It’s not exactly an earthshaking shift, as poll voters are notoriously inattentive to what actually occurs on the court, and are overly infatuated with reputation and past success.
But if we agreed with everything they did, what fun would that be?
(Record through Monday) Points -- Last week's rank (First-place votes)
1. Tennessee (5-0) 773 -- 1 (29)
The Volunteers are good. Scary good. They’re already first in RPI (for what it’s worth at this point), and they’ve handled Oklahoma, West Virginia and Chattanooga. Next up is North Carolina Saturday, but it’s in Knoxville.
2. Connecticut (5-0) 741 -- 2 (2)
The Huskies beat Old Dominion by 43; Tennessee plays the Monarchs this week, so there will be a basis for comparison. As for UConn’s schedule, BYU and Virginia are good and on the calendar – but not good enough, especially in the friendly confines.
3. Maryland (8-0) 708 -- 3
The Terrapins made it exciting at Santa Barbara and at UCLA, but they had too much talent for the Gauchos and too much coaching for the Bruins. That was also seven games in 15 days, the last two across the country. It doesn’t get any easier: Next up, Pittsburgh and Ohio State in College Park, followed by a trip to Piscataway for Rutgers.
4. North Carolina (7-0) 660 – 6
The Tar Heels haven’t run the gantlet like the top three, and all seven games have been at home. The next two are in Chapel Hill as well (the weak College of Charleston and struggling Purdue), but then comes the trip to Tennessee. We’ll find out then …
5. Stanford (5-1) 638 – 4
The Cardinal, as usual, lost a point guard to an ACL (backup Melanie Murphy), and lost a game to UConn, but with USF and UC Davis on tap before finals, 7-1 looks like a done deal.
6. Rutgers (3-1) 624 – 7
The Scarlet Knights have only played four games, but what a quartet: LSU, George Washington, Stanford and Creighton (which has lost only to Rutgers). A trip to St. Joseph’s (3-1) is next, followed by a visit from Maryland. Presumably, both will be prettier than the win over LSU.
7. LSU (4-2) 579 – 5
Losses to Maryland and Rutgers are hardly dealbreakers, and a three-game road trip to Houston, Tulane and Louisiana Tech should right Van Chancellor’s ship in a hurry. But still, 43 points, even against Rutgers, is not the kind of offense that will get to the Final Four.
8. Georgia (6-0) 562 – 9
The Dawgs have beaten up on four patsies and slipped past two worthy, but unranked, opponents by a total of eight points. So how good are they? Maybe Georgia Tech Sunday will reveal a little more.
9. Oklahoma (2-2) 502 – 11
The first four games: Maryland, Tennessee, Arizona State and Mississippi, none at home. North Texas and Arkansas State are going to pay dearly for the Sooners’ two losses.
10. Duke (5-1) 500 – 8
Ouch. No one really expected the Blue Devils to beat UConn, but a 26-point loss wasn’t exactly what Joanne P. McCallie had in mind when she came from Michigan State. The upcoming road trip to Vanderbilt and Penn State might also make McCallie wish she were back in East Lansing.
11. Baylor (5-0) 490 – 12
A solid second-half comeback against Cal – once the posts got out of foul
trouble – showed the Baptist Bears really deserved to be higher in the rankings than the Golden Bears. The trip to Southeast Missouri State should not be completely overlooked, though, as the Redhawks are one of the better teams in the Ohio Valley Conference.
12. Texas A&M (4-1) 356 – 10
OK, Texas A&M lost to Wake Forest (at a neutral site), and Wake Forest has one loss, to unbeaten James Madison. If you think results count for something, James Madison should be in this spot, ahead of both Wake and A&M. By season’s end, the results may tell a different story, but right now, the Aggies are ranked too high.
13. California (4-1) 352 – 14
Cal has lost only to Baylor, a ranked team, so by all rights the Bears should be ahead of A&M, which lost to an unranked team. Of course, without Devanei Hampton, Cal probably isn’t this good – but they are 4-1 with wins over New Mexico and at TCU.
14. George Washington (5-1) 351 – 15
The Colonials have lost only to Rutgers (albeit by 25), and have beaten Kentucky, South Dakota State, Western Kentucky and Virginia. They should a lot closer to the top ten than this, and though voters may not notice, a win at James Madison will be further proof of GW’s excellence.
15. Arizona State (3-2) 330 – 13
The losses are only to North Carolina and Oklahoma, but the Sun Devils need a quality win. They have an opportunity to get one, as their tournament features not only Auburn, but a first-round matchup against on-the-rise Gonzaga.
16. West Virginia (5-1) 285 – 17
The Mountaineers have played one good team (Tennessee) and lost by 22. Their wins are over powers such as Canisius, Cornell and Rhode Island – and this weekend they play St. Bonaventure and most likely Florida Atlantic. Be still my heart.
