Going for four
Breanna Stewart and Connecticut start at No. 1, where they’ve finished the last three seasons,
Points: 800 (32 first-place votes). Last season’s final ranking: 1. Outlook: Three-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player Breanna Stewart is back, and only two seniors from last season’s championship team have graduated, so there’s no reason the Huskies can’t win a fourth consecutive title and send Stewart out with a perfect college career. A 2016 title would be coach Geno Auriemma’s 11th, moving him past John Wooden’s NCAA record of 10 men’s championships with UCLA. Opens: Nov. 16 vs. No. 10 Ohio State.
2. South Carolina (34-3)
Points: 757. Last season’s final ranking: 3. Outlook: Before graduating from Virginia in May, Sarah Imovbioh, last season’s leading rebounder in the Atlantic Coast Conference, signed to play her final season of eligibility for coach Dawn Staley, who led South Carolina to its first Final Four in 2015. Imovbioh will team with Tiffany Mitchell, one of the Southeastern Conference’s best scorers and a twotime SEC player of the year. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. No. 10 Ohio State.
3. Notre Dame (36-3)
Points: 719. Last season’s final ranking: 2. Outlook: Sophomore Brianna Turner and juniors Lindsay Allen and Taya Reimer lead a relatively young team, which will play Connecticut on Dec. 5 in a rematch of the title game. Opens: Nov. 15 vs. Bucknell.
4. Tennessee (30-6)
Points: 689. Last season’s final ranking: 6. Outlook: The Lady Vols graduated their three top scorers. Coach Holly Warlick has an experienced roster loaded with players who expect to take on leadership roles. Former North Carolina guard Diamond DeShields is eligible to play after sitting out the mandatory season. Opens: Nov. 15 vs. Central Arkansas.
5. Baylor (33-4)
Points: 666. Last season’s final ranking: 5. Outlook: Baylor might have more talent than it had last season, even with second-leading scorer Imani Wright transferring to Florida State. Baylor returns the remainder of its top five scorers and adds two McDonald’s All-Americans in 6-5 Kalani Brown and 6-4 Beatrice Mompremier. Plus, Duke transfer Alexis Jones is eligible to play this season. Senior Niya Johnson, the nation’s assists leader, returns. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. Texas-Arlington.
6. Maryland (34-3)
Points: 620. Last season’s final ranking: 4. Outlook: The good news for Maryland is junior center Brionna Jones is still around to help the Big Ten champion on the boards and try to lead the team to a third consecutive Final Four appearance. Starting point guard and No. 2 scorer Lexie Brown transferred, and coach Brenda Frese’s top two assistants left the program. Plus Maryland’s hopes rest on redshirt senior guard Brene Moseley and junior Shatori Walker-Kimbrough. Opens: Nov. 14 vs. Massachusetts-Lowell.
7. Florida State (32-5)
Points: 542. Last season’s final ranking: 7. Outlook: After going 16-0 at home and ending the ACC tournament second to Notre Dame, the Seminoles earned a No. 2 NCAA tournament seed, highest in program history. They lost two seniors, so a group of ex-McDonald’s All-Americans and ACC-leading players remains. Opens: Nov. 16 at Florida.
8. Louisville (27-7)
Points: 528. Last season’s final ranking: 10. Outlook: Coach Jeff Walz has to get five true freshmen to buy into his ball-sharing strategy, ideally by the time the Cardinals host Florida State on New Year’s Day. Opens: Nov. 15 vs. California.
9. Oregon State (27-5)
Points: 460. Last season’s final ranking: 13. Outlook: Team leaders Jamie Weisner, Sydney Wiese and Pac-12 defensive player of the year Ruth Hamblin are back to take the Beavers through what should be a routine non-conference schedule (the biggest challenge is Tennessee in December). Opens: Nov. 13 vs. Longwood.
10. Ohio State (24-11)
Points: 435. Last season’s final ranking: 20. Outlook: The Buckeyes return seven of the eight healthy players from last year’s tournament team, including the nation’s leading scorer, Kelsey Mitchell. A few dynamic freshmen flesh out the roster. Ohio State should challenge for the Big Ten title. Opens: Nov. 13 at No. 2 South Carolina.
11. Texas (24-11)
Points: 429. Last season’s final ranking: 22. Outlook: Last year’s largely underperforming team got it together to finish the regular season in second place in the Big 12. In the Longhorns’ first trip to the regional semifinal since 2004, they lost to Connecticut in the Sweet 16. 6-7 center Imani Boyette (formerly McGee-Stafford) returns along with Big12 all-freshman Ariel Atkins and No. 2 scorer and team engine Kelsey Lang. Opens: Nov. 14 vs. Texas-San Antonio.
12. Duke (23-11)
Points: 388. Last season’s final ranking: 12. Outlook: Sophomores Rebecca Greenwell and Azura Stevens will help facilitate another season of efficient offense at Duke. Maryland transfer Lexie Brown won’t be eligible to play this season. Opens: Nov. 13 at Penn.
