The easiest part about putting these power rankings together every week is the top of the list, because South Carolina has so thoroughly distinguished itself from the rest of the country at this point of the season.
Another ho-hum week for the Gamecocks saw them make their way to Sioux Falls, S.D., and comfortably handle South Dakota State, the reigning WNIT champs. South Carolina then dismantled Charleston Southern, holding its opponent scoreless for nearly 13 minutes during the first half. The fun part of that win was that the Gamecocks rested a few of their regulars and gave 23 minutes to newly enrolled freshman Chloe Kitts. Yep, Kitts graduated high school a week ago, enrolled at South Carolina, and then posted 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in her collegiate debut; all three of those totals would have led Charleston Southern.
So with No. 1 set in stone for the foreseeable future, let’s get to the real work of figuring out which teams are positioning themselves to join the Gamecocks in Dallas for the Final Four.
Dropped out: Duke
Almost famous: Marquette, Middle Tennessee, Louisville
• I toyed with moving Stanford down to No. 3 in favor of one of the undefeated teams (most likely Indiana) in recent weeks, but ultimately decided against it, and I don’t think…
