ASU WBB: Devils in Detail Pac-12 WBB Rankings, 8-5

By Fansided and Sam Ficarro/FanSided via Devils in Detail
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The Devils in Detail women’s basketball coverage team of Sam Ficarro, Jordan Kaye, Gigi Micketti and Leah Soto put together a Pac-12 poll with conference season beginning this week. On Monday, teams ranked 12th to ninth was released. Today, teams ranked eighth to fifth is unveiled.

Today’s four teams are extremely strong teams and each have the potential to win the Pac-12 championship and make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. Three of the four teams in today’s reveal made the NCAA Tournament last season with those three teams at least reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Each team features a star returning for another season, with each look to her to make the big plays.

The women’s basketball coverage team reached a general consensus on the teams ranked 12th to ninth, but we have differing of opinions ranking teams eight to one. For example, one of the teams listed was ranked as high as one and as low as nine. It goes to show how deep and neck-and-neck these teams are to one another. There isn’t much separation in the Pac-12 and it should lead to an exciting season. We resume our rankings where we left off yesterday, in the Beaver State, and a Women’s Final Four participant from last season.

8. Oregon State Beavers

Mar 28, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; The Oregon State Beavers celebrate the win over the Baylor Bears in the finals of the Dallas regional of the women

Oregon State is coming off their greatest season in program history after winning the Pac-12 Tournament and reaching their first Women’s Final Four in school history. Head coach Scott Rueck has done a remarkable job turning around the program and putting Oregon State on the map in women’s basketball. Despite their last season’s success, this season features a new look team with a lot of players graduating. Forwards Deven Hunter and Ruth Hamblin are both gone, and it’s caused expectations to temper a bit in Corvallis. Oregon State is 10-1 this season with one non-conference game remaining Tuesday versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Beavers’ lone loss so far was versus Marquette, who were coming off a victory versus Arizona State three days earlier. Oregon State has not had a very difficult schedule, but they are coming off winning the Play 4 Kay Shootout in Las Vegas this past weekend.

The Beavers are led by senior guard Syndey Wiese. Wiese, a Phoenix, Arizona native, was named to the All-Pac-12 team and to the AP All-America Honorable Mention last season and she continues to get better and better each season. On December 20, Wiese scored three three-pointers setting the Pac-12 record for the most career three-point field goals. This season, Wiese is the team’s leading scorer averaging 16.3 points a game. Wiese is the main contributor for Oregon State as the Beavers are a young team featuring five freshman. A freshman standing out is guard Mikayla Pivec, who was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week last week after scoring 17 points in wins versus Quinnipiac and Oklahoma State. Pivec was named to the Play 4 Kay Shootout All-Tourney team after her performance in Las Vegas.

With Wiese as effective as ever, Oregon State will be a tough team to defend, especially on the perimeter. However, this is a really young and inexperienced team and it will be interesting to see if they can compete with some of the more experienced teams in the conference. Oregon State will open up Pac-12 play this weekend versus Washington State and No. 9 Washington.

7. Stanford Cardinal

Mar 25, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Erica McCall (24) passes the ball in front of Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Brianna Turner (11) during the first half in the semifinals of the Lexington regional of the women

After dominating the Pac-12 conference for nearly two decades, Stanford has seen the Pac-12 get stronger and haven’t finished with a Pac-12 Championship since 2014 after earning at least a share of the Pac-12 title from 2001-14. Even with the absence of Pac-12 titles in recent years, Stanford has always made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, their season ended in the Elite Eight versus fellow Pac-12 foe Washington after a 24-7 season. Looking to make the next step, Stanford is 9-2 this season with one non-conference game remaining versus Yale Wednesday. The record is impressive considering the daunting non-conference schedule the Cardinal faced. Stanford defeated then-No. 8 Texas at home and most recently won at George Washington last Wednesday. There were some bumps in the road as well with a home loss versus Gonzaga and a road loss at Tennessee.

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    Stanford is led by their star senior forward Erica McCall. McCall really broke onto the scene last season for Hall of Fame head coach Tara VanDerveer. McCall was named to the All-Pac-12 team and the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team last season and she has become the leader of the team as she was named team captain this season. McCall is averaging a team-high 16.5 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. Stanford also has two other effective shooters in guards Brittney McPhee and Karlie Samuelsson. McPhee is averaging 14.8 PPG on 51.6 percent shooting. Samuelsson, the sister to UConn star Katie Lou Samuelssson, is averaging 10.3 PPG and is the team’s best three-point shooter as she averages 41.8 percent from behind the arc.

