By Riley Zayas

February 6, 2024

As the weeks go by, putting together a Top 25 ballot becomes more and more difficult, and I think a lot of that is because by this point, only four teams in the country are undefeated, and nearly everyone has a few question marks next to their resume. We know more about these teams now than we did in December, and while that allows for more informed analysis, it also creates some tough decisions to make in the bottom spots of my ballot. So anyway, here’s how my Top 25 ballot looks this week! Definitely left a couple good teams out, and added a couple teams in that I feel are on the rise.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out yesterday’s D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll! Link here: d3hoops.com/top25/women/2023-24/week9

Also a reminder that the first edition of regional rankings will be released in the next few hours, and while they are ranked alphabetically this week, they should provide us with some valuable data. I’ll have an update on that this afternoon. Link to the rankings here (this is where you’ll find them once they are made available): https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-women/d3/regional-rankings-0

Top 25 Ballot Breakdown

1. NYU (20–0): The Violets continue to impress. In a tough stretch of UAA play that involves playing the same two teams on consecutive weeks, NYU handled it with ease. The Violets opened their road weekend at Rochester’s historic Palestra, and put 95 points on the board, which I have been informed is the highest point total for NYU ever in a single game at Rochester. Less than 48 hours later, they went to Atlanta, and beat Emory in statement fashion, 82-46. Emory, for reference, was ranked #12 in the country entering the week. NYU isn’t just winning. They are winning big, and doing so against tough UAA competition.
2. Rhode Island College (22-0): RIC went on the road in a key Little East showdown against UMass-Dartmouth, the No. 2 team in the league, on Wednesday, and only further added to what has been a dominant regular season thus far. The 62-50 victory saw RIC win the rebounding battle by +12, score 36 points in the paint, and overcome a rough shooting day from long-range to win big. The Anchorwomen are very disciplined on the defensive end, and that cuts down on the opponent’s free throw opportunities. That element will be even more important in the NCAA Tournament, and I can also appreciate the efficiency with which RIC operates. The Anchorwomen are No. 2 nationally in overall efficiency (per D3 Datacast).
3. Transylvania (21-0): The win streak just keeps on going for Transy, who has now won 54 straight games. It is extremely impressive, and when you talk efficiency, the Pioneers are up there with the best, ranked No. 4 in the country in overall efficiency.
4. Gustavus Adolphus (18-1): The Gusties continue to rise and this is the highest I’ve had them all year. The league-leader in the MIAC, Gustavus has found success in pretty much every game they’ve played thus far, and even in the loss to RIC in December, I thought the Gusties really contended well with what RIC was doing offensively. A fine-tuned machine on the offensive end, Gustavus is an incredibly smart team that can score the ball quickly without using a dribble, and again, is a Top 10 efficiency team. Noticing a trend? Gustavus swept the week, with wins over St. Scholastica and Bethel.
5. UW-Whitewater (18-3): UW-Whitewater went 0-2 this past week, falling to UW-Oshkosh at home before dropping a 69-60 game to UW-Stout on the road. The Warhawks have done more than enough work to be a Top 10 team despite dropping three of their last four, though I expect some voters will drop them a good amount more than just two spots. But there’s important context here. Kacie Carollo didn’t play against UW-Stout and she is a game-changing type of player for the Warhawks. Her absence was noticeable, but as long as I’m under the impression that Carollo will be back at some point this season, I’m not going to drop Whitewater too much. They’ve got several talented players of course, but Carollo is central to what the Warhawks run on both ends of the floor, and it will be interesting to see how voters handle Whitewater in regards to Carollo’s absence on Saturday. The credit goes to Oshkosh and Stout for winning the games itself—the WIAC is a top-tier league for a reason—but point being, I’m going to take a cautious approach with Whitewater for now, based on what I’ve seen throughout this season, rather than dropping the Warhawks too much too quick, especially if Carollo returns.
6. Christopher Newport (21-1): CNU’s lone game of the week saw the Captains pull away from Mary Washington in a dominant fourth quarter, winning 74-56. They play Mary Washington again this week—this time on the road. CNU has, as expected, been remarkably consistent, and the fourth-quarter performances continue to be notable. In fact, CNU has outscored its opponent in the fourth quarter of every game dating back to Dec. 2.
7. Hope (20-1): The Flying Dutch won their lone game of the week, beating St. Mary’s (IN) at home to notch yet another 20-win season. Hope now closes the season by playing three of its last four on the road, and this is the third week that I have Hope No. 7 in my ballot. The MIAA has certainly challenged Hope well this year, with single-digit games against Albion, Calvin, Alma, and Trine. Hope keeps finding ways to win, though.
