Question 4: What team has the most to gain this week?
Potkey- I will go with Tennessee. The No. 11 Lady Vols host No. 2 Texas on Sunday. It’s the first major test for Tennessee and their freshmen this season. The game will be a great barometer for where the Lady Vols are and how much upside they have. A victory, or even a close loss, will tell us a lot about how this team can contend in the SEC and in the national picture.
DuDonis- This is pushing the boundaries of “this week”, but I’m going to bend the rules. Oregon plays at Mississippi State next week and the game will tip right as next week’s Take 5 is published so I want to make sure it gets mentioned. Both teams had historic runs last season with Oregon making their first ever trip to the Elite Eight and Mississippi State making their first trip to the national championship. Expectations for both squads were high coming into this season and I still don’t think we have enough info to make an accurate read.
Oregon has had the toughest game of the two (played at Louisville, a game they lost by 13 and their only loss). Each team has beaten a Top 25 team (Oregon beat Texas A&M by 15 on the road and Mississippi State beat Green Bay by 19 at a neutral site) and each team has defeated another Power 5 team (Oregon beat Oklahoma by 18, Mississippi State beat Virginia by 15), both wins that look less impressive now due to the poor form of both the Sooners and Cavaliers. I think this matchup will really give us a good gauge of both squads moving forward.
Dull- Arizona State, who plays at Florida State on Sunday. There’s no shame in their two losses thus far or in dropping out of the AP poll. Coming off a couple of home wins, they will have time to prepare for their biggest remaining non-conference test.