13. Mississippi State (27-7)
Points: 385. Last season’s final ranking: 18. Outlook: Leading scorer Victoria Vivians returns for her sophomore season, as does Morgan William, the leader in forced turnovers. Junior forward and leading rebounder Breanna Richardson also is back, and the Bulldogs beefed up their non-conference schedule in hopes of impressing the tournament selection committee. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. Samford.
14. Stanford (26-10)
Points: 382. Last season’s final ranking: 14. Outlook: Last season the Cardinal suffered their most losses since 2000-01 and had worlds of trouble against top-10 teams, despite handing Connecticut its only loss. But Stanford is still Stanford, meaning it’s coming in with a strong recruiting class to balance out the team’s lone senior, guard Alex Green. Opens: Nov. 13 at California-Davis.
15. Arizona State (29-6)
Points: 377. Last season’s final ranking: 8. Outlook: The Sun Devils lost a heartbreaker to Florida State by one point in last year’s NCAA Sweet 16, the team’s best result since a 2009 appearance in the Elite Eight. They’ll have the chance to build on that with four starters returning and four good athletes signed from the 2015 recruiting class. With 52 victories since their freshman year, juniors Sophie Brunner, Kelsey Moos and Quinn Dornstauder are a dependable winning trio. Opens: Nov. 15 vs. No. 17 Kentucky.
16. Texas A&M (23-10)
Points: 304. Last season’s final ranking: Not ranked. Outlook: Standout seniors Courtney Walker, Courtney Williams and Jordan Jones (who tore her right anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in February) return to lead the guard-heavy team; the trio combined for 40.1 points per game last season. The seniors and coach Gary Blair’s veteran know-how will combine to contend admirably in a loaded conference. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. Texas State.
17. Kentucky (24-10)
Points: 303. Last season’s final ranking: 16. Outlook: Kentucky retains most of its guard-oriented offense from last season and gets back a healthy Janee Thompson, who generated the bulk of the team’s ball movement before breaking a leg in January. Junior guards Makayla Epps, who averaged 14.9 points per game last season, and Linnae Harper (11.4) will be back to help the Wildcats through a fairly treacherous schedule. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. Rice.
18. Oklahoma (21-12)
Points: 210. Last season’s final ranking: Not ranked. Outlook: Oklahoma graduated only two seniors and retains its two top scorers. Four-time Big 12 coach of the year Sherri Coale, who has taken the Sooners to three Final Fours, was inducted into the women’s basketball Hall of Fame this year. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. Winthrop.
19. South Florida (27-8)
Points: 183. Last season’s final ranking: 24. Outlook: The Bulls graduated two seniors, but top scorers Courtney Williams and Alisia Jenkins are around to run the offense. Connecticut will always be in the way come championship time, but South Florida should have few American Athletic Conference roadblocks. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. Jacksonville.
20. North Carolina (26-9)
Points: 143. Last season’s final ranking: 9. Outlook: Coach Sylvia Hatchell is feeling the ramifications of the NCAA’s investigation before any penalties have been handed down. This summer the remaining three members of her 2013 recruiting class transferred, including leading scorer Allisha Gray and all-ACC center Stephanie Mavunga. North Carolina also graduated four seniors. It’s left with No. 3 scorer Xylina McDaniel and a few solid rebounders. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. Gardner-Webb.
21. George Washington (29-4)
Points: 109. Last season’s final ranking: 25. Outlook: Last season George Washington posted a school-record 29 wins and finished atop the Atlantic 10 for the first time in seven years. This season could be better. The two incoming freshmen make up the strongest recruiting class in the conference, and Jonquel Jones, one of the nation’s best rebounders, returns. Opens: Nov. 14 vs. Grambling.
22. DePaul (27-8)
Points: 106. Last season’s final ranking: Not ranked. Outlook: Preseason all-Big East team members Megan Podkowa and Chanise Jenkins, both seniors, are tasked with leading the two-time reigning conference champs against Connecticut, Texas A&M and in-state rival Northwestern in December before conference play starts. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. Southern Illinois.
23. Iowa (26-8)
Points: 101. Last season’s final ranking: 11. Outlook: After making it to the Sweet 16 and nabbing second place in the Big Ten, Iowa graduated All-America point guard Samantha Logic, assists leader Melissa Dixon and center Bethany Doolittle. That means coach Lisa Bluder likely will look to junior guard Ally Disterhoft. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. North Dakota.
24. Northwestern (23-9)
Points: 98. Last season’s final ranking: Not ranked. Outlook: Northwestern is in a good place to build on its impressive 2014-15 campaign (its first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 19 years and its most wins since the 1995-96 season). The Wildcats return the core five of their seven-woman rotation, including leading scorer Nia Coffey, who averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds and earned a spot on the Coaches Preseason all-Big Ten team. Opens: Nov. 15 vs. Howard.
25. Princeton (31-1)
Points: 84. Last season’s final ranking: 15. Outlook: Princeton returns four of the five starters who helped the Tigers go undefeated in the regular season. The Tigers will have to replace point guard Blake Dietrick, the team’s scoring and assists leader, who graduated. Opens: Nov. 13 vs. American.