Latest news with #NeilPaine
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Where ESPN ranks Caitlin Clark-led young Fever core in WNBA
The post Where ESPN ranks Caitlin Clark-led young Fever core in WNBA appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Indiana Fever are ready to make some noise in the playoffs this season. Indiana is just 3-4 after losing Caitlin Clark for a few weeks with a quad injury. Fever fans have plenty of reasons for optimism about the future, regardless of the slow start to the 2025 WNBA season. Advertisement ESPN's Neil Paine released an article on Thursday that ranks the young players on each WNBA roster. It should be no surprise that the Fever ranked No.1 on Paine's list. 'It's no surprise to see the Fever here with the brightest group of young stars in the WNBA,' Paine wrote. 'With Clark and Boston, Indiana has the No. 1 picks from the 2023 and 2024 drafts — each of whom went on to win Rookie of the Year in back-to-back seasons as well. When healthy (and both have been extremely durable throughout college and the pros, up until Clark's recent injury), no team has a dynamic duo this good and this young.' The Fever have an average age of 28.5 years old, which is the sixth youngest in the W. That number is skewed a little higher because of the addition of 37-year-old veteran DeWanna Bonner this offseason. Paine also gave a shout out to Fever guard Lexie Hull who has thrived since the arrival of Caitlin Clark. Advertisement 'Don't sleep on Hull, either; the fourth-year guard out of Stanford has improved each year of her WNBA career and is tracking for a breakout performance.' The future is bright for the Indiana Fever. Fever get first win of 2025 season without Caitlin Clark © Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images No Caitlin Clark, no problem? The Fever finally put together an impressive performance without superstar Caitlin Clark on Tuesday. Indiana got its first win of the season without Clark in a 85-76 victory over Washington. Indiana looked like a different team with Aari McDonald at point guard. The Fever added McDonald on Monday via the W's emergency hardship exception. Advertisement Fever head coach Stephanie White gave McDonald her flowers after the game. 'Aari, hell of a job,' White said, pumping up McDonald's teammates in the locker room. 'You were awesome, you came in and you impacted the ball game. You settled us down, you were aggressive, your defense set the tone. Hell of a job.' McDonald logged seven points, five assists, and one rebound in 27 minutes against the Mystics. McDonald may have earned herself a role on the team, even after Clark returns from injury. Next up for Indiana is a primetime matchup against Chicago on Saturday night. Related: Fever's Caitlin Clark provides massive injury update Related: Dawn Staley drops Caitlin Clark all-time prediction
USA Today
6 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
Where do Oklahoma Sooners land in ESPN's latest FPI?
Where do Oklahoma Sooners land in ESPN's latest FPI? The Oklahoma Sooners are looking to bounce back after a poor 2024 season that saw them go 6-7. Now, in 2025, Year 4 under head coach Brent Venables and Year 2 in the Southeastern Conference is a pivotal season for both the present and the future of the program. OU plays in the loaded SEC and isn't among the favorites to compete for the conference title in 2025. However, ESPN's latest Football Power Index believes Oklahoma will be much better than they were a year ago. According to ESPN's Neil Paine, "The FPI is a predictive rating system that estimates each FBS team's strength (in points per game relative to the national average) on offense, defense and special teams, making adjustments for starters lost, recruiting talent and other personnel changes. Those numbers are then plugged into the schedule, and everything is simulated 20,000 times to track each team's odds of winning its conference, making the playoff and advancing through to the national title." Oklahoma came in at No. 17 in ESPN's FPI. While that's a very good mark, it actually puts them tenth in the SEC, speaking to the overall strength of the league. The offseason additions of GM Jim Nagy, OC Ben Arbuckle, QB John Mateer, and RB Jaydn Ott, along with Venables taking command of the defense, have put the Sooners in a position to show marked improvement in 2025. Other moves like adding offensive analyst Kevin Wilson and LB coaches Nate Dreiling and Wes Goodwin to the staff and retaining DT David Stone are under the radar, but they could pay big dividends as well. However, the Sooners play what's been billed as college football's toughest schedule. They play eight of the top 20 teams in the FPI. In fact, OU's only game against Power Four competition that doesn't see them face a team in the FPI's top 20 is against Missouri. Additionally, FPI projects that the Sooners will have the ninth-best defense in the country in 2025. That defense was the only reason Oklahoma didn't lose even more games a year ago, and despite losing Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman Jr. to the NFL Draft, that unit has a chance to be good again this year. FPI thinks that two Oklahoma games are among the biggest games of the entire season. The first is on October 11th, when the Sooners take on the Texas Longhorns in the annual Red River Rivalry matchup. Texas ranked No. 1 in the FPI. The other is on November 15th, when OU travels to face the Alabama Crimson Tide, who are ranked No. 3 in the FPI. The Sooners have a chance to be one of the most improved teams in Power Four in 2025. However, Venables and Co. will have to navigate an absolutely brutal schedule if they want to have a chance to make the College Football Playoff. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
USA Today
16-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Where Texas basketball stands: Current forecast on Longhorns' NCAA Tournament chances
Where Texas basketball stands: Current forecast on Longhorns' NCAA Tournament chances Will the Texas Longhorns Men's Basketball team get into March Madness? That's the big question that will be answered this evening during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. While Texas had been trending the right way on Friday, Saturday's forecasts have turned darker. Last week, USA TODAY Sports Bracketology said Texas needed to make a run in the SEC Tournament to have a chance. "The Longhorns need to beat Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament first round, beat rival Texas A&M again and possibly take down Tennessee in the quarterfinals. A verry difficult path for Rodney Terry's team." - Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY Sports UT was able to beat Vandy and the Aggies, but fell to Tennessee, The latest Bracketology has UT as one of the last four teams into the tournament. "The Longhorns leaped back into the bracket by beating rival Texas A&M 94-89 in double overtime in second round of the SEC tournament. That gives the SEC 14 teams in our projected field, which would shatter the previous record for any conference in one tournament. The record is 11 set by the Big East in 2011." - USA TODAY Sports ESPN's version of Bracketology paints a darker future. Writer Joe Lunardi updated his bracket forecast late Saturday evening has Texas as one of the first four out of the Big Dance. ESPN's Neil Paine has a slightly different take, Texas has a 63% to get into the field. "Texas' run through the SEC tournament ended Friday with an 83-72 quarterfinal loss to Tennessee, a defeat that dropped the Longhorns' odds of making the NCAA tournament from to the low 60s% in the ESPN Analytics model. In truth, that might be overstating their case somewhat if we compare with other forecasts. On the plus side, Texas' NET ranking is around the top 40, and it has six wins against top-50 BPI teams (11 against the top 100), the foundation for a good tourney résumé. But its SOR and WAB still rank just outside the top 50, giving the Longhorns a tougher case to make than some other bubble squads. ... Texas ranks 11th both in NET and ESPN Analytics' tourney odds, so the Longhorns might have done enough -- but they'll have to wait until Sunday to find out." - Neil Paine, ESPN CBS Sports forecasts a similar end to the Texas season. Writer Jerry Palm thinks the Longhorns miss out on March Madness because of the team's struggles during the SEC season.
