Women's college basketball power rankings: A New Year's resolution for each team

Were about to turn the calendar, which means its time for a fresh start when anything is possible.

In that spirit of new beginnings, this weeks power rankings will feature one resolution for each ranked team for the new year.

Its been a tremendously fun year of womens college basketball, and my personal resolution is to try to enjoy 2025 even more.

Thanks to all of you who have followed along throughout 2024.

I hope you continue along for the ride.

1.

UCLA Its hard to nitpick the best team in the country, but when I try to imagine the Bruins playing deep into the NCAA Tournament, my mind returns to coach Cori Close on the sidelines during the 2024 Sweet 16 against LSU , as she implored her team: Get Lauren the ball! UCLA has capable perimeter options, with Kiki Rice improving her efficiency, and Angela Dugalic and Timea Gardiner having outstanding seasons behind the arc.

But none of them matches the efficiency of Betts in the paint merely throwing the ball into Betts sends defenses into a panic that the Bruins can exploit.

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Notre Dame The Irish entered the 2023 NCAA Tournament without two starting guards after season-ending knee injuries to Olivia Miles and Dara Mabrey .

In 2024, already missing Miles, Notre Dame lost forward Kylee Watson to an ACL tear during the ACC tournament.

Thus far in 2024-25, Miles, Hannah Hidalgo and Cassandre Prosper are the only players who have suited up in every game, and Maddy Westbeld has yet to make her season debut.

The goal for the Irish, even if it is beyond their control, is to have as many healthy players as possible when March rolls around.

the FIRST in @accwbb history with B2B triple-doubles no one is doing it like @oliviamiles06 pic.twitter.com/xDvGFDt9Sz Notre Dame Womens Basketball (@ndwbb) December 29, 2024 3.

South Carolina The Gamecocks have several positive offensive indicators: They take a ton of shots at the rim, dominate the offensive glass (which results in nearly 10 more shot attempts per game than their opponents), and dont turn over the ball.

The one thing missing for South Carolina is a steady diet of free throws.

Per CBB Analytics, the Gamecocks rank in the 51st percentile of free-throw attempts per game.

In their lone loss, against UCLA, they took eight foul shots.

Great teams need easy offense, and since South Carolina doesnt take many 3s, it could use more free throws.

4.

USC USCs turnover percentage for the season is 17 percent, which is in the 88th percentile nationally.

So on the surface, giveaways arent an issue.

However, in Quad 1 games, the turnover rate spikes to 24.8 percent, meaning nearly one turnover every four possessions, placing the Trojans in the 11th percentile.

They had 27 turnovers in a close win over Ole Miss , 21 turnovers in a loss to Notre Dame, 22 turnovers in a road win over Oregon and 18 turnovers in a squeaker over UConn .

Against decent defenses, USC needs to be better at taking care of possessions.

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Texas The Longhorns have an elite defense, but its hard to take them seriously as a championship contender in 2025 when theyve made 52 total 3-pointers through 14 games.

Thats as many as Aaliyah Nye has made individually for Alabama .

Texas needs a little more variety on offense; ideally, Shay Holle gets going from long range, but the spacing has to come from someone.

6.

Oklahoma The Sooners commit 18 personal fouls per game, leading to 15.6 free-throw attempts for their opponents.

Those fouls are a major strain on their defense because they give away points, but also on their offense because they disrupt the flow of the game.

For a team that loves to run up and down, Oklahoma should aim for as few stoppages as possible.

7.

UConn UConn has two losses this season, one on the road by 11 and one by two points at home.

The problem is that the Huskies fell behind by 13 and 18, respectively, against Notre Dame and USC, and had to put too much effort into their comeback before running out of gas at the end.

UConn needs to punch first in these high-profile matchups to get on the right side of the ledger.

8.

LSU Kim Mulkey brought in Shayeann Day-Wilson via the transfer portal to be the Tigers veteran point guard.

However, Day-Wilson has been a nonexistent scoring threat, leading LSU to occasionally close games with either Last-Tear Poa or Kailyn Gilbert .

But the inconsistency at point guard has manifested itself in the Tigers overall performance.

Mulkey needs to figure out who she can rely on for LSU to contend in the SEC.

The Tigers close 2024 with a win! pic.twitter.com/eHup5nDRve LSU Womens Basketball (@LSUwbkb) December 29, 2024 9.

Maryland The Terrapins were one of the teams I severely underestimated at the start of the season.

Yet here they are, undefeated at 12-0, with quality wins over Duke and Michigan State .

The schedule has been a little light thus far, so it would help if Maryland could win in a tough road environment.

