ACC Women’s Basketball Mid-Season Report (1-4-24)
By: Joe Dillard Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: Virginia Tech Athletics
We have another year of exciting and fulfilling Atlantic Coast Conference basketball coming up as we have this mid-season review for both the men’s and women’s conferences. Traditionally the men have at least 6 to 9 teams that legit have a shot to go dancing in March while the women have had a dominant top 3 each with both the men and women having teams go deep into the NCAA Tournament. However, this year might be a big year for both. In the preseason tipoff article, I stated that the women seem to have over 8 to 10 teams that looked revamped, poised, and determined to make some noise and they have not disappointed. We dive into the men’s and women’s first half start to the year. Below are the stats leading into conference play which will be key for those looking to dance in March.
Women’s Standings
NET RANKINGS Associated Press
Notre Dame 5
North Carolina State 3
NC State 9
Notre Dame 13
Virginia Tech 18
Louisville 26
Duke 28
Florida State 22
North Carolina 24
Miami 45 (Miami 2 spots out)
UNC 46
Syracuse 48
Top 16 Committee Ranking
Georgia Tech 53
Virginia 73
Virginia Tech 8
Boston College 92
Notre Dame 10
Clemson 97
Duke 11
Wake Forest 153
Record
NC State 12-0
Georgia Tech9-3
Syracuse 10-1
Virginia 8-3
Notre Dame 9-1
UNC 8-4
Miami 9-1
Duke 7-4
Louisville 11-2
Clemson 8-5
Virginia Tech 9-2
Boston College 8-5
Florida State 9-3
For the Women of the ACC, normally it is 8 teams in the nation that have Final Four expectations, but with the growth of Women’s College basketball the number has expanded and that means more teams are on the rise. In the ACC, the three powerhouse favorites this year are Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, and Duke as they are all ranked in the top 16 Committee ranking. We also noticed that the top program in the nation, Dawn Staley’s Fighting Gamecocks out of South Carolina has played Notre Dame, North Carolina, Duke, and Clemson as they could be the bar for how our team’s line up to the nation one team. South Carolina vs ND 100-71, vs Clemson 109-40, vs UNC 65-58, vs Duke77-61 as they seem to know where to get their competitive non-conference games from.
We will start with those three teams as Niele Ivey has the Lady Fighting Irish looking the part and doing this without perhaps one of if not the best point guards in college. Olivia Miles is still listed as unclear on her return and Sonia Citron has been out for the majority of the games. Shows the depth they have but have leaned on Hannah Hidalgo as she is posting ridiculous numbers putting up 24.5 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, 6.2 assists per game, and an amazing 6.1 steals per game. If Ivey gets her girls back, they should be poised for a late run adding depth to the rotation.
Virginia Tech has been an engine ever since Kenny Brooks entered Blacksburg. Not only do they have one of the most celebrated players in ACC history with Elizabeth Kitley, but it appears the Lady Hokies are deep playing over 9 ladies with 10 minutes per game. Georgia Amoore leads the way at point which makes this one of the best duos in college. On another note, Brooks has 8 6’0 players in the rotation, and of the 9 playing 8 of them shoot over 33% which is astounding. If this team can continue to grow and peak at the right time, they will be a hardout this postseason.
The last of the three Top 16 teams is the Kara Lawson-led sisterhood as the Lady Blue Devils might be the biggest wildcard of all the teams in the ACC. Lawson has built a Swiss army knife of hoops that can do multiple things which all starts with defense as they average 10.2 steals per game. 4 ladies are all in double figures and can light it up. They can handcuff a team’s offense and make it hard to find rhythm and consistency. With more offense this season, Lawson could have her ladies pushing for an ACC championship and a deep run for March.
The biggest question mark is who will survive from the middle of the pack as we have N.C. State, Syracuse, North Carolina, Florida State, Miami, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and Virginia are all off to great starts to position themselves for a tournament run. All of these teams have a NET Ranking of the top 55 outside of Virginia which is 73 but has gained ground with a fast start. Right now, the biggest surprise is North Carolina State who has started off going 12-0 and moving up to the third spot in the Associated Press rankings. They have 2 of the most impressive wins in the nation thus far beating number two ranked UCONN 92-81 and beating number 3 Colorado 78-60. If only they got to play South Carolina so we could use the early eye test against the top team however taking out the next 2 is just as impressive to make them the early favorite to win the ACC.
The women have 6 ranked teams which will make for a great conference season to determine who can rise from the crop. The depth will also help the top teams as women’s college basketball has expanded to about 8 to 12 teams now that can win the BIG Dance which has doubled from the traditional top 4 or 5 teams. The women’s ACC tournament will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina, and will begin March 6, It will be one of the most anticipated tournaments in years.
