NCAA Women's Basketball Roundup: Gonzaga is For Real, Top 25 for the First Week of December & More

If the first month of the NCAA women's college season is any sort of indicator, we are in for a special year as hoops fans and analysts alike. No team is safe from upset with this year's crop of mid-major programs. The top ten today compared to what we thought it could be on day one is already drastically different.

Freshman phenoms keep on rewriting their early season stories with more consistency, higher performance, and outright incredible play; JuJu Watkins is breaking some sort of record every 5 minutes of play. 

Who is standing out, why are they, and what's up next? 

Opening up this week's roundup, here's my Top 25 as of Monday night (I wanted to take emptyish Monday slate to catch up on Sunday's plethora of games).

1. South Carolina
2. UCLA
3. USC
4. NC State
5. LSU (Up 2)
6. Baylor
7. Iowa (Up 1)
8. Texas (Up 4)
9. Ohio State
10. Stanford (Drop 5)
11. Colorado (Drop 1)
12. Kansas State (Up 3)
13. Notre Dame (Up 4)
14. Utah
15. Indiana (Up 1)
16. Virginia Tech (Drop 3)
17. UConn (Drop 6)
18. Louisville (Up 4)
19. Washington State (Up 1)
20. Gonzaga
21. Marquette (Up 3)
22. Miami
23. Duke
24. Texas A&M
25. Creighton

In Consideration: Florida State, Maryland, UNLV, Arkansas, Michigan, Davidson, Vanderbilt

Out from Last Week: Florida State, Penn State, Princeton, Ole Miss, Mississippi State

New: Gonzaga, Miami, Duke, A&M, Creighton

Keep an Eye On This Week:

• Cal: Gonzaga and Nevada at home this week, currently 7-1
• St. Joseph's: play a solid Boston team on the road before Utah and Villanova play at Hagan Arena. They're undefeated right now (7-0) and we will learn a lot about this squad during a substantial stretch.
• Washington: They're 8-0 with their last first Pac-12 game coming up, a rivalry game with a very good Washington State team on this coming Sunday. They haven't really been tested yet, so this will be a nice measuring stick for the Huskies.

This is Gonzaga's Year

In a year that's been defined by parity and high level competition from mid-major schools, Gonzaga sets the standard as the pound for pound best among that elite crop. That shouldn't be a surprise after going 28-5 last year before getting the incredibly tough Ole Miss draw in the tournament.

The Zags' win over Stanford at home in McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, what makes them great stood out in droves.

This is one of the most balanced starting fives in the country, mid-major or not. They spread the floor at an elite rate, playing 4 or 5 out routinely. The Truong sisters, Kayleigh and Kaylynne, combine to shoot 41% on nearly 12 triples per game between the two. Brynna Maxwell and Eliza Hollingsworth are two of the best frontcourt shooters in the nation.

It's not just stationary shooting either; The Truongs can pull-up out of ball screens, hunt switch pockets, and shoot off movement. Hollingsworth is a deadly pick and pop shooter. Maxwell is comfortable taking and making every three in the book.

What pulls the Zags together to make them so deadly and unlock what their team spacing provides is the skill set of Yvonne Ejim.

So often in thought, when a person sees a team that can spread the floor like Gonzaga can, they might look at a player like Ejim, a relative non-shooter (she's taken 20 threes in four years) and think she damages spacing.

There are certainly times and cases where that can be true with respect to how a team plays, but the way Ejim sees the court, attacks pockets, and leverages her best traits amplifies the spacing of Gonzaga and drives home their offense at large.

She's a bit of an undersized post at 6'1, but in some cases, that's to her advantage. She is adept at using her lower center of gravity to get into taller, lengthier bigs and using her touch and footwork to still put the ball in the hoop with ease.

She's shooting 66.9% from the field after shooting 53.4% last season. That's absurd, especially considering that the Zags have played a strong schedule. She has yet to shoot below 56% from the field in a game this season.

Ejim has found that little extra gusto this year; there's more fluidity in her footwork, her decision-making is a hair quicker (something you see in her improved passing), she knows how to get the most out of her shoulder bumps, her stutter and rip through are sublime.

At times last season, I thought she could struggle with the top flight frontcourts of college basketball: she struggled from the field against most of Gonzaga's P5 opponents, including Stanford. Different story this year.

She's shooting 48.6% on her two point jumpers this season (18/37 per InStat scouting), a mark that makes it incredibly difficult to leave her open out to 18 feet. That opens the drives up even more. She's phenomenal slipping ball screens to attack on the roll in tandem with any of her ballhandlers. She's dominant posting up. 

The pressure she puts on the defense, and particularly on the paint, is vital to opening up everything that Gonzaga does. 

Depth is certainly a fair question with this group, but if they're healthy, playing the way they're capable of, and getting this version of Yvonne Ejim (currently would be my pick for WCC POTY), this team has a real shot to make noise in the tournament, and with their non-conference schedule, they deserve to get seeded like it if they win the conference.

