64 teams to watch

It's too early for even Charlie Creme (ESPN) to build next season's bracket, but not too early for him to speculate about what the NCAA tournament field might look like next March. Here are his capsule evaluations of Stanford and some of the teams on our 2009-2010 schedule:

• 1. Connecticut: After winning 39 consecutive games to notch the fifth perfect season in women's Division I history, the question might be: When will the Huskies finally lose? Point guard Renee Montgomery will be gone and can't be replaced, but remember, Diana Taurasi won two titles after Sue Bird graduated. Maya Moore has a chance to do the same.
  
  
• 2. Stanford: Jillian Harmon is the only significant loss from a corps that has made two straight Final Four appearances. Jayne Appel will be a serious threat to win the Wade Trophy.
  
  
• 7. Duke: Jasmine Thomas, Krystal Thomas and Karima Christmas will become the focal point of a team that might be developing the personnel better-suited to coach Joanne P. McCallie's system. Jasmine Thomas was beginning to play like the point guard the Blue Devils needed late last season.
  
  
• 8. Rutgers: C. Vivian Stringer will have to replace starters Kia Vaughn and Heather Zurich, but Epiphanny Prince is back for her senior season. She will continue to be the focal point of the Scarlet Knights. This season's freshmen should grow up plenty.
  
  
• 9. Tennessee: Coming off perhaps the most disappointing season in school history, the Lady Vols have plenty of offseason questions. If the freshmen learned some lessons in 2008-09, then Tennessee could be back to its usual perch. If not, 2009-10 could be yet another transition season. No program will have more eyes on it this summer.
  
  
• 14. Arizona State: Coach Charli Turner Thorne loses plenty, including heart-and-soul Briann January. But the Sun Devils should have the usual depth, led by Dymond Simon and Danielle Orsillo, to be back in the hunt as the Pac-10's second-best team.
  
  
• 27. California: With Devanei Hampton and Ashley Walker gone, the Bears will largely be relying on Alexis Gray-Lawson and a top-five recruiting class to stay near the top of the Pac-10.
  
  
• 36. UCLA: Nikki Caldwell is already recruiting nationally and loses a little off a Bruins team that showed signs of improvement as the season wore on.
  
  
• 44. Utah: The Utes lose a bunch just with Morgan Warburton's graduation, but Kalee Whipple is back and it's hard to bet against Elaine Elliott's club.
  
  
• 46. Gonzaga: West Coast Conference Player of the Year Courtney Vandersloot, just the the third Zag ever to earn All-American recognition, is back for her junior year and joined by Gonzaga's top scorer, Heather Bowman. The Zags will be huge favorites in the WCC.
  
  

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