Welcome back to college hoops!
After a disappointing cancellation to end the 2019-20 NCAAW season, college basketball made it’s much anticipated return to the limelight this weekend. Not everything is back to normal, nor will it be all season, with many schools having to postpone their openers and even more games being called off tonight in accordance with the Santa Clara County ban of contact sports.
It was smooth sailing in the ACC…for everyone except Virginia. The Cavaliers and head coach Tina Thompson put up an embarrassing 34 points in a loss to UCF, with no made 3-pointers and 30 turnovers.
It is hard to completely fault Virginia for a lack of continuity, returning only two of their top seven scorers from last season. They went on to lose their next game against Eastern Carolina, albeit in a much better 54-51 contest. It is early in the season, but Virginia will need to turn it around quickly if they plan to compete in a deep ACC.
Every team that has played a game in the rest of the conference has a win, with powerhouses like Louisville and Duke already showing why they are popular preseason picks for title contention. The Cardinals handled Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Kentucky behind the already strong play of freshman Olivia Cochcran, who scored 17 points and secured 8 boards in her college debut.
Kara Lawson has started 2-0 in her Duke tenure with wins over Longwood and Western Carolina. The Blue Devils will face their first real test in nine days when they take on Dana Evans and Louisville in the ACC opener.
Both Clemson and North Carolina are 3-0 and are a top the leaderboard in the early season. The first ACC player of the week award went to Boston College’s Taylor Soule after two impressive 20-point double-doubles that led to a 2-0 start.
Strong start to the season for @taylorsoule14 - our first 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸! ⭐️
— ACC Women's Basketball (@accwbb) November 30, 2020
She logged a pair of 20-point, double-double games to lead @bc_wbb to a 2-0 week 🔥 pic.twitter.com/R7ClUaKMEF
I would be remiss if I did not mention the emphatic return to the court from Syracuse point guard Tiana Mangakahia. After beating breast cancer, it is hard to imagine anything basketball related slowing her down, with Stony Brook unable to do so as she poured in a team-high 16 points in the Orange win.
Over in Iowa City, Caitlin Clark wasted no time in her Freshman of the Year campaign. The Iowa newbie scored 27 points, with 8 rebounds and 4 assists en route to a Hawkeye win over UNI.
It is a promising start for a young Iowa team who will need to mature quickly to make a splash across the country. Meanwhile, UNI still looks to be a top 3 team in the MVC, despite being unable to beat their in-state rival after taking them down last season.