Michigan State is Making Moves

When the net rankings dropped yesterday, there was a collective "why is Michigan State 7?" on Twitter, and I get it. But, I would also like to say that the net rankings are picking up on something! This Michigan State team is doing some very good things, and we'll find out a lot more about them when they take on Nebraska this coming Saturday, their lone game this week.

Robyn Fralick and her staff have done a wonderful job hitting the ground running with her system she's brought from Bowling Green and Ashland before that, and it is popping in East Lansing.

Are they a tournament team? It's definitely too early to tell, but I really feel this team and their play style will catch some teams off guard in the Big Ten.

They're second in the country in offense rating according to Her Hoop Stats, and that is not a fluke. Do they end up the 2nd best offense in the country in February? Probably not, but with what this team is doing right now, I would feel comfortable saying they're going to finish in the top 25, and that's impressive considering this is year one.

What's clicking?

DeeDee Hagemann is taking a real leap as a scorer in her junior season, both more confident and efficient. She looks so at ease running the offense, and more importantly, calling her own number in rhythm, which is much harder to do than gets credit for. It's not easy to toe the line of your own individual scoring aggression and making the plays to get your teammates open. By finding that, I'd argue we're getting her most impactful self as a playmaker, given that teams have to guard her even more tightly this season.

MSU gets DeeDee going in such fun and effective ways, my favorite being the action shown above. They have so many wrinkles to make things seasoned in the offense. Hagemann has really impressed with the quickness with which she makes the right play. First, she pushes the pace, if there's nothing downhill, she moves the ball either with a quick pitchback to a trailing player, or into a handoff or swing pass. She's so pivotal for putting that initial bit of motion into the offense.

Fralick's offense is one of my favorite things to watch (I strongly recommend taking a few minutes to watch this).

It's all about movement and blending in your own individual ability within the flow of the offense. That's so much easier said than done, which is what makes the early season execution already standout that much more to me.

Julia Ayrault has played a huge part in MSU's early success and is an embodiment (to me) of what this offense is about. She's a versatile post, capable of traditionally posting up and stretching out to 3. However, it's her ability to put the ball on the floor and make plays as a scorer or passer from there that I most enjoy. When you talk about an offense based on play continuity and flow, having a 5 that can be a playmaker like Ayrault is a luxury.

This team has real depth with playmakers across the board. They lead the country in assist to turnover ratio as an offense. They force turnovers at a high level.

I can't wait to see how they continue to grow and develop as they face stiffer competition.

Minnesota & Mara Braun

To another Big Ten team in year one with a new staff, if you haven't seen the Minnesota Golden Gophers play yet this season, they may be unrecognizable to you even with many of the same faces on roster.

Minnesota ranks 6th in defensive rating in the country. They were 256th last season.

They haven't played a wildly tough schedule yet, but they've shown across the board that this is going to be an incredibly stingy unit, something UConn felt a few weeks ago.

They have strong help principles, but have excelled through physicality at the point of attack and active hands. They opt to shut down driving lanes, stifle interior looks, and close hard to shooters. It's awesome watching this group fight through multiple defensive efforts in a possession.

Six players on the roster are averaging a steal or more per game.

Amaya Battle and Janay Sanders have been special to watch pressure the ball, the former looking like a real candidate to make an All-Big Ten Defensive team.

I'm excited to keep watching this group gel. The defense brings me in; Mara Braun's growth keeps me engaged.

It's early in the season, but I've been impressed with Braun's growing comfort inside the arc. She's finishing better (47.1% on 2's this season compared to 38.2% as a freshman), her reads are cleaner as a playmaker, and again, that word comfort describes where she's headed as a player in the halfcourt.

She's such a gifted shooter, getting it up from deep in volume and with variety, comfortable pulling off the bounce, off screens, or off the catch.

That shotmaking attracts eyes and attention, and she creates well from within that lens. It's mot the prototypical point guard type playmaking, but the outside in ball screen offense playmaking that's hitting; quick decisions after drawing the defense.

It's simple, but it's sharpening and effective. I'm eager to see how she continues to evolve on that end as she sees high level defenses in the Big Ten: Can she add in some nuances to a hostage dribble, extending out the defense to exacerbate windows?

In case you missed it, Braun had shining moments, carrying Minnesota's offense down the stretch of a double OT win over Drake.

There's so much to be excited about with this group as Dawn Plitzuweit has them in form early.

Get amped about the Gophers!

A Pair of Mid-Major Impact Freshmen

As has been mentioned, I feel like this tear is so overwhelmingly influenced by the high level play of the Mid-Major teams. I absolutely love it.

Few things track for me more than growth, development, and young players showing exciting things: Meghan Andersen (Fairfield) and Jailyn Banks (Belmont), have both caught my eye early in the season and deserve highlighting. Especially given that both teams look like real potential tourney teams, you should know their names before you see them in March Madness!

Meghan Andersen

Part of what's so fun about Andersen is that there's (understandably as a true freshman) still some rawness to her game, but she's averaging 15 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists while starting for a team that's played a competitive non-con (big games coming with St. John's and Fordham this week).

