Now that we have a date for the start of the college basketball season—it’s Nov. 25—ESPN revisited their women’s basketball way-too-early preseason rankings, and they moved the Arizona Wildcats down a spot from 7th to 8th. (N.C. State leapfrogged them.)
There is no explanation from the three folks who are responsible for compiling these rankings—Charlie Creme, Graham Hays and Mechelle Voepel—but Hays did have this to say about the Cats:
Arizona secured its place as a contender as soon as Aari McDonald (20.6 PPG) opted to return rather than enter the WNBA draft, and the Wildcats only strengthened their position over the spring and summer.