| HEATING UP AND COOLING DOWN |
| WHO'S HOT |
WHO'S NOT |
The Big Ten
As if No. 6 Penn State, the defending national champion Purdue Boilermakers, upstarts Michigan and Michigan State and the Illini and the other Catchings sister weren't enough to give this league something to talk about, add in Lady Lion seniors Helen Darling (7.8 apg) and Andrea Garner and Boilermaker junior Katie Douglas. Great coaches, great players, great conference. Should make for a fun Big Ten championship tournament. |
The Pac-10
Sure, three teams are tied for first with 9-3 league records, and a fourth is 9-4, but this race is hardly exciting (even a Pac-10 grad has to face reality). Last Thursday, Arizona was in first place, then suffered losses to USC and UCLA to give way to the three-way tie between Oregon, Stanford and UCLA. Of course, this is the same Bruins squad that against USC two Saturdays ago committed 32 turnovers and shot only 30 percent in the second half. |
Penn State
The Lady Lions have won six straight. They've already secured the Big Ten title. They're ranked sixth in this week's coaches' poll and No. 4 in the latest RPI. Everybody else likes Louisiana Tech, but dare we say, "No. 1 seed"? |
N.C. State
The Wolfpack started off last week atop the ACC standings, but then lost to Duke on Thursday and to Virginia on Sunday to fall 1½ games back of the league-leading Cavs. When does Summer Erb return, again? |
15-0 in 2000
Notre Dame has remained in the top 10 the entire season, and sits at No. 5 for the fifth straight week. The Irish haven't lost since Dec. 8 , picking up 19 straight wins along the way, including 15 since 2000 rolled around. Of course, Notre Dame has played every other Big East team except top-ranked UConn. They play Saturday in Hartford. |
0-13 in 2000
At least three Division I teams have yet to post their first victories in 2000. William & Mary of the CAA hasn't won since Dec. 18; South Alabama of the Sun Belt Conference hasn't won since Dec. 21; and San Jose State of the WAC hasn't won since Dec. 7. Since New Year's Day, each program has gone 0-13 in 2000. |
ACC freshman
Virginia rookie Schuye LaRue posted a pair of double-doubles (and a career-high six blocks Sunday) last week. In Raleigh, freshman center Kaayla Chones ranks second in both points (11.4) and rebounds (7.9) on N.C. State. Wolfpack teammate Terah James dishes out a team-high 4.0 assists, and Terps freshman Vicki Brick averages an ACC-high 3.24 steals and a team-high 4.7 assists. |
ACC injuries
In a seven-day period, injuries knocked out two of the conference's top seniors, N.C. State's Erb and Duke's Peppi Browne. Erb most likely will be back; her projected six-week absence would bring her back around March 17, the first day of the NCAA Tournament. Browne, however, is done for the season after suffering a torn ACL, the same injury that took out Georgia Tech's Niesha Butler in December. |
ACC, SEC, Big 12 races
Some regular-season titles are already wraps, but the fields are wide-open here, with at least three teams still contending for the top spot. In the ACC, Duke, N.C. State and Virginia are fighting to be No. 1. There's Georgia, LSU and Tennessee in the SEC, and Oklahoma is trying to fight off Texas Tech, Iowa State and Kansas for its first Big 12 title. |
Big West, Sun Belt and CAA races
UC Santa Barbara, Louisiana Tech and Old Dominion remain unbeaten and in the lead of their respective conferences, and none of them will probably lose again until the NCAA Tournament. The Gauchos are 11-0 in the Big West. The Lady Monarchs are 13-0 in the CAA; the Lady Techsters are each 12-0 in league play. |
NCAA runner-up
Despite losing Browne, the Blue Devils have rallied, winning four straight, including a victory over then-No. 7 North Carolina State. Monday, the Blue Devils won at Clemson for the first time in four seasons to cut Virginia's lead to one game in the ACC standings. |
Defending NCAA champ
It's probably just a brief skid, but after winning eight straight, the Boilermakers have lost two in a row, 78-67 to Penn State followed by a 20-point loss to Michigan State. The Boilermakers currently are tied with Illinois for third at 9-5 in the Big Ten race. |
Frosh and sophs from 3-point range
Grambling freshman Shrieka Evans sinks more treys -- 4.2 -- a game than anyone else in the country. A pair of sophomores rank second and third, and another two rookies -- Stony Brook's Julie Szabo and Long Island's Kim MacMillan -- help round out the top 10. |
Freshman from the field
Not one freshman ranks among the country's top 10 shooters in field goal percentage. Senior Karalyn Church of Vermont tops the list, making 64.9 percent of her attempts, and six juniors and three sophomores account for the rest of the top 10. |