Fairfield plays small, Andersen oft playing the 5, undersized at 6'1, and they prioritize their spacing: Nearly half their shot attempts on the season have been threes. You have to make quick decisions, maintain the spacing, and keep the ball moving to the right spots/shots. If you don't fit into that kind of system, it sticks out automatically. In some ways, part of what's made Andersen so impressive to me is how she excels quietly.

She's shooting 67.6% on 2's, mostly off cuts, some occasional post-ups, and attacking close-outs. It's all about playing in the flow of the offense for Andersen, and she's excelling at filling that mold.

Her shot is gorgeous, quick, and replicable. She has great touch inside the arc and around the basket. I can't wait to see her keep growing in consistency and confidence.

Defensively, she scraps, and has shown some nice stuff with using her verticality and riding out drives. It's where you definitely feel her as a freshman the most, but that she's been as active and willing to bang already before filling out has been awesome to see.

****I want to note as well that Kaety L'Amoreaux is very intriguing as well for Fairfield. She is the polar opposite of gun shy and I love it. She gets into you on defense, she pushes the pace offensively, is willing to take anything off the dribble, and is an appreciator of the jump pass!! I will have more on her in the future, no doubt.****

Jailyn Banks

Belmont went 23-12 last year, running through the MVC to win the regular season title with a 17-3 in-conference record. If you questioned how Bart Brooks and co. would look this year after losing Destinee Wells and Madison Bartley to the portal, only returning 36% of their scoring from last season, whew that is fair.

Look now, and the Bruins are 5-3, having played a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule: They beat up on a Georgia team that has a good shot to make the tournament. They lost a nail-biter to a Mississippi State team that will find their way back to the Top 25 throughout the year. They gave Stanford a great run until late in the game and beat a good, veteran Middle Tennessee team.

Jailyn Banks' emergence has proven a significant boost for this squad.

She's operating often as Belmont's primary scorer, carrying the highest usage on the team. While you may look at her efficiency numbers and not quite see the same story, there's a comfort that she plays with on the court. Her pacing and ball-handling are beyond her years to me, someone who can break down an opponent and a defense with her mind and the ball/ She also has really impressive strength and pop around the rim. It's not parlaying into made baskets regularly yet (working on finishing through contact will be big for her), but her ability to get to the line is standout, getting there 5.5 times per game (48.4% Free Throw Rate).

This is not a normal play for a freshman.

Her in and out is devastating, as she's tremendous at using it in tandem with her burst to manipulate her defender. She's so savvy utilizing ball screens already, and the playmaking vision pops.

Banks and Tessa Miller have formed a dynamic two player game that's becoming a staple in Belmont's offense.

Her 3-point threat and range along with her willingness and comfort getting the shot off is so huge in opening up those driving lanes. Switch to keep her out of the lane, and she'll burn you with her mind, attacking the switch with her passing or hunting the switch pocket.

Banks has my attention, and she should have your's as well.

I'll be excited to keep watching her grow throughout the season, finding more consistency as a scorer, and continuing to roundout as a true 3-level playmaker.

Games to Watch

Tuesday

St. Joseph's vs. Boston (6pm EST)

Penn vs. Villanova (7pm EST)

Dayton vs. Davidson (7pm EST)

Wednesday

Michigan vs. Toledo (5pm EST)

UNC Greensboro vs. UNC (7pm EST)

Memphis vs. Columbia (7pm EST)

Rhode Island vs. Providence (7pm EST)

Minnesota vs. Kentucky (7pm EST)

Iowa vs. Iowa State (7pm EST)

Middle Tennessee vs. Tennessee (7:30pm EST)

Thursday

Jacksonville vs. Florida State (11am EST)

Vanderbilt vs. Butler (7pm EST)

Utah vs. St. Joseph's (7pm EST)

St. John's vs. Fairfield (7pm EST)

Duke vs. Clemson (7pm EST)

Gonzaga vs. California (10pm EST)

Friday

DePaul vs. Miami (7pm EST)

Saturday

Nebraska vs. Michigan State (2pm EST)

UNLV vs. Oklahoma (3pm EST)

Indiana vs. Rutgers (4pm EST)

Missouri vs. Kansas State (6pm EST)

Villanova vs. St. Joseph's (7pm EST)

Harvard vs. Boston (7pm EST)

Jackson State vs. Oregon State (9pm EST)

Sunday

Florida Gulf Coast vs. Duke (12pm EST)

Florida State vs. UCLA (12pm EST)

Penn State vs. Ohio State (1pm EST)

Purdue vs. Minnesota (2pm EST)

Fordham vs. Fairfield (2pm EST)

Kentucky vs. Louisville (2pm EST)

Utah vs. South Carolina (2:30pm EST)

Iowa vs. Wisconsin (2:30pm EST)

Michigan vs. Illinois (3pm EST)

Marquette vs. Illinois State (3pm EST)

Washington vs. Washington State (4pm EST)

Connecticut vs. UNC (5pm EST)