In the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Missy Heidrick is joined by Alex Simon to discuss a critical point in college hoops – when conference champions are crowned and the race to the postseason begins. Missy and Alex break down which teams are thriving and which need some revitalization, and predict how things might play out in the next ten days.
Missy and Alex open up the conversation by discussing who is trending up and down in the most recent AP Top 25 poll – most notably, Stanford. The Cardinals, who won at least a portion of the Pac-12 title, came in at number four in the poll, after a surprising loss followed by a turnaround win over the weekend. With Cameron Brink reportedly only at 60% on Sunday, we saw a “totally absurd game from her,” remarks Alex. Stanford has proven they can “win without Brink,” Alex says, but “without her, they are a middling top 25 team.” The Stanford team very obviously, per Alex, needs one of their best players to be superior.
Among other recaps and predictions, Missy and Alex eventually move over to the ACC, a conference that has been “solid all year,” per Missy. “It’s a deep conference, one where teams have beat up on each other,” says Missy, but Virginia Tech is a school to write home about. Alex also reflects on seeing games at Cassell Coliseum, the home arena for Virginia Tech, and how its fan base shows up and shows out. “That is a community that just really cares about its college sports,” says Alex, “and they finally have a team they are caring about on the women’s side at the same level.” The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team has “truly become a standard bearer,” per Alex, “especially when you consider how the ACC is going to change next year.”
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