8. UW-Oshkosh (17-4): The Titans were in my preseason ballot, but a road-heavy slate in non-conference play dropped Oshkosh from my ballot for a few weeks. Now, they’re in my Top 10. A win on the road at UW-Whitewater will do that, as I continue to be struck by Oshkosh’s outstanding defensive performances through WIAC play. The Titans control their own destiny when it comes to the WIAC regular season title and beat both Whitewater and Eau Claire last week.
9. Millikin (18-4): Millikin had somewhat of a weird week, despite going 2-0. North Park put 91 points on them as the Big Blue won 110-91, and Millikin won by just five, 61-56, at Wheaton on Saturday. On Jan. 10, for comparison, Millikin beat Wheaton 86-47. So that’s somewhat surprising, and the same goes for the North Park result. Millikin held NP to 62 points the last time they met on Jan. 13. As far as I know, no injuries were involved. But every now and again, especially on the heels of playing two Top 25 opponents the week prior, the season starts to wear on a team. Perhaps that’s what we saw last week. Regardless, Millikin continues to win, and currently holds a 2-0 head-to-head record against Illinois Wesleyan who I have just one spot behind.
10. Illinois Wesleyan (17-4): The Titans won their lone game of the week, beating Wheaton at home, 78-57. IWU is barely behind Millikin for me, and a lot of that is the head-to-head results against the Big Blue a couple weeks ago, though Millikin is also slightly ahead of IWU in efficiency. But I continue to hold to the fact that IWU is a Top 10 team, both resume-wise, and based on the eye test, having seen the Titans progression over the course of this season. The defensive intensity seems to have taken a step forward the last week or so as well, and we saw it with 28 Wheaton turnovers last Wednesday.
11. Wartburg (20-2): The Knights took a step forward this week for me, moving up three spots from last week’s ballot. Beating Loras in overtime gave Wartburg the season sweep over the Duhawks, 2-0, and there’s a good possibility we see them meet again in the ARC title game. Wartburg is playing well and seems to have gotten past some of the struggles that led to a couple one-sided losses to Whitman and WashU in December. Through the second half of this season, Wartburg has found ways to win, and the victory over Loras, combined with losses by Catholic, Bowdoin, and Johns Hopkins, gave me an opportunity to move Wartburg up, just outside the Top 10.
12. Bowdoin (20-2): Bowdoin split the weekend in NESCAC play, taking its first loss in the league at Bates, 72-57, before defeating Tufts, 77-63. The Polar Bears dropped a few spots in my ballot this week, but I think Bowdoin’s body of work speaks for itself. Also worth noting is that Bowdoin beat Bates, 68-48, in a non-conference game back on Dec. 4. So while Friday’s loss to Bates is more recent, this is a Bowdoin team that beat the other 7-1 NESCAC team by 20 earlier in the season.
13. Catholic (20-1): The Landmark Conference is tough at the top, and Scranton took down Catholic on Saturday in a 1-1 week for the Cardinals. Their 20-win streak came to a close, but Catholic remains No. 1 in the Landmark and despite the lower SOS, has posted some nice wins, especially within league play. The win over a talented Elizabethtown team at home on Wednesday keeps Catholic in my Top 15, as that is a solid victory and season sweep that increases Catholic’s resume in my eyes.
14. Johns Hopkins (18-2): The Blue Jays fell two spots in my ballot as Wartburg moved ahead, with JHU taking a tough loss to Gettysburg last Wednesday, 78-67. It was JHU’s lone result of the week, and the Blue Jays ended up splitting the season series, 1-1, with the Bullets. I’ve spoken quite a bit about how impressive JHU has been this season, and previous performances are keeping the Blue Jays narrowly ahead of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Scranton.
15. Mary Hardin-Baylor (19-2): The Cru picked up a pair of wins at home this past week against Sul Ross State and Howard Payne, tying last year’s overall win total (19). UMHB is the top team in Region 10 and is in a very good spot with the regular season nearing the finish line. Notably, leading scorer and All-American Arieona Rosborough did not play in either victory this week, but UMHB saw Remi Adeleke, Alexia Carmosino, and Lauren Baker step up in big ways.
16. Scranton (19-2): Seeing Scranton beat Catholic on Saturday is a marquee win that will keep Scranton right towards the top half of the Region 3 rankings. It was a victory the Lady Royals desperately needed, having lost to Catholic and Elizabethtown already this season. But as the season has progressed, Scranton has found more of a rhythm, and now has a win over a Massey Top 25 team.
17. Carroll (17-4): Carroll is having one of its best seasons to date, and that includes beating Millikin twice. Carroll won at Carthage and rolled over North Park at home for yet another 2-0 week, the Pioneers are currently tied with IWU for first place in the CCIW, half a game ahead of Millikin. Wheaton and North Central are up next for Carroll, who currently boasts the top scoring defense in the CCIW (61.9 PPG).
18. Emory (16-4): Emory has been an interesting team this year, with solid wins over Washington & Lee (away), Hardin-Simmons (home), WashU (away). But at the same time, the Eagles have not contended with NYU to much of a degree in either of the two meetings against the Violets the last two weeks. Maybe that just says a lot about NYU, so I don’t want to knock Emory too much, considering the 6-3 UAA record the Eagles currently hold. Led by Claire Brock and Daniella Aronksy, Emory has experienced talent on its roster; the perfect type of team for a strong NCAA Tournament run. But I would’ve liked to have seen Emory compete with NYU a little bit more to stay in that Top 15 mix. There’s just so many great teams right now as well, that this middle portion of this ballot is very difficult. Carroll, Scranton, and Emory all could easily be Top 15 teams, but just got pushed a little further down on the ballot this week.
