HOT
Rutgers (+2)
The Scarlet Knights got a massive resume boost by beating Northwestern — handily — in a Big Ten semifinal. The high of that win was overshadowed by an 18-8 loss to Maryland in the conference title game two days later.
Rutgers remains a contender entering the NCAA tournament, especially with a defense that looks to be improving. The Scarlet Knights fell to Northwestern 21-13 on April 7. They won 13-5 against the Wildcats last weekend.
NOT
USC (-4)
A four-spot drop might seem harsh for a team that only fell by a goal to Arizona State in the conference tournament, but when assessing the rest of the Pac-12, it makes sense to have the Women of Troy one spot behind Stanford, the conference champion that beat USC twice this year and also dispatched Arizona State in the title game.
Northwestern (-2)
It’s too extreme to say that Northwestern is limping into the NCAA tournament, but it’s important to acknowledge that the Wildcats have dropped their last two games by a combined 28-14 margin. Northwestern remains a potent offense despite the past two performances, and if the Wildcats can get hot, a deep tournament run is certainly a possibility.
IN
Arizona State (No. 18)
The Sun Devils’ eight losses are the third-most of any team in this week’s Top 20, but the quality wins (Rutgers, Stanford and USC chief among them) are major boosters to the resume. And all eight losses have come to teams currently ranked.
Their Pac-12 semifinal win over USC was enough to get them into the Top 20 for the first time this spring.
OUT
UConn (was No. 18)
The Huskies looked like they were peaking entering the season’s final game. Then they got blasted by Georgetown 22-12, a bad loss because it also meant UConn would be the Big East’s No. 4 seed, setting up a semifinal date with Denver. The Pioneers went on to beat the Huskies 16-6.
But UConn is still alive, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament Sunday night.
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