A-10) |
| NR |  | FRESNO STATE | 18-5 (9-0 in WAC) |
| NR |  | HARTFORD | 18-3 (9-0 in America East) |
| NR |  | MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE | 17-5 (12-1 in Sun Belt Conference) |
| NR |  | MISSISSIPPI | 15-8 (6-4 in SEC) |
| NR |  | MISSISSIPPI STATE | 15-9 (6-5 in SEC) |
| NR |  | PRINCETON | 17-2 (5-0 in Ivy League) |
| NR |  | RUTGERS | 13-10 (5-4 in Big East) |
| NR |  | UCLA | 15-7 (8-3 in Pac 10) |
| NR |  | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | 13-9 (7-4 in Pac 10) |
| NR |  | VANDERBILT | 17-7 (6-5 in SEC) |
| NR |  | WISCONSIN | 17-7 (7-6 in Big Ten) |
Records as of February 7, 2010
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