2024-2025 WBB Team (2022-present)

[DarkCock]

We beat Ole Miss 3 times in a season just 2 years ago.

Not sure about UT. Yeah, unlikely they have lost 3 times in a season to the same opponent.

I was surprised to learn that Andy Landers won 7 SEC Championships. The way Pat Summitt dominated the conference, I would have never guessed Landers won that many.

 

[ConwayGamecock]

We beat Ole Miss 3 times in a season just 2 years ago.

Not sure about UT. Yeah, unlikely they have lost 3 times in a season to the same opponent.

I was surprised to learn that Andy Landers won 7 SEC Championships. The way Pat Summitt dominated the conference, I would have never guessed Landers won that many.

Under Summitt, Tennessee - as great as they were in that era - only won 16 SEC tournament titles, out of the 33 tournaments that were played when Summitt was UT's head coach, beginning in 1980. Now with 44 tournaments having been played, the Lady Vols have won a total of 17 tournament championships, the last being in 2014. Tennessee won 16 regular-season titles out-right, and 2 more shared with Georgia and South Carolina.

In the first 13 seasons of conference play and tournaments - both beginning in 1979-80 - the Lady Vols won just three (3) regular-season titles and five (5) conference tournaments. This spoke of just how difficult the SEC was in WBB in those years. In the same time, Auburn also won 4 regular-season titles and 3 SECT titles, while Georgia also won 4 regular-season titles and also 3 SECT titles. But in that span, Tennessee won 3 national championships, while Auburn nor Georgia won any.

Still, Tennessee's 17 SECT titles are far more than any other conference school. South Carolina is 2nd with 7 titles won over the last 9 tournaments, and Vanderbilt is 3rd with 6 titles won over a 17-tournament stretch, beginning in 1992 through 2009.

 

[germangamecock]

SEC history goes way beyond just Tennessee. I find those 6 titles by Vandy very impressive. Both Jim Foster and Melanie Balcomb had some good teams. In general, there have been some great coaches in the SEC. Landers, Ciampi, Gunter... Often overlooked, but Georgia and Auburn together have been to the NCAA final five times.

Given how well ressourced this sport is in the SEC and the tradition at so many schools, it makes Dawn's accomplishments that much more impressive!

 

[YankeeRooster]

Some rambling thoughts on the SEC WBB tourney:

If LSU makes the finals they will have earned it, games against Aub and OM likely ahead for them. If Williams is out or limited, it might get dicey for the Cajuns. OM in particular is coming in with a lot of confidence and some tail winds.

MSU came into the season with high expectations before unexpectedly laying an egg in the regular season. It’s still a potent lineup with size and talent, as their win over LSU showed. Is this where they finally put it all together and start playing to their potential? Something seems off with that team.

Tenn has played SC twice now and refused to fold each time, keeping it close at CLA in front of a sellout crowd and putting SC on their heels early at Knoxville. SC’s backcourt has struggled in those games. A third matchup would be interesting to say the least, would the LV’s have enough left in the tank to make it another close game? If this game happens I think SC wins big.

If there is a quasi darkhorse in the crowd this year, it’s likely OM who has a decent shot at making the finals In spite of their shooting woes.

 

[winloseortie]

Sorry I piggybacked off your post. Just pointing out Carolina has beaten the same team 3 times in a season. Don't really care what Harper or Summitt or Tenn have done or not done.

In the last decade we have also beaten Ark, LSU, OM and most notably Miss St(for an SEC tourney title and a national title) three times in a season

 

[CCUIrmo]

IF it comes down to us against LSU in the finals, I will be interested in how they are. Yes we will both have played 2 games before then but I think our depth and playing possibly Miss St and Tenn/Bama is no cake walk but we have beaten them all fairly handily and i truly think we will beat Tenn if a third chance rather handily because it has been too close each time. I think we make adjustments and take them by double digits.
LSU on the other hand, plays minimal players (5 starters and then maybe 2 off bench for only about 6-8 minutes). They will play 2 very aggressive, defensive minded, physical teams in Auburn and Ole Miss. (Yes I am assuming that is how it will work out). That being said, what will their energy level be like when they play us with our depth in a game on third day in a row? Will it be close for a half and we run away with it due to them being tired? That will be what interests me in the finals, given it is the two teams in there.