19. Hardin-Simmons (19-3): The head-to-head result against Emory—a 76-68 road loss on Dec. 30—hurts HSU a little bit here, considering HSU and Emory ended up around the same spot. There’s a lot to like about HSU with its effective and high-scoring offense, as the Cowgirl offense is ranked No. 4 in the nation by Massey. I do think the defense is more of a struggle than initially expected, and we’ve seen that in several games so far, as HSU can outscore just about everybody in the ASC, but hasn’t been the best when it comes to picking up defensive stops at a consistent rate.
20. Gettysburg (17-4): The previously-mentioned win over Johns Hopkins pushes Gettysburg up five spots this week in my ranking. The Bullets played at a high-level on both ends of the floor against JHU, and got off to a fast start that carried them through the final three quarters. A 61-60 win over Haverford on Saturday was a bit too close for comfort, but once again, we saw the Bullets get off to a fast start. Gettysburg has now won 11 straight games, and is carrying plenty of momentum into the final two weeks of the regular season. I definitely think this is a team on the rise and one that could make some noise come tournament time.
21. Bates (19-3): The big win over Bowdoin definitely gave me confidence in Bates’ place within my Top 25, and while the loss to Colby on Saturday is a bit of a surprise, it is not a loss that knocks Bates out of the Top 25, in my opinion. Had Colby won by 15, that would be a different story, but they didn’t. They won by two after trailing entering the fourth quarter. Certainly a tough way for Bates to have its perfect NESCAC record snapped, but for my ranking purposes, it helps the Bobcats, considering the narrow margin. Bates only beat Colby by a single point the first time they played (as a non-conference game), so it was not a great shock to see Colby contend with the Bobcats in the way they did. And I’d also add that in Bowdoin’s only other loss (to Whittier), the Polar Bears fell by just four, which makes Bates’ 15-point win that much more noteworthy.
22. Loras (17-3): The loss to Wartburg is tough for Loras, considering the Duhawks made a big run to get back into the game and push the contest into overtime. But even in the loss, I think we saw that Loras is right there with Wartburg, and perhaps the gap between the two teams is closer than I have it here. I like Loras a lot, especially with how many players the Duhawks returned from last year’s successful squad, and after a slower start to the season, it seems Loras has finally clicked offensively under first-year head coach Justin Busch. The defense has really been there all season. The Duhawks got back in the win column with a victory at Central on Saturday, though I do expect they’ll drop a couple spots in the poll itself from No. 19 (Update: they did…Loras is now #22).
23. Smith (17-3): Smith picked up a pretty solid road win at Coast Guard on Wednesday before dominating against Clark, but I am keeping Smith low. We’ve seen pretty solid wins over MIT, Trinity (CT), Springfield, but two of those three came by three points or fewer. And then you have the recent loss to Springfield, and losses to Dickinson and UMass-Dartmouth. Those all came by five points or less. So Smith hasn’t been blown out, but they also aren’t beating anyone of top quality by a significant margin either.
24. DeSales (19-2): DeSales won at King’s and at home against FDU-Florham this past week, as the Bulldogs near the 20-win mark. The issue with DeSales, as it is with Washington & Lee, Webster, and a few others, is the lack of quality results. They have one Massey Top 100 win, currently (against Messiah). But I have seen the defense really step up for DeSales, and the 12-game win streak doesn’t hurt either.
25. Ohio Wesleyan (17-4): As it turned out, I was the only Ohio Wesleyan voter. This 25th spot was a toss-up between a few teams, but at the end of the day, I think OWU makes up for the lower winning percentage with some higher-quality results. I’ve been saying since late last season that OWU was going to be a real contender out of Region 7 this year, but early on, I wasn’t sure that was the case. A loss to Muskingum pretty much took OWU out of contention for a Top 25 spot, but that was on Nov. 29. Since that point, the Bishops have beaten Albion by 12, won twice against Oberlin and Denison, and took down a strong DePauw team by 10 at home this past Saturday. The DePauw win pushed OWU just a little bit higher, and into that final spot of my ballot. OWU brought back just about everyone from last year’s NCAC Tournament Championship team and I believe that has played into this success.

I hope I was able to provide some background and insight behind my ballot turning out the way it did this week! Once again, stay tuned on those regional rankings. I’ve also been working on some bracketology that should hopefully become more clear in the next week or so, though bracketing in the D-III tournament is so difficult considering the mileage limits and the different ways the committee can arrange the first weekend pods. Have a great rest of your day! I’ll check back in soon.