Will Stanford Women's Basketball Make the Tournament This Year?

It has been a long time since an NCAA tournament did not feature the Cardinal.

Jan 29, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Brooke Demetre (21) controls the ball against the Oregon Ducks during the fourth quarter at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

After legendary head coach Tara VanDerveer retired after nearly 40 years in charge of Stanford women's basketball, the addition of a new coach combined with the change of conference and departing stars raised questions as to just how good this would be in 2024-25. It has been a tough year to say the least, with the Cardinal experiencing some major growing pains in their inaugural ACC season.

Possessing a 10-9 record, with a 2-6 ACC record, the Cardinal have already surpassed their loss total from last year and have lost as many conference games than they did over the last two seasons combined.

Right now, the Cardinal would be at risk of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1986-87, when VanDerveer was only in her second season as the coach. That team finished 14-14 overall, having taken a considerable leap from VanDerveer's first year.

In ESPN's current bracketology, Stanford is listed as one of the next four teams out, along with Arizona, Florida and Boston College. However Clemson, a fellow ACC member, is one of the first four teams in and sits only game better than Stanford, with an 11-9 record while sitting at 4-5 in the conference.

Stanford has a tough schedule the rest of the way, with games against Notre Dame, North Carolina and Louisville among those still left, but if they can string together some big wins, they could find themselves right back in the mix.

In their most recent game against the California Golden Bears, another ACC opponent, the Cardinal were down by as many as 19, but trimmed the deficit to three with possession as time wound down. They ultimately fell, 75-72. Cal was a ranked opponent, and to come back in that game could lead to better results down the road.

The ACC is loaded with talent, with many of the top teams possessing players that could be top WNBA Draft prospects, with Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo emerging as one the conference's headlining players, along with teammate Olivia Miles.

Duke, NC State, Cal and North Carolina also have continued to impress this year, with each of those teams in the top 25 and expected to all be tournament teams by the time the season ends.

Currently on a two-game losing streak, with losses suffered against Duke and Cal in their last two outings, the Cardinal will desperately need to get back into the win column the next time they play, returning to Maples Pavilion on Jan. 30 to take on Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh, who have struggled mightily thus far under second-year head coach Tory Verdi, are a must-win game for Stanford as Pitt currently stands at 9-12, having won only one out of their first eight conference games.

The rest of the year is crucial for the Cardinal, as they look to keep their tournament streak going, and despite going through all the changes that they have had, a program that has been trained for decades to face adversity and deal with the tough times has all it needs to turn things around and right the ship ahead of the postseason.