 

[winloseortie]

Worth a read

Five new starters, same expectations: Is South Carolina even better this season?

Dawn Staley's South Carolina squad is unbeaten (again) and the clear favorite to cut down the nets (again). Why will it end differently this season?

www.espn.com

 

[Gamekem]

A&M will be our opponent tomorrow. They played a pretty good game today and played 10 players. I'm not sure what their minutes distribution is yet but we shouldn't take them lightly. I believe Barker didn't play in our last matchup so this will be a new challenge. We got to remove the rust quickly and get to a lead early so we can rest our starters.

 

[jasonscottinsc]

When do you think this team peaked? Mississippi Valley State? Kentucky? Those are just bad teams.

I'm confident our shooting numbers will go up once Cardoso returns to the regular rotation. I'm actually concerned her return might affect our defensive chemistry in some way. We are playing maybe at the highest level ever under Dawn right now. Teams are struggling to break 50 against us.

I think the team peaked in January. If you look at the games from mid-February on, there were many games where USC shot well below its average from the floor as well as from three point range. They started to pick it up again vs. Kentucky and Arkansas, so hopefully that's a sign. The team is really good, but I think the SEC was very weak this year other than USC and LSU, so I think they will really be challenged in NCAAs.

 

[DarkCock]

I think the team peaked in January. If you look at the games from mid-February on, there were many games where USC shot well below its average from the floor as well as from three point range. They started to pick it up again vs. Kentucky and Arkansas, so hopefully that's a sign. The team is really good, but I think the SEC was very weak this year other than USC and LSU, so I think they will really be challenged in NCAAs.

 

[BftCocks09]

I think the team peaked in January. If you look at the games from mid-February on, there were many games where USC shot well below its average from the floor as well as from three point range. They started to pick it up again vs. Kentucky and Arkansas, so hopefully that's a sign. The team is really good, but I think the SEC was very weak this year other than USC and LSU, so I think they will really be challenged in NCAAs.

Didn’t we play 5 ranked teams in OOC? ND, Maryland, UNC, Utah, and UConn? 3 of those 5 were by 20 or more.

 

[Cockburn]

Miami defeats the Heels 60-59 . The last minute was a brutal watch & end to the game. It was comical how neither team could execute a play or get a shot off. At least 4 turnovers between teams & 2 missed FTs . Someone had to win though & glad it was the Canes . UNC

 

[CockyGirl]

 

[cockyclt]

Miami defeats the Heels 60-59 . The last minute was a brutal watch & end to the game. It was comical how neither team could execute a play or get a shot off. At least 4 turnovers between teams & 2 missed FTs . Someone had to win though & glad it was the Canes . UNC

As someone who lives in North Carolina and hates UNC, I found the end of the game hilarious and delightful.

 

[DarkCock]

Let's talk about our defense, specifically our opponent's field goal percentage. We held opposing teams to 31.4% shooting during the regular season. That is 3 percentage points better than any other team. The next closest Power 5 team was Oregon State, who held opponents to 35.3%.

I did a little digging. The official NCAA stats only go back to the 2001-2002 season. No Division I team has held opposing teams to under 30% from then to now. Only a few peak UCONN teams in the 2010's have held opponents under 31%, just to give you an idea of what kind of company this year's team is in.

Our Her Hoop Stats Defensive Rating is 68, which leads the nation. That is excellent, but not quite top 10 in the last 20 years. There are probably a couple of reasons:

1. Pace. We are 35th in the nation currently in Possessions for Each Team in 40 minutes. Looking at the top 32 highest-rated defensive teams of the last 20 years, the next closest team in Pace was ranked 62. Most teams were well into the 100's. Last year's team was ranked 206th. A lot of outstanding defensive teams like to minimize opponents' possessions, which leads to lower scoring games.

2. Defensive rebounding. Yes, we lead the nation in defensive rebounds per game, but that's because there are so many to be had. However, we are only 68th in Defensive Rebounding Rate. Not bad, but not dominant like the last few years.

So when discussing the game tomorrow, or any game left this season, I'm always going to say defensive rebounding will be the key for us.

