BOSTON, Mass. (Dec. 27, 2022) – For the first time since 2010, ETSU women’s basketball is ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Women’s Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Bucs are ranked No. 22 in this week’s poll, released Tuesday evening.
The poll, which is in its 13th season, is voted on by a collection of 31 mid-major head coaches. After receiving three votes last week, ETSU launched into the rankings with 83 points. The Bucs are the only Southern Conference team ranked in the poll, though Wofford is receiving votes.
ETSU is off to its best non-conference start in program history with a 12-3 record. The 12 non-conference wins are the most since winning 11 in the 1983-84 season, which was the first year of the Southern Conference sponsoring a women’s basketball championship.
The 12 early wins also carry meaning on a national scale, as ETSU is tied for the most wins in the poll and the fourth-most wins in the country. In that span, ETSU has already defeated three of last year's NCAA tournament qualifiers in UAlbany, Longwood and Mount St. Mary's. The latter two came in back-to-back wins last week before the holiday break.
The last time ETSU was ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 was on November 17, 2010 — the very first season of the poll. The Bucs were ranked No. 16 in that poll following a 2-0 start with wins over Chattanooga and Richmond.
The poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independent, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic.
The Bucs are led by head coach Brenda Mock Brown, who is notorious for her turnaround of the program at UNC Asheville from 2012-2020. In her first season with the Blue and Gold, the Bucs have already doubled last year’s win total from six to 12 with a full conference schedule still to play.
Statistically, the Bucs have the 20th-ranked scoring defense in the nation with just 54.1 points allowed per game. Of all the teams in the Top 50 of the statistic, ETSU is the only team to have played 15 games. Three others have played 14, while the other 46 teams have played 13 or less so far.
ETSU is also ranked 25th in the nation in rebounding margin with plus-9.9, outrebounding opponents 42.5 to 32.5. Furthermore, the Blue and Gold’s 15.9 offensive rebounds per game rank 20th nationally.
The Bucs take a 12-3 record into their last non-conference game of the year, as they host Converse College in Brooks Gym on New Year’s Eve — Saturday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.