SAN FRANCISCO - STANFORD has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2020-21 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball regular-season crown in votes by the league’s head coaches and media members who cover the league.
The Cardinal garnered 19-of-21 first-place votes and 248 points in the media poll, and 10 first-place selections and 120 total points in the coaches poll. ARIZONA was picked to finish second in the media poll with 225 votes, and tied with OREGON for second with 103 points in the coaches poll. The three-time defending regular-season champion Ducks were tabbed to finish third by the media with 201 points.
UCLA came in fourth in both polls and OREGON STATE - which received one first-place vote in the coaches poll - was projected fifth. ARIZONA STATE (media) and USC (coaches) shared rounding out the top half of the polls
The nation's top-rated conference by RPI in three of the last five seasons, including the most recent 2019-20 campaign, the Pac-12 is again poised to pace the nation in women's basketball. Five programs - #2 Stanford, #7 Arizona, #9 UCLA, #10 Oregon and #18 Oregon - appear in the Associated Press preseason top 25, tied for the most of any league.
Six All-Conference selections return, led by returning All-Americans Aari McDonald (ARIZONA), the reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and Michaela Onyenwere (UCLA). USC's Alissa Pili, last year's Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, also headlines that list along with STANFORD's Kiana Williams and Lexie Hull, and the Wildcats' Cate Reese. Hull, McDonald and Arizona's Sam Thomas also return from the league's All-Defensive Team.
Additionally, Pac-12 programs' combined to add 18 of the country's top 100 incoming freshmen according to ESPN's HoopGurlz recruiting rankings, including a national-best eight McDonald's All-Americans - Oregon's Angela Dugalic, Te-Hina Paopao, Sydney Parrish, Maddie Scherr and Kylee Watson, California's Dalaylah Daniels, Oregon State's Sasha Goforth, and Stanford's Cameron Brink.
Team (First Place Votes) | Points | |
---|---|---|
1. STANFORD (19) | 248 | |
2. ARIZONA (1) | 225 | |
3. OREGON | 201 | |
4. UCLA | 200 | |
5. OREGON STATE (1) | 174 | |
6. ARIZONA STATE | 135 | |
7. USC | 130 | |
8. UTAH | 94 | |
9. CALIFORNIA | 76 | |
10. COLORADO | 75 | |
11. WASHINGTON | 53 | |
12. WASHINGTON STATE | 27 |
Team (First Place Votes) | Points | |
---|---|---|
1. STANFORD (10) | 120 | |
2. ARIZONA (2) | 103 | |
2. OREGON | 103 | |
4. UCLA | 88 | |
5. OREGON STATE | 83 | |
6. USC | 69 | |
7. ARIZONA STATE | 61 | |
8. UTAH | 52 | |
9. COLORADO | 43 | |
10. CALIFORNIA | 31 | |
11. WASHINGTON | 24 | |
12. WASHINGTON STATE | 15 |
Team | |
---|---|
1. OREGON | |
2. STANFORD | |
3. UCLA | |
4. OREGON STATE | |
5. ARIZONA | |
6. ARIZONA STATE | |
7. USC | |
8. UTAH | |
9. COLORADO | |
10. CALIFORNIA | |
11. WASHINGTON | |
12. WASHINGTON STATE |