(Another interesting stat: we are 20th in the nation in our Opponents Free Throw Percentage {66%}. We are that good defensively that even when we aren't guarding the opposing team they still struggle to score. Ha. But seriously...I think that stat reflects how well our guards are at defending without fouling. I don't recall, outside of Fulwiley, our guards getting into foul trouble).

 

[YankeeRooster]

Let's talk about our defense, specifically our opponent's field goal percentage. We held opposing teams to 31.4% shooting during the regular season. That is 3 percentage points better than any other team. The next closest Power 5 team was Oregon State, who held opponents to 35.3%.

I did a little digging. The official NCAA stats only go back to the 2001-2002 season. No Division I team has held opposing teams to under 30% from then to now. Only a few peak UCONN teams in the 2010's have held opponents under 31%, just to give you an idea of what kind of company this year's team is in.

Our Her Hoop Stats Defensive Rating is 68, which leads the nation. That is excellent, but not quite top 10 in the last 20 years. There are probably a couple of reasons:

1. Pace. We are 35th in the nation currently in Possessions for Each Team in 40 minutes. Looking at the top 32 highest-rated defensive teams of the last 20 years, the next closest team in Pace was ranked 62. Most teams were well into the 100's. Last year's team was ranked 206th. A lot of outstanding defensive teams like to minimize opponents' possessions, which leads to lower scoring games.

2. Defensive rebounding. Yes, we lead the nation in defensive rebounds per game, but that's because there are so many to be had. However, we are only 68th in Defensive Rebounding Rate. Not bad, but not dominant like the last few years.

So when discussing the game tomorrow, or any game left this season, I'm always going to say defensive rebounding will be the key for us.

(Another interesting stat: we are 20th in the nation in our Opponents Free Throw Percentage {66%}. We are that good defensively that even when we aren't guarding the opposing team they still struggle to score. Ha. But seriously...I think that stat reflects how well our guards are at defending without fouling. I don't recall, outside of Fulwiley, our guards getting into foul trouble).

Spot on as always.

 

[winloseortie]

Let's talk about our defense, specifically our opponent's field goal percentage. We held opposing teams to 31.4% shooting during the regular season. That is 3 percentage points better than any other team. The next closest Power 5 team was Oregon State, who held opponents to 35.3%.

I did a little digging. The official NCAA stats only go back to the 2001-2002 season. No Division I team has held opposing teams to under 30% from then to now. Only a few peak UCONN teams in the 2010's have held opponents under 31%, just to give you an idea of what kind of company this year's team is in.

Our Her Hoop Stats Defensive Rating is 68, which leads the nation. That is excellent, but not quite top 10 in the last 20 years. There are probably a couple of reasons:

1. Pace. We are 35th in the nation currently in Possessions for Each Team in 40 minutes. Looking at the top 32 highest-rated defensive teams of the last 20 years, the next closest team in Pace was ranked 62. Most teams were well into the 100's. Last year's team was ranked 206th. A lot of outstanding defensive teams like to minimize opponents' possessions, which leads to lower scoring games.

2. Defensive rebounding. Yes, we lead the nation in defensive rebounds per game, but that's because there are so many to be had. However, we are only 68th in Defensive Rebounding Rate. Not bad, but not dominant like the last few years.

So when discussing the game tomorrow, or any game left this season, I'm always going to say defensive rebounding will be the key for us.

(Another interesting stat: we are 20th in the nation in our Opponents Free Throw Percentage {66%}. We are that good defensively that even when we aren't guarding the opposing team they still struggle to score. Ha. But seriously...I think that stat reflects how well our guards are at defending without fouling. I don't recall, outside of Fulwiley, our guards getting into foul trouble).

Thanks. It is difficult to understand just how good our D is.

Defensive stats skew towards smaller schools and slower paced play. Offensive talent is so prized that those kids seem to always end up at P5 schools.

We are 11th in scoring D at 54.8 but the #1 P5 school. The next P5 school is K State 30th at 57.0 Auburn is the #10 P5 school and they are # 61 at 58.2 ppg

If you look at shooting % D it is more of the same

 

[Sharris]

I think the team peaked in January. If you look at the games from mid-February on, there were many games where USC shot well below its average from the floor as well as from three point range. They started to pick it up again vs. Kentucky and Arkansas, so hopefully that's a sign. The team is really good, but I think the SEC was very weak this year other than USC and LSU, so I think they will really be challenged in NCAAs.

