NC State, Duke, UNC in preseason AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll. Where are they ranked?

All three women’s basketball teams from the Triangle appeared in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25, which was released on Tuesday.

Fresh off its Final Four run, N.C. State led the pack at No. 9. Duke came in at No. 11 and North Carolina rounded out the group at No. 15, both of which made the NCAA Tournament last year.

Reigning national champion South Carolina ranked No. 1 with 27 first-place votes.

Six ACC teams landed in the Top 25, with No. 6 Notre Dame leading the way. Four other league schools, Stanford, Miami, Syracuse and Georgia Tech, also received votes.

In the final 2023-24 poll, N.C. State finished at No. 4, Duke finished at No. 17 and UNC received votes.

The Wolfpack returns starting guards Saniya Rivers, Aziaha James and Madison Hayes from the Final Four run, when it ultimately lost to the Gamecocks. It also returns Zoe Brooks, who came off the bench and provided shifty scoring and energetic defense. The team has an opportunity to score efficiently with the additions of five-star recruit Zamareya Jones and four-star prospect Devyn Quigley.

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils return in the 2024-25 season after advancing to the Sweet 16. Duke played a strong defensive game before losing, 53-45, in the regional semifinals to UConn, which went on to the Final Four.

The Blue Devils return the majority of their roster and coach Kara Lawson said the team did not lose anyone to the transfer portal.

The team added forward Toby Fournier and forward/center Arianna Roberson, but Roberson is unavailable due to an injury sustained during the preseason.

“She’s going to be a difference maker for us when she’s able to play again,” Lawson said. “I look forward to that day, but I know she’ll be a great support for our team this year.”

The Tar Heels enter the season led by graduate students Alyssa Ustby and Lexi Donarski. Their signing class came in at No. 15, according to ESPN’s final rankings, and includes No. 32 overall recruit Blanca Thomas.

All three teams, however, talked about handling the center spot by committee. N.C. State and Duke’s rosters feature injuries that could limit their strength in the frontcourt.

Wolfpack coach Wes Moore even discussed at ACC Tipoff last week the possibility of experimenting with a five-guard lineup.

“We know it’s a new start, and you’ve got different players,” Moore said. “We miss River Baldwin and Mimi Collins tremendously. They’re both playing professionally in Europe right now. We’re going to have a hard time filling their shoes. Everybody wants to talk about our guards. I get it. They’re unbelievable, but we got to have some balance. We’ve got a lot of questions to answer between now and our opening game.”

The Tar Heels have the most experience inside with the return of Maria Gakdeng, though coach Courtney Banghart said the job won’t fall solely on her. Banghart said the current team has more firepower and isn’t starting the year down players due to injury like it was last year.

“You’ve just got depth at every position that we just didn’t have,” Banghart said. “Not only are we more skilled and deeper, but we can shoot it better, and the ball moves more, we have more talent.”

N.C. State plays No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 10 in the Ally Tipoff and No. 20 Ole Miss on Dec. 5 as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. It could also face No. 7 LSU in the Bahamas on Nov. 27 during the Pink Flamingo Championship.

Duke’s schedule features three potential top-25 matchups in the nonconference schedule. It’s set to face No. 18 Maryland on Nov. 10, Kansas State on Nov. 25, No. 10 Oklahoma or DePaul on Nov. 27 and South Carolina on Dec. 5.

The Tar Heels play No. 2 UConn on Nov. 15 in Greensboro and No. 22 Kentucky on Dec. 5.

UNC and Duke open their seasons at home on Nov. 4. The Heels host Charleston Southern, while the Blue Devils welcome Radford. N.C. State begins its schedule a day later against East Tennessee State in Reynolds Coliseum.

Preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll

This story was originally published October 15, 2024 at 12:33 PM.

Jadyn Watson-Fisher

The News & Observer