PRESEASON POLLS - Terps 21 in ESPN/USA Today, Unranked in AP

The 2009-2010 women's college basketball preseason polls are out (and have been for a week or two now.) Maryland is 21st in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and second in the "others receiving votes" category with 114 (so, theoretically, 27th) in the Associated Press poll.

The AP poll ranking seems about right at this point in time. 21 is a wee bit high I think; I think the Terps are a lot closer to the 30th best team in the country than the 20th but the general area of where they ranked is seemingly correct.

There are five teams from the ACC in each poll...but the 5th ACC team differs in each one. In the AP poll, Georgia Tech is ranked 19th and the Terps are unranked. In the coaches poll, the Terps are 21st and the Yellow Jackets are unranked (6th in the "others receiving votes" category.)

I personally think both polls are missing the boat on who the 5th best team in the ACC REALLY is, and that's Boston College. The Eagles, despite returning 6 of their top 7 scorers including preseason All-American Carolyn Swords, are unranked in both polls. In fact, they didn't even receive votes in the AP poll and only received 12 votes in the coaches poll. But, I suppose "sleepers" are sleepers for a reason. And the Eagles are definitely my big sleeper in the ACC this season.

Now let's take a look at the top of the polls. UConn's a unanimous # 1 in both polls, which is no shock. They return everyone except Renee Montgomery from last season's historically great team and while Montgomery's a big loss, they have more than enough wiggle room to still be comfortably # 1. Maya Moore and Tina Charles, among others, are still in town and that means that the Huskies are once again the clear favorites to cut down the nets in April.

If anyone's going to stop the Huskies, it will probably be Stanford, who's second in both polls. Jayne Appel might be the best low post player in the country (just look at what she did in the Elite Eight) and Kayla Pedersen is a versatile wing player who's also one of the best in the country at what she does.

I agree with the coaches in regards to # 3. I think it's Ohio State. You might not find a better point guard-center combo in the country than Samantha Prahalis (who's only a sophomore and might be the best PG in the nation) and Jantel Lavender (who's right there with Charles and Appel for best low-post player in the country...but perhaps a cut below, as Appel proved in the Sweet 16.)

I also agree with the coaches for # 4. Baylor was loaded last year and while they lost a lot, their incoming freshman class is truly special, especially Brittney Griner. I really believe she's the next Candace Parker/Maya Moore in terms of a high school recruit who's worth all the hype and comes in and takes women's college basketball by storm immediately. She's become a Youtube sensation because of her many dunks in high school but her whole game is complete; she wasn't ranked the by-far # 1 recruit in the country simply because she can dunk. But she can. And she has already in Baylor's exhibitions. I think she's going to be by far the biggest impact freshman in the country this season.

Both polls have UNC at # 5 and I guess I'll have to agree. Jessica Breland will probably redshirt due to her Hodgkin's lymphoma (even though it is thankfully in remission) but the Heels still have a ton of talent, led by Cetera DeGraffenreid, and the incoming freshman class, led by Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, is very strong.

Some people have Duke as the best team in the ACC and the Blue Devils are right behind the Tar Heels in both polls. You could probably go either way (assuming the Heels don't have Breland) but I like Carolina more because Duke doesn't appear to have a game-changing newcomer like Ruffin-Pratt should be. Also, I quite simply think that Sylvia Hatchell is a better head coach than Joanne P. McCallie...but both struggle to get it done in March when it matters the most. Just look at where (and how) their ultra-talented teams exited the tournament last year.

Virginia and Florida State are 3-4 in the ACC and in the teens on a national scale. Sounds about right to me. Both have excellent coaches (Debbie Ryan and Sue Semrau), both had great years last year, and both have superstars to lead the way (Jacinta Monroe and Monica Wright.) The Noles have a bit more returning depth but Wright could be the player of the year in the ACC to make the difference for the Cavaliers.

So that's your recap of the preseason polls in women's college basketball this season. I'll take a deeper look at Maryland's team on the whole on Friday as I preview the upcoming season that begins on Saturday when the Terps welcome North Carolina Central in to the Comcast Center.