The top tier of the SEC is the best top tier of any conference in the nation. We saw that play out this past week as Vanderbilt handed Texas a thorough defeat that propelled the Commodores into the final No. 1 seed spot in the NCAA selection committee's early look at the top 16 teams in their rankings.
One day later, Vandy lost to unranked Georgia, though, highlighting how strong the conference is. I was fully prepared for Vanderbilt to be ranked No. 4 in Monday's AP Top 25 poll, but now...who knows, right? Based on this week's results, let's take a stab at predicting what this week's poll will look like.
Projected AP Top 25 women's college basketball rankings
- UConn
- UCLA
- South Carolina
- Vanderbilt
- Texas
- Michigan
- LSU
- Duke
- Louisville
- Ohio State
- Oklahoma
- Iowa
- TCU
- Baylor
- Maryland
- Ole Miss
- Michigan State
- Kentucky
- West Virginia
- Texas Tech
- Minnesota
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Rhode Island
- Georgia
The Texas/Vanderbilt dilemma
Texas and Vanderbilt both beat two ranked opponents this week. Both also had one loss. The difference is that Texas lost to Vanderbilt, while Vanderbilt lost to unranked Georgia, though I do expect the Bulldogs to move into the Top 25 this week.
What are the voters to do about this?
On one hand, Vanderbilt beat Texas straight up, and the win was enough for the Commodores to leap the Longhorns in the NCAA selection committee's eyes. On the other hand, Vanderbilt had the worst loss of the two this week, and Texas did beat Kentucky and Tennessee.
Ultimately, I expect the head-to-head result to win out for the AP voters. The Georgia loss isn't great and overall, Texas has only lost to other top 10 teams this season while Vanderbilt has losses to Ole Miss and Georgia on its resume, but we also just saw the Commodores beat Texas comfortably. For now, at least, I expect to see Vanderbilt slide up to No. 4.
TCU re-asserts itself as the Big 12's best
The Big 12 has been a bit of a bloodbath as the top teams have beaten each other up, but TCU showed this week that it's the conference's best team, beating ranked Baylor and West Virginia teams. Olivia Miles put up 40 points in the win over Baylor, including a 10-for-20 night from behind the arc. Miles' development as a shooter should have pro teams salivating.
TCU is the top Big 12 school in the NET. In fact, the Horned Frogs are the only Big 12 team in the top 20 of the NET. Losses to Utah and Colorado show this isn't a perfect team, but TCU also has two wins over West Virginia and just barely lost by two to Texas Tech earlier this month. I'm not saying this is a championship contender or anything, but this week's games were a reminder that TCU has the best head coach and the best player in the conference, and that means something.
Notable Big 12 Teams | NET Ranking |
|---|---|
TCU | 11 |
West Virginia | 22 |
Baylor | 28 |
Oklahoma State | 29 |
Texas Tech | 31 |
Meanwhile, the "is Texas Tech really this good" question reared its head after a loss to Oklahoma State, which came following a win by just five against unranked Kansas. Red Raiders games are closer than they probably should be, but the team won't fall too far in this week's poll.
It's time to give Minnesota the respect it deserves
The funny thing about the NET is that nine of the top 10 teams make perfect sense, but Minnesota sits there at No. 9 despite not being ranked. That "not ranked" part should end this week, though.
The Golden Gophers are the only team in the top 10 of the NET with a losing record in Quad 1 games, but the team also suffers a bit from playing in a loaded Big Ten. What matters right now is that Minnesota has won eight in a row, and while only one ranked team has been amongst those eight wins, victories over Nebraska and Oregon are objectively good wins.
Minnesota has been especially good on offense, ranking 13th in Division I in offensive rating. The team's 0.93 points per play rank 22nd in the country, and the team's ability to control the ball has been crucial to its offensive success At 10.4 per game, no Division I team is turning the ball over less than Minnesota. It's time to get them back into the AP poll.