AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South
Carolina Aiken women's basketball team is No. 20 nationally
in the preseason edition of the BennettRank College Basketball NCAA
Division II women's basketball rankings.
The BennettRank system, one of the nation's most comprehensive
college basketball ranking services, is designed to provide the
highest performance-based prediction for head-to-head play.
BennettRank, a computer model-driven system derived from the
analysis of games played during the 2012-2013 season, uses
proprietary algorithms that weigh each team's historical
performance directly related to all other teams in their individual
divisions and conferences.
The Pacers, under the direction of head coach Mike Brandt, are
coming off a 22-8 year and a berth in the second round of the NCAA
Tournament.
USC Aiken is No. 12 nationally in the Division II Bulletin
Preseason Poll and No. 20 in the USA Today Sports Division II Top
25 Coaches' Poll.
The squad returns four letterwinners from a season ago and has a
talented group of newcomers, including two transfers and four
rookies, alongside one student-athlete that redshirted a season
ago.
Clayton State was the near-unanimous preseason favorite, earning
12 of the 14 first-place votes. North Georgia was second, taking
the other two first-place nods. Flagler was third while Columbus
State rounded out the top five.
Montevallo was sixth. The Falcons were followed by GRU Augusta,
Young Harris, Lander and Georgia College. UNC Pembroke was
11th while Armstrong, Francis Marion and Georgia
Southwestern rounded out the 14-team league.
The Pacers open the season on Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m., when the
team hosts Anderson in the second game of the Holley
Tractor/Crescent Automotive Conference Challenge.
