South Carolina women ranked No. 2 in coaches’ preseason poll
The South Carolina women have been ranked No. 2 in the USA Today/Coaches’ preseason poll.
Defending champion Connecticut is ranked No. 1 and received all 32 first-place votes.
The Gamecocks finished 34-3 in 2014-15 and lost to Notre Dame in the Final Four. The Gamecocks lost three seniors but return SEC Player of the Year Tiffany Mitchell, SEC Freshman of the Year A’ja Wilson and signed the leading rebounder in the ACC (Virginia graduate Sarah Imovbioh).
SEC opponent Tennessee was ranked No. 4. Other SEC teams in the preseason Top 25 were Mississippi State (13), Texas A&M (16) and Kentucky (17). The Gamecocks will play all of them, with two games each against the Wildcats and Aggies.
USC also plays UConn, No. 10 Ohio State (in the season-opener), No. 12 Duke and No. 15 Arizona State.
The Associated Press Top 25 will be released Tuesday.
USA Today Coaches Poll
RANK | SCHOOL | 2014-15 RECORD | POINTS |
RANK | SCHOOL | 2014-15 RECORD | POINTS |
1 | Connecticut (32) | 38-1 | 800 |
2 | South Carolina | 34-3 | 757 |
3 | Notre Dame | 36-3 | 719 |
4 | Tennessee | 30-6 | 689 |
5 | Baylor | 33-4 | 666 |
6 | Maryland | 34-3 | 620 |
7 | Florida State | 32-5 | 542 |
8 | Louisville | 27-7 | 528 |
9 | Oregon State | 27-5 | 460 |
10 | Ohio State | 24-11 | 435 |
11 | Texas | 24-11 | 429 |
12 | Duke | 23-11 | 388 |
13 | Mississippi State | 27-7 | 385 |
14 | Stanford | 26-10 | 382 |
15 | Arizona State | 29-6 | 377 |
16 | Texas A&M | 23-10 | 304 |
17 | Kentucky | 24-10 | 303 |
18 | Oklahoma | 21-12 | 210 |
19 | South Florida | 27-8 | 183 |
20 | North Carolina | 26-9 | 143 |
21 | George Washington | 29-4 | 109 |
22 | DePaul | 27-8 | 106 |
23 | Iowa | 26-8 | 101 |
24 | Northwestern | 23-9 | 98 |
25 | Princeton | 31-1 | 84 |
Others receiving votes: Michigan State 79; Dayton 76; Florida Gulf Coast 68; Gonzaga 63; Rutgers 44; Syracuse 42; Chattanooga 41; St. John’s 33; California 28; UCLA 22; Iowa State 17; LSU 17; Miami 11; Nebraska 9; Seton Hall 8; Middle Tennessee 6; Washington 4; West Virginia 3; Virginia 2; Villanova 2; Arkansas-Little Rock 2; Arkansas State 1; Brigham Young 1; Albany 1; James Madison 1; Wisconsin-Green Bay 1
This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 1:44 PM.