The times, they are a-changin'.
Gone are the days when only a handful of teams were relevant in women's basketball. To think, Tennessee, the two-time reigning national champion, is currently ranked No. 19, the lowest it has ever finished the regular season.
And look at the ACC. Florida State is the second seed in the conference ahead of traditional powers-like UNC and Duke-that up until this year basically had birthrights that said they finished no lower than third in the conference. Blue Devils head coach Joanne P. McCallie said last week that aside from one team-No. 1 Connecticut, the only undefeated squad in the country-the next 15 are all about even.
And in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately basketball world suddenly full of parity, the Blue Devils have excelled recently.
All signs point up for Duke.
The Blue Devils are coming off of their biggest win of the season, an emotional come-from-behind overtime thriller against their biggest rival. Not only did they win, but they did it despite off nights from their two biggest stars, first team All-ACC center Chante Black and honorable mention All-ACC senior Abby Waner. Black failed to register at least 10 points for the first time this season and only played 18 minutes-none after the 4:13 mark in regulation-due to foul trouble. And while Waner did come up with the game-changing shot, she still only scored six of Duke's 81 points.
The rest of the Blue Devils stepped up their level of play, with unheralded senior Carrem Gay posting her fourth career double-double and Jasmine Thomas, Karima Christmas and Bridgette Mitchell posting double-digit point totals.
This balanced scoring attacked has evolved over the course of the season. Eight different players have led the team in scoring this season, and 10 players have scored in double figures at least once. With this kind of offense, opponents will have to do more than just double-team Black down low to stop the offensive fireworks.
Duke's defense is clicking, as well. The Blue Devils are holding opponents to 34.6 percent shooting, the best in the ACC and 11th-best nationally. After struggling to pull down rebounds earlier this season-culminating with the Tar Heels outrebounding them by 16 back in early February-Duke crashed the boards with a vengeance last Sunday, collecting 54 to North Carolina's 42, including 32 offensive rebounds.
As Gay pointed out after the win, rebounds win championships, and rebounds and other hustle plays are coming frequently for Duke. The Blue Devils' average of 14.0 steals per game tied for tops in the NCAA, and their 23.9 forced turnovers this season are the highest-ever in school history. Add this all together, and you have yourself a defense looking sweeter than Al Brown's sweater collection.
So the question is: Why not Duke for the Final Four?
The Blue Devils have been playing as well as anybody recently, and the momentum is swinging in their favor. There is no reason why they can't beat anyone they face along the way, and Duke knows better than anyone that a perfect regular season does not guarantee postseason success. When Waner came to Cameron on her official visit, she decided she wanted to leave with four banners hanging in the rafters.
While that might have been slightly ambitious, she can still leave as a national champion, all thanks to a whole new world of women's college basketball.
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