This has been as wide-open of a women's college basketball season as we've seen in quite some time, so it's only fitting that the most recent AP Top 25 poll made a bit of history: With Texas' ascension to the top spot, that makes four different teams who have held the No. 1 ranking at some point this year, a feat that's only happened five times in the history of the sport. It feels like just about anybody could become a March Cinderella or cut down the nets when all is said and done.
That much parity makes ranking the 25 best teams in the country every week even more difficult of a task, so we do have some sympathy for AP voters tasked with sorting through this chaos. But still, with great power comes great responsibility, and Monday's most recent poll missed the mark in a few different places.
Texas isn't quite deserving of being the new No. 1
We hate to be the ones to take the wind out of the Longhorns' sails, as they celebrate occupying the top spot in the AP poll for the first time since 2004. Madison Booker is the truth, and this is a very, very good team, one that followed up its memorable upset of South Carolina with two more ranked wins at Kentucky and at home against LSU two weeks ago before getting to enjoy their bye this past week.
So why is Texas overrated a bit? It's really more a testament to the teams around them, and one team in particular: UConn. The Huskies occupy the No. 1 spot in both the latest NET rankings and according to Bart Torvik's advanced stats, following up that stunning blowout win at South Carolina — still the most impressive result we've seen all season — by beating the breaks off of Seton Hall and Butler.
We get it: The Big East is never going to offer UConn the sort of gauntlet that Texas has to face in the SEC. Texas is 11-2 in Quad 1 games, 14-2 in Quads 1 and 2; UConn is 4-3 and 10-3, respectively. But it's not like the Huskies are totally untested, and they've shown a higher ceiling than anyone else in the country this season.
Duke still deserves to be a top-15 team
The Blue Devils were the biggest loser this week, dropping a full five spots down to No. 16 after losses at Notre Dame and at home to Louisville. And maybe this is being a bit too kind to a team that hasn't yet shown that it can consistently score at the level it'll need to in order to make a deep tournament run.
But while its offensive struggles can leave it prone to off nights, Duke still guards about as well as anyone in the country, and they arguably should have two more impressive road wins against UNC and NC State — games that Kara Lawson's team let get away in agonizing fashion. The ceiling might be a little limited here, but the floor is as high as anyone, as their top-10 NET and advanced rankings can attest.
Ohio State's resume isn't as strong as its record suggests
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Buckeyes, who have the shiny record Duke lacks but simply haven't been as impressive when you actually watch them play. Ohio State enters the week at 23-4, 12th in the most recent AP poll, but they're all the way down in 18th in NET ranking — and they're just 2-3 in Quad 1 games (more on one of those teams in a moment).
Sure, this team has racked up tons of wins so far; that frenetic style of play results in boatloads of forced turnovers against teams that don't have the talent to match up. But against the ones who do, there isn't a ton that Ohio State does particularly well, and that's caught up to them recently in narrow overtime wins at home against Iowa and Minnesota and a road loss to Indiana. You are what the record says you are, but don't be surprised if the Buckeyes' comes back down to Earth soon enough.
Don't be surprised if West Virginia busts some brackets come March
Speaking of teams that aren't particularly pleasing to the eye but that can guard just about anyone: West Virginia seems downright miserable to play against, leading the country in turnover rate and ranking fifth in defensive efficiency. The offense still has some kinks to iron out, but that's an awfully good place to start, and dropping them a spot after a week in which they split ranked matchups against Kansas State (home win) and TCU (road loss) feels harsh.
Especially considering that the Mountaineers were arguably underrated to begin with. NET has them at 13, Torvik at 10, and while the schedule hasn't been all that difficult, they've looked the part against the toughest teams they've faced — they lost by just five to Texas on a neutral floor back in December, remember.
It's hard to argue that Maryland is playing like a top-20 team right now
We promise we're not trying to pick on the Big Ten here, but, well, the numbers don't lie — and the numbers tell us that the Terps are 7-6 in their last 13 games, 0-5 against the ranked teams they've played over that span despite four of those games coming in College Park. Again, the underlying metrics aren't buying it, with NET (27) and Torvik (25) having Maryland well below its current No. 19 ranking. 21-6 is 21-6, and there have been some high points here (they do have a non-con win over Duke back in November), but a defense that ranks outside the top 140 in opposing effective field goal percentage should raise some eyebrows.
Ole Miss has fallen victim to the SEC gauntlet
Describing the SEC as "rugged" would be an understatement, with seven teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Ole Miss isn't one of them, garnering just four votes in the latest poll, but don't let the 18-8 overall record fool you: This is a dangerous team, one that's proven a lot more than some teams above them in the rankings.
The Rebs are 9-5 in conference, and they've hung with some of the nation's elite, nearly toppling Texas and USC earlier this season while putting a legitimate scare into UConn in the fourth quarter of a neutral-site game back in November. It's not the most polished offense, but they absolutely bully you on both ends of the floor, forcing turnovers and attacking the offensive glass with reckless abandon. They're a top-15 team according to both NET and Torvik, and while that's maybe overstating it, they hardly ever get blown out despite facing a bear of a schedule.