Similar to last season, the NC State women’s basketball team has come out of the gate strong, as it is currently 14-0 (3-0 ACC). Despite its strong start, in terms of the national AP poll rankings, the Wolfpack has plateaued at the No. 9 ranking, which it has been ranked now for five weeks. Teams ranked in front of NC State have lost, but the Wolfpack has not moved. It’s time to give the Wolfpack women the national credit they deserve.
The best win the Wolfpack currently possesses is a top-ten win at home in the ACC-Big 10 challenge earlier in the season against then-No. 9 Maryland. This was a quality win that solidified that NC State means business this year, after returning most of a team that last year had ACC Championship aspirations taken from it after a plethora of injuries.
NC State is one of four remaining unbeaten teams in women’s hoops, alongside No. 1 UConn, No. 3 Oregon State and No. 8 UCLA. The Wolfpack is the lowest ranked out of all the unbeaten teams. There are also five teams with one loss who are ranked higher than NC State, including conference foe No. 7 Louisville.
Along with its one loss, Louisville was taken to double-overtime by mid-major UT-Martin, not to mention the fact that the Cardinals almost lost to Duke at home, who is having a bad season at 7-7 (1-2 ACC). It is clear that the Wolfpack, being undefeated and the way it is winning games has had a stronger start to the season and stronger current resume than the Cardinals.
When Florida State lost this past week to Syracuse, the Seminoles dropped from No. 8 to No. 11, leaving an opportunity for the Wolfpack to jump ahead one spot in the poll. However, the national voters elected to have UCLA jump from No. 10 to No. 8. UCLA’s best win is against then-No. 12 Indiana, and NC State’s best win is against then-No. 9 Maryland. With the two teams sharing an equal resume otherwise, the numbers speak the truth, and it was not necessary for UCLA to jump NC State in the poll.
With the ACC down this year, as it only has three ranked teams, NC State will likely have to lose no more than two or three games this year if it wants to secure a high seed in the NCAA tournament.
This is something that the Wolfpack is capable of with the skill set its players have. Sophomore center Elissa Cunane is leading the way for NC State averaging a double-double with 17.5 points and 10.4 rebounds a game.
After a slow start to the season, senior guard Aislinn Konig is finding her rhythm from behind the arc, with a team-high 32 made 3-pointers on the year, and junior guard Kai Crutchfield, who has emerged as a lethal weapon in the clutch moment, is averaging 10.1 points per game.
If NC State wants to improve its ranking and gain the national respect it deserves, it will have to win the big games in conference play that are coming up soon.
The first is this Thursday at UNC-Chapel Hill. Despite not being ranked in the AP poll, the Tar Heels possess an 11-3 (2-1 ACC) record. Carolina will be hungry to spoil the undefeated season for NC State, similar to what it did last year at Reynolds Coliseum.
A week later on Jan. 16, NC State will host No. 11 Florida State inside Reynolds Coliseum. This will be an extraordinary opportunity for NC State to prove its legitimacy, and its real chase for the ACC Championship.
If the Wolfpack can get through the month of January and the first few games of February unscathed, it will set up an enormous game against defending ACC champion No. 7 Louisville on Feb. 13 at home. If the Wolfpack is going to win the conference and cement itself as a national contender, it will have to win this game.
NC State has not quite earned its national respect up to this point, but the opportunities are in front of them to take and if it captures them, we can surely be looking at NC State being a top-five team come tournament play.