    Stanford has always finished near the top of the Pac-12, but they are in a bit of unfamiliar territory this season as they are not the outright favorite in the Pac-12. McCall is a force inside the paint and Samuelsson is effective from behind the arc, but the question is whether they have enough scoring. Last season in Pac-12 play, they were hampered by low scoring nights and how to rely heavily on their defense to keep the score low. With that said, VanDerveer will have this team ready to go as Stanford opens up conference play this weekend at No. 18 Arizona State and Arizona.

    T5. Utah Utes

    March 5, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Pacific Tigers head coach Lynne Roberts (left) argues with an official against the San Francisco Dons during the second half in the quarterfinal round of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

    The Utah Utes have been one of the surprise stories in the Pac-12 this season. Last season, head coach Lynne Roberts took over as the Utes head coach and went 18-15, securing their first winning season since 2012-13 and earning a berth in the WNIT for their first postseason berth in three years. This season, Utah is one of two remaining undefeated teams in the Pac-12. The Utes are 11-0, but haven’t faced a challenging non-conference schedule with wins versus Fresno State, St. Mary’s, Nevada and BYU.

    Utah is led by redshirt junior forward Emily Potter. After missing all of the 2014-15 season with an injury, she bounced back as the go-to player for the Utes. She was named to the All-Pac-12 Team last season after averaging 15.1 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game on 49.8 percent shooting. This season, Potter is putting up even more impressive numbers as she’s averaging a team-high 17.3 PPG and 10.7 RPG on 60.3 percent shooting. She is joined by two others averaging double-digits in juniors Malia Nawahine and Tanaeya Boclair. Nawahine is averaging 12.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 2.1 assists per game. Boclair is averaging 11.4 PPG and 3.8 RPG.

    It’s been an incredible turnaround for Utah under Roberts, but the question will be whether Utah can sustain their success versus much stiffer competition in the Pac-12. Utes are already only seven wins away from matching their win total from last season. We know what we will get from Potter, but does she have enough help around her to help Utah take the next step. The Utes will begin conference play this weekend at No. 10 UCLA and USC.

    T5. UCLA Bruins

    Nov 14, 2016; Waco, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Kennedy Burke (22) and guard Jordin Canada (3) and guard Kari Korver (2) and guard Nicole Kornet (0) and forward Monique Billings (25) huddle after a time out against the Baylor Bears during a game at Ferrell Center. Baylor won 84-70. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

    After earning a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, the UCLA Bruins are back this season as the preseason Pac-12 favorites with the majority of their core from last season back. The Bruins had their most successful season under head coach Cori Close last season as UCLA made it to the Sweet 16 before falling to Texas. This season, the Bruins enter Pac-12 play with a 9-2 record while facing a tough non-conference schedule. UCLA’s two losses are nothing to scoff as they fell to two Top-10 teams on the road falling to then-No. 2 Baylor and and then-No. 6 South Carolina. Some key wins for UCLA were versus Iowa and Michigan.

    The Bruins are one of the most experienced teams in the conference as they bring back three starters from last season in guard Jordin Canada and forward Monique Billings. Canada is pegged as one of the best guards in the country, averaging a team-high 17.6 PPG on 46.1 percent shooting and 7.5 assists per game. With Nirra Fields graduated, Billings has stepped in as UCLA’s best paint player averaging 17.0 PPG and 10.2 RPG this season. The player that has taken the biggest step for UCLA is sophomore guard Kennedy Burke. After finishing with 5.8 PPG last season, Burke is averaging 12.0 PPG this season and has been a key contributor for the Bruins this season.

    UCLA is expected to finish at or near the top of the Pac-12. To go along with three players mentioned above, UCLA has incredible depth with guards Kari Korver and Nicole Cornet on the bench. Korver, sister of Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver, is an effective three-point shooter just like her brother and she helps spread the floor for UCLA. The Bruins will open up Pac-12 play this weekend versus Utah and No. 20 Colorado.