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East Region Preview

By Ron Chimelis, Special to CNNSI.com

Teams That Will Make The NCAA Tournament
Boston College (Big East)	Connecticut (Big East)
George Washington (Atlantic 10)	Fairfield (Metro Atlantic)
Holy Cross (Patriot)	Mount St. Mary's (Northeast)
Notre Dame (Big East)	Penn (Ivy)
Rutgers (Big East)	Temple (Atlantic 10)
Vermont (America East)	Virginia Tech (Big East)

Top Storylines
All UConn, all the time. How good are the Huskies? Good enough to win a national championship, even after major losses such as Svetlana Abrosimova, Shea Ralph and Kelly Schumacher. Sue Bird, Swin Cash and Diana Taurasi lead the returnees. Doesn't success ever get boring in Storrs? Notre Dame's encore. Ruth Riley and Niele Ivey are gone, replaced by a superb freshman class with 3-point shooting ace Alicia Ratay and steady Ericka Hanley returning. Muffet McGraw's defending national champions will be very good again, but how well can they follow last year's remarkable act? How good is the Atlantic 10? Always in the shadow of the Big East, the A-10 enjoyed a moment of national sunshine with Xavier's convincing NCAA tournament win over Tennessee. The A-10 needs another deep tournament qualifier this year, maybe George Washington.

Teams On The Rise
Boston College Last year's uncharacteristic 14-15 record (7-9 Big East) is deceiving, as BC finished strong. Becky Gottstein (15.4 ppg., 8.1 rpg.) provides a strong leader. With four starters and injured Brianne Stepherson back, a developing guard in Amber Jacobs and a good recruiting class, the Eagles should be ready to take off. Temple What a difference a well-known coach makes. Dawn Staley has taken charge of a struggling program, and the Owls were 19-11 last year and in the WNIT -- their first postseason visit in 11 years. The top eight scorers are back, including guards Stacey Smalls and Christine Cruz. Bucknell Maybe the Patriot League doesn't get national headlines, but the school's first 20-win season and the return of Vicki Quimby, conference player of the year Molly Creamer and top rookie Desire Almind makes this a fun team to watch as it challenges for an NCAA berth.

Teams Rebuilding
Pittsburgh From 16-13 and a WNIT berth in 2000, the Panthers went 9-18 last year. With 6-2 Mandy Wittenmyer (12.4 ppg., 8.4 rpg.), Laine Selwyn and Brooke Stewart leading a strong junior class, it should start getting better again. Xavier When you beat Tennessee by 15 in the NCAA regional semifinals, the basketball world stands up and pays attention. Xavier won't fall off the map, but A-10 coach of the year Melanie Balcomb lost a lot, especially A-10 player of the year Jennifer Phillips. St. Joseph's In comes coach Cindy Anderson, who replaced Stephanie Gaitley -- fired in the wake of sexual harassment charges filed by a former player against Gaitley's husband. This has always been a good program; it needs to move on.

Five Familiar Faces To Watch
Sue Bird, UConn, G If the Huskies didn't have a great point guard to orchestrate all that talent, they'd still be great but not overwhelming. Nobody does it better than Bird, a 5-9 sparkplug with 169 assists last year. Swin Cash, UConn, F Her numbers (12.3 ppg., 7.4 rpg.) should improve with the loss of a few top players from last year's Huskies. The 6-2 senior shot 55.5 percent last year. Becky Gottstein, Boston College, F A senior forward, she finished in the Big East top four in scoring and rebounding, despite missing five games with a hand injury. She'll benefit from having more help around her this year. Alicia Ratay, Notre Dame, G The nation's best 3-point shooter a year ago, she'll shoulder a much bigger load with teammates Ruth Riley and Niele Ivey no longer around. Susan Moran, St. Joseph's, F This senior from Ireland has led the Hawks in scoring and rebounding for three straight years, and her 22.6 scoring average last year was fifth in the nation.

Five New Faces To Watch
Jacqueline Batteast, Notre Dame, F The 6-foot forward from South Bend, scored 1,635 points with 1,056 rebounds in high school, is the Big East preseason rookie of the year. Teresa Borton, Notre Dame, F A star at West Valley (Wash.), she can score, rebound and pass and will probably get a chance to help immediately. Clare Droesch, Boston College, F A 5-11 frosh from New York's Christ the King, she averaged 26 points and was a first team All-American. Jessica Moore, UConn, C A 6-3 redshirt freshman, she provides strength in the middle and knows the system. Erin Gibson, Virginia Tech, F The 6-2 forward is an inside force and was the Virginia Coaches Association's player of the year. She figures to make a quick impact for a team that went 11-5 in the Big East last year.

Coach To Watch
Vivian Stringer, Rutgers The Scarlet Knights lost four starters from a 23-8 team, leaving forward Davalyn Cunningham in a leadership role. The key, however, will be Stringer's ability to blend a strong recruiting class (led by power forward Mariota Theodoris) into the rotation, the quicker the better. It's tricky, because there are some good guards even though Saona Chapman, a freshman former prep star in Connecticut, is the team's only true point guard.

Toughest Schedule
George Washington The Colonials weren't afraid to schedule Tennessee, North Carolina State and Rutgers. With four starters back from a 22-10 team, they're capable of taking on challenges outside the Atlantic 10.

Toughest Place to Play
Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn. You can't get a ticket for UConn women's basketball, and Gampel would be a tough place to visit even if the team weren't this good.

Things You Didn't Know
The Big East became the first conference to have a different team claim the NCAA title in successive years, after UConn won in 2000 and Notre Dame last year. The Big East was also the first league to have a different combination of teams qualify for the Final Four in back-to-back years, with UConn and Rutgers playing in the 2000 event, and UConn and Notre Dame qualifying last year. The year 2001 marked the first time five Big East teams reached the NCAA field.

Mark Your Calendar
Notre Dame at Purdue, Dec. 6 A true early non-conference test for the Ruth Riley-less Irish. UConn at Tennessee, Jan. 5 As usual, it looks like the matchup of the year. Notre Dame at UConn, Jan. 21 The champions of 2001 clash with the favorites of 2002. Notre Dame's young players will have had some time to grow by this time.

Ron Chimelis covers college basketball for the Springfield (Mass.) Union-News.