17. Ohio State (5-1) 222 – 16
Excuse me, but didn’t unbeaten Auburn just beat Ohio State? At Ohio State? So how could anyone who’s paying any attention at all rank the Buckeyes ahead of the Tigers. Wake up out there … there’s a season going on.
18. Vanderbilt (5-1) 204 – 19
And here we go again. Vandy lost to Indiana State, which lost to 4-2 Loyola Marymount by 23. The Commodores were really good last year, but that was then – and this is now, as Duke will show Wednesday.
19. Michigan State (5-1) 192 -- 18-0
Now here’s a team that belongs in the top 25, even though its best win is over Kansas State. The only loss is to LSU, not to some unranked midmajor. Of course, Sunday’s trip to Old Dominion may bump the Spartans down a bit.
20. Auburn (6-0) 178 – 25
If the Tigers beat Arizona State at Arizona State after beating Ohio State at Ohio State, maybe folks will start to notice that Nell Fortner has done a job down in Alabama. Twenty is too low …
21. DePaul (4-0) 173 – 23
The Blue Demons will remain unbeaten, as Illinois-Chicago, Missouri State, Loyola of Chicago, Chicago State, Northern Illinois and Northwestern – the next six opponents – aren’t exactly murderers’ row. Or even wedgie row.
22. Florida State (5-1) 164 – 21
The loss at DePaul is explainable, and the win at Florida is solid. Playing at Indiana and Oakland may not prove much, but the visit to Texas A&M Dec. 6 should be an interesting one.
23. Notre Dame (4-1) 122 – 24
Maybe the football team’s struggles are having a subliminal effect on the voters – the Irish lost only to Maryland, and just beat Boston College by 30, so this seems awfully low. That trip to Bowling Green next Wednesday, though, isn’t as easy as it looks.
24. Wyoming (4-0) 64 – NR
The Cowboys are a pretty good team, but the fact that they’re 24th shows the lack of quality depth in women’s basketball. The big win here is the one-point overtime victory at Wisconsin, and that’s worthy of some recognition – but 24th in the nation?
25. Texas (4-2) 62 – 22
The Longhorns’ best win is over UAB, and the loss to Tennessee was by 25, but Gail Goestenkors is a good coach and there’s a lot of talent on the roster. Three more wins are on tap before the next real opponent (at Arizona State Dec. 20).
Dropped out: No. 20 Purdue (2-3).?
The Boilermakers probably shouldn’t have been ranked to begin with, and three straight losses (Duke, Temple, Old Dominion) dropped them out – most likely for good. Though in the watered down Big 10, you never know …
Others receiving votes: North Carolina State 34; Oklahoma State 33; Georgia Tech 22; Marist 21; Purdue 18; Hartford 16; Minnesota 14; Pittsburgh 11; Iowa State 10; Marquette 10; Middle Tennessee 10; New Mexico 8; Louisville 6; Old Dominion 6; UCLA 5; Penn State 4; Utah 3; Western Kentucky 3; Temple 2; Texas Tech 2; Virginia 2; James Madison 1; Tulane 1; Wake Forest 1.
North Carolina State lost to St. John’s, which lost to Vermont, so that’s not a strong resume for number 26 in the nation. Oklahoma State, on the other hand, is unbeaten against some decent teams (wins at UC Riverside and Fresno State). The Cowboys should be in the top 25.
The USA TODAY/ESPN Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The board for the 2007-08 season: Agnus Berenato, Pittsburgh; Pam Borton, Minnesota; Brian Boyer, Arkansas State; Beth Burns, San Diego State; Debra Clark, Florida A&M; Beth Couture, Butler; Leslie Crane, Western Illinois; Dana Eikenberg, Southern Illinois; Tricia Fabbri, Quinnipiac; Sharon Fanning, Mississippi State; Brian Giorgis, Marist; Julie Goodenough, Charleston Southern; Kellie Harper, Western Carolina; Mary Hegarty, Long Beach State; Nate Kilbert, Mississippi Valley State; Melissa McFerrin, American; Kevin McGuff, Xavier; Tina Martin, Delaware; Curt Miller, Bowling Green; Dan Muscatell, Sacramento State; Paul Nixon, Columbia; Rick Reeves, Gardner-Webb; Lee Ann Riley, Stephen F. Austin; Jennifer Rizzotti, Hartford; Rhonda Rompola, Southern Methodist; Julie Rousseau, Pepperdine; Brady Sallee, Eastern Illinois; Cindy Stein, Missouri; LaVonda Wagner, Oregon State; Adrian Wiggins, Fresno State; Kay Yow, North Carolina State.
Free Email Newsletter