Look people, there is no team that they will face that would be as good or better than who we have played in the non-conference so I expect us to do well. Any team we did not play of which would only be Ohio St., Iowa UCLA or Stanford have suffered a loss to an unranked team well below our talent and multiple losses to teams of a lesser ranking and talent level as our squad. I am not saying on one day anyone could be got, but the way some of your are trying to make the four games out of 29 that we have not shot well is irritating, and even in those games we have managed to beat 4 of them by double digits. I also believe that you will see that the SEC is not as week as you think come the first weekend of the tournament. Elite Defenses cause problems for teams that just like to play pretty and the SEC has a few of those squads.

 

[USCEDGE]

Look people, there is no team that they will face that would be as good or better than who we have played in the non-conference so I expect us to do well. Any team we did not play of which would only be Ohio St., Iowa UCLA or Stanford have suffered a loss to an unranked team well below our talent and multiple losses to teams of a lesser ranking and talent level as our squad. I am not saying on one day anyone could be got, but the way some of your are trying to make the four games out of 29 that we have not shot well is irritating, and even in those games we have managed to beat 4 of them by double digits. I also believe that you will see that the SEC is not as week as you think come the first weekend of the tournament. Elite Defenses cause problems for teams that just like to play pretty and the SEC has a few of those squads.

I think people get caught up in looking at the entire field for the NCAA's and see a lot of good teams. Bottom line is that we would only have to play 1 or 2 good teams to claim the title. We are just too good and too deep not to make the final four....

 

[winloseortie]

VERY OT It’s firing season… Pingeton and Elzy are most probably gone. Everyone else in the SEC is safe

BUT IF you are Tillman Tech what do you do about Amanda Butler and the WBB Program ?

You can’t call Butler’s 6 year tenure a success; 2 winning seasons, 81-108 43%overall 32-73 30.5% in ACC Play. 1 NCCA and 2 NITs. One 7th place finish and the other 5 years 11th or worse. She has had limited success recruiting, but big problems retaining what good talent she has signed. Every Season is fruit basket turnover with 6-9 new faces.

As I said you can’t call this success …….. UNLESS you look at the 14 years prior. They were THE WORST P5 team in the country over that period. The Butler era is “The Good old days”.

NO Winning seasons
144-277 34.2% overall
37-175 17.5% in ACC play

SO….. what do you do? Clearly Butler has improved them from being a pathetic loserville, to just really bad. Let her limp along and pray that by year 10 she shows some steady improvement? Fire her and hope the next coach can lift the program another rung.

 

[CockyGirl]

I bet they give her another year with Imari Berry coming in bc she will probably bolt if Butler is fired.

Can't wait for portal season. Its always interesting to see who jumps in.

 

[DarkCock]

I bet they give her another year with Imari Berry coming in bc she will probably bolt if Butler is fired.

Can't wait for portal season. Its always interesting to see who jumps in.

This was my thought. Don't think there is a lot of pressure to fire the wbb coach at Clemson, so I expect her to be back.

 

[The Coast is Clear]

I think people get caught up in looking at the entire field for the NCAA's and see a lot of good teams. Bottom line is that we would only have to play 1 or 2 good teams to claim the title. We are just too good and too deep not to make the final four....

Not sure what you consider a "good team." Once you get past the first round, i.e., to the round of 32, you are likely to face good competition. For example, look at UNC and Duke. Those teams gave us trouble. Those teams are not currently ranked. They are "others receiving votes" and would be tied for 30th if the rankings went that high.

 

[The Coast is Clear]

VERY OT It’s firing season… Pingeton and Elzy are most probably gone. Everyone else in the SEC is safe

BUT IF you are Tillman Tech what do you do about Amanda Butler and the WBB Program ?

You can’t call Butler’s 6 year tenure a success; 2 winning seasons, 81-108 43%overall 32-73 30.5% in ACC Play. 1 NCCA and 2 NITs. One 7th place finish and the other 5 years 11th or worse. She has had limited success recruiting, but big problems retaining what good talent she has signed. Every Season is fruit basket turnover with 6-9 new faces.

As I said you can’t call this success …….. UNLESS you look at the 14 years prior. They were THE WORST P5 team in the country over that period. The Butler era is “The Good old days”.

