Notre Dame, Ogunbowale voted ACC preseason favorite

No surprises up top, but further evidence of the ACC’s depth in the conference preseason rankings.

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) released its Preseason Rankings today. Without surprise, the favorite of the elite, 15-team conference is the reigning 2017-18 NCAA women’s basketball championship team, Notre Dame.

Notre Dame has been consistently dominant in the ACC since its switch from the Big East in 2013.  Each year, they have satatop the ACC preseason rankings and have four ACC conference championships to validate the predictions.

Last year, Louisville was able to capture the ACC tournament title, but the Fighting Irish continued on with a postseason that ultimately led them to the highest honor.

Entering the 2018-19 season, Notre Dame does not face any significant losses.  They do, however, return a fully healthy team. After only having seven scholarship players available last season, Coach Muffet McGraw and her Irish finished the season in flamboyant fashion, and notched an overall record that included fewer losses than ACL tears (35-3).

Arike Ogunbowale became a star during her team’s showing in the Final Four.  The fate of two of the nation’s best teams was in the palm of her hands—and the flick of her wrist. Ogunbowale ended UConn’s season with a last-second long-range jumper in the national semifinal.  She repeated the dagger against Mississippi State in the Championship Final with the same shot, in the same final few seconds.

Her shooting led her to be the 2017-18 ACC Women’s Athlete of the Year and to overnight celebrity. Beneath the much-deserved hype and notoriety is skill and talent, leading her to become the 2018-19 preseason ACC Player of the Year. Both the Blue Ribbon Panel and the ACC coaches voted her into this esteemed title. Overall, Ogunbowale held the top spot in the ACC with 20-plus points in 25 games.  She averaged 24.2 points per game during postseason.

Rounding out the top five in the ACC Preseason rankings are Louisville, Syracuse, NC State and Duke.  Alongside Ogunbowale, the All-ACC team includes: Asia Durr (Louisville); Janelle Bailey and Paris Kea (UNC);  Marina Mabrey, Jessica Shepard and Brianna Turner (Notre Dame); Tiana Mangakahia (Syracuse); Taylor Emery (Virginia Tech); and Elisa Penna (Wake Forest).

All ACC conference games will available on broadcast television. Conference play begins on Thursday, January 3.