10.

Kansas State The Wildcats play a conservative defense that doesnt yield turnovers, and theyve survived by solidly contesting shots.

However, theres a danger in giving teams too many looks at the basket better to just eliminate possessions altogether.

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Ohio State The Buckeyes defensive shot profile looks like what teams hope to achieve on offense nearly 60 percent of the looks come at the rim and beyond the arc.

Against the Big Tens better offenses, Ohio State needs to limit those high-value shots.

12.

TCU TCU has done well limiting the number of opponents 3-pointers, but it has conceded a high shooting percentage on those looks.

Its generally accepted that defenses have more control over the former than the latter, but its fair to wonder about the Horned Frogs 3-point defense since they have a center in Sedona Prince who tends to drop back into the paint.

Regardless of the cause, TCU needs to defend better beyond the arc.

13.

Kentucky Like the Virginia Tech Hokies under Kenny Brooks, the Wildcats thrive on jumpers and dont get to the rim too often, which means not many free-throw attempts.

Kentucky always has a big center on the court, whether thats Clara Strack or Clara Silva , yet the Wildcats are losing the free-throw battle (14 to 16.7).

14.

Tennessee This is mostly for my personal enjoyment, but I am fascinated by a team that shoots this many 3s and just broke a womens and mens college and pro mark with 30 3-pointers in one game.

Heres hoping the grind of the SEC schedule doesnt make the Lady Vols more conventional and they stick to their 3-happy ways.

KB FOR THREE SECN+ https://t.co/prDNIGzvOm pic.twitter.com/V7llticFx1 Lady Vols Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) December 29, 2024 15.

Georgia Tech The Yellow Jackets are stocked with perimeter creators, but that doesnt mean they cant get to the rim more often.

They take less than half of their shots in the paint, which is well below the national average.

Getting inside would also enable Georgia Tech to draw more fouls too, as the Yellow Jackets are currently in the fifth percentile in free-throw attempt rate.

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Duke The Blue Devils are masters at mucking up a game, whether thats by pressing, forcing turnovers or drawing (and committing) fouls.

It all can be a bit too messy at times, and I wonder if Duke would benefit from a game with more flow like in their wins against Kansas State and Oklahoma.

17.

North Carolina Its always confusing when a team has good 3-point shooters but cant consistently make foul shots, but that is the case with the Tar Heels.

Theyre leaving so many points at the line by shooting 65.1 percent.

18.

Michigan State Like the Sooners, the Spartans have an elite offense that needs pace and flow.

Michigan State needs to stop slowing the game with its incessant fouling.

Better to just let other teams score than send them to the line.

19.

West Virginia The Mountaineers cant play any other way with their size constraints, so they may as well continue to work on their conditioning to continue pressing teams until the cows come home.

20.

California A team with so many veterans (four starters are in at least their fifth seasons) really should value the ball more.

But the Golden Bears commit 18.1 turnovers per game, placing them in the 31st percentile nationally.

21.

Alabama The Crimson Tide have turned into a perennial NCAA Tournament team, but until they beat South Carolina, LSU or Texas, theyll just be a cute story in the SEC.

22.

Ole Miss Theres no doubt that coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin can construct a top defense year in and year out.

The Rebels have done that yet again with the nations leading defense in terms of points per game.

But now its time to fix the other end of the floor, and the only player on Ole Miss roster who can spice up the offense is KK Deans, who is inexplicably coming off the bench.

Get your best shooter more minutes! KK Deans.

Thats it.

Thats the tweet.

@kkdeans | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/U4DIiQI6RU Ole Miss Womens BB (@OleMissWBB) November 28, 2024 23.

NC State Weve seen enough of the Wolfpack bigs to know that they arent going to cut it against top competition.

Why not ignore the frontcourt altogether and go full West Virginia? Play your five best players, even if they all happen to be guards, and see what happens.

Lets get weird.

24.

Utah The Big 12 feels like the forgotten child in the new Power 4 conference set-up, with none of its teams projected to factor into the national title picture.

But that doesnt mean the conference title chase cant have its own intrigue, and the Utes are well-positioned as an interloper to shake up the Big 12 hierarchy.

Much of Utahs rotation was on the 2022-23 team that captured a share of the Pac-12 title, so theyre familiar with surprising the established powers.

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Illinois After three years of similar results, its unclear if the Illini are actually capable of being a better defensive team.

But that end of the floor stands between a WBIT title and making noise in the NCAA Tournament, so Illinois has to commit.

(Photo of Dawn Staley: Sean Rayford / Getty Images).

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