NO Winning seasons
144-277 34.2% overall
37-175 17.5% in ACC play

SO….. what do you do? Clearly Butler has improved them from being a pathetic loserville, to just really bad. Let her limp along and pray that by year 10 she shows some steady improvement? Fire her and hope the next coach can lift the program another rung.

They have kept Brownell when many wanted him let go. I suspect they follow that pattern as hoops just doesn't seem a high priority. Just my speculation.

 

[USCEDGE]

Not sure what you consider a "good team." Once you get past the first round, i.e., to the round of 32, you are likely to face good competition. For example, look at UNC and Duke. Those teams gave us trouble. Those teams are not currently ranked. They are "others receiving votes" and would be tied for 30th if the rankings went that high.

I guess I didn't convey in a concise manner what I was trying to point out. I would not put Duke or NC in the "good" category. We played them both on the road and beat NC by 7 and Duke by 16. I would consider LSU, Stanford, UCLA, Iowa, Ohio St., UConn, and several others as being good. The thing is we won't have to play them all. Hopefully only 2 of them in the final four unless the NCAA really wants to screw us over. Bottom line....we are ELITE and the only team in the field in that category!

 

[winloseortie]

I forget just how cheesy and small time the ACC is. Quarter final game with ND and L’ville who are Both top 25. A huge upper deck section of seats covered in a promotional banner. If that is not enough they gave away 3-5K free seats to elementary school kids. Piercing high pitched squealing/cheering on every play.

 

[DarkCock]

10 turnovers in quarter. Ugh. Goes to the question of pace. Are we playing with TOO MUCH pace? With our defense, why not slow the game down a bit and take care of the ball better?

Perhaps the thinking is the fast pace will wear down A&M.

 

[DarkCock]

They are struggling to score against our half-court defense. A&M only made three 2 pointers in the 1st half, one was a break away layup. We just need to take care of the ball better.

 

[CockyGirl]

I’ve decided that I’m glad we didn’t get Barker. She’s too emotional for my taste. I like calm, cool and collected.

 

[USCEE82]

I'm a little concerned going forward since they are struggling to put away the nine seed in the SECT.

 

[DarkCock]

I'm a little concerned going forward since they are struggling to put away the nine seed in the SECT.

We lost to the 7th seed two years ago in the SEC tournament and then won the NCAA tournament going forward.

 

[CockyGirl]

I don’t get too wrapped up in these games. Lots of emotions and TA&M is playing with nothing to lose.

TA&M hasn’t been completely healthy a lot of the season so their record and seed would have probably been better had they been at full strength .

edited to add: when we played poorly in the past we shot poorly. Today we shot 52% from 2 and 50% from 3.

This game will help us settle for the next one.

 

[DarkCock]

I don’t get too wrapped up in these games. Lots of emotions and TA&M is playing with nothing to lose.

TA&M hasn’t been completely healthy a lot of the season so their record and seed wpukd have probably been better had they been at full strength .

We were +20 in Cardoso's 24 minutes. I thought we were dominant when she was in the game.

Cardoso hit her free throws; the whole team did. Thank goodness. The officiating was bit out of control. It turned into a free throwing shooting contest. Definitely not fun to watch. As much as I dislike watching it, a war of attrition favors us against almost any opponent.

 

[CockyGirl]

Ohio State losing to Maryland 65-54 at beginning of the 4th

 

[PFUNK Cock]

I turned after our game. Maryland is flat outplaying Ohio State.

 

[Gamekem]

Raven played 29 minutes and Tessa played 28 minutes. Everybody else played 17-25 minutes with the exception of Sakima who played only 1 minute. That's pretty good load management for such a tight game with an immediate turnaround.

 

[winloseortie]

Ugliest game of the year
VT 39 Miami 37 with 4 minutes left in the game

 

[DarkCock]

We finished with a shooting split of 52/50/77. That's impressive against a solid defensive team. After the 10 turnovers in the 1st quarter, we settled down and played well on offense. Only 7 turnovers in the last 3 quarters.

Give Coulibaly credit for keeping them in the game. She was unstoppable when Cardoso was off the court.

 

[Cockburn]

Good game from Tessa. The fact did she did not make SEC All Frosh still irks me

 

[DarkCock]