Subscribe to Full Court PressFull Court Top 25: Women’s Collegiate Basketball Rankings, Week of December 7
Credit: Original Artwork by Lee Michaelson/Full Court Press©
By Christopher Thompson
Correspondent
Less than one month into the 2009-10 women’s college basketball season, there are only 17 undefeated DI teams remaining. Eight of those teams are from two conferences, the Big East and the SEC. Most of the unbeaten are in Full Court’s Top 25, but a few are not. Here are those teams, and why they aren’t rated:
Syracuse is 8-0, but they have played one of the five easiest schedules of all Division I schools. Their best win is over Butler.
Indiana State (7-0) beat Kansas State to open the season but since then, other than a win over South Carolina Upstate, the combined record of their other five victims is 8-29.
Kentucky is 8-0 including their most recent victory at Cincinnati, their best win of the season.
St. Bonaventure was the closest call based on their 61-43 win over Marist. But the Bonnies’ schedule before Marist was nearly as bad as that of Syracuse. So here is an idea; Since both the Bonnies and the Orange are in upstate New York, only 136 miles apart, why don’t they play each other?
Here’s how the Top 25 sorts itself out as we embark on month two of the season:
| FCP RANK | TEAM | 2009-10 RECORD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
CONNECTICUT | 7-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court - No. 1; AP - No. 1; USA Today/ESPN - No.1 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Vermont (W, 84-42) | |||
| The Huskies, and the rest of the nation, are still waiting for the December 21 matchup with Stanford. Thus far, UConn’s schedule has been only a trice more taxing than that of Syracuse. | |||
| Up this week: v. Hartford (12/10) | |||
| 2 |  |
STANFORD | 6-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 2; AP - No. 2; USA Today/ESPN - No. 2 | |||
| Last week’s action: No games | |||
| Stanford is in the midst of a two-week break (something about classes and finals) but will return to the court next Sunday against DePaul. Then in an eight-day span, the Cardinal will take on No. 8 Duke, No. 3 Tennessee and No. 1 Connecticut. | |||
| Up this week: v. DePaul (12/13) | |||
| 3 |  | TENNESSEE | 7-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 3; AP - No. 6; USA Today/ESPN - No. 5 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. George Washington (W, 93-53); v. No. 16 Texas (W, 78-58) | |||
| Tennessee has regained their swagger after last year’s debacle. The Lady Vols destroyed Texas in a game that was more lopsided than the 20-point final margin of victory would indicate. Just as UConn and Stanford have separated themselves from the field, Tennessee may be pushing closer to the top two than the remaining 342. | |||
| Up this week: v. Rutgers (12/13) | |||
| 4 |  | NOTRE DAME | 7-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 4; AP - No. 5; USA Today/ESPN- No. 6 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Eastern Michigan (W, 69-59) | |||
| Muffet McGraw now has 503 wins at Notre Dame (591 overall). Skyler Diggins has shown why she was such a high recruit; she is currently leading the Irish with an average of 15 points per game. | |||
| Up this week: v. IPFW (12/08); v. Valparaiso (12/09) | |||
| 5 |  |
BAYLOR | 7-1 |
| Last week’s ranking: Full Court Press - No. 8; AP - No. 8; USA Today/ESPN - No. 8 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Louisiana Tech (W, 77-67) | |||
| Baylor jumps three spots due to the stumbles of higher ranked teams. It didn’t hurt that Kim Mulkey beat her alma mater in their first meeting since she left Louisiana Tech nine years ago in a contract dispute. | |||
| Up this week: v. Boston College (12/13) | |||
| 6 |  | XAVIER | 7-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 9; AP - No. 9; USA Today/ESPN - No. 10 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Middle Tennessee State (W, 80-63); v. Cincinatti (W, 69-38) | |||
| Xavier continues to roll, also benefiting from the miscues of others, plus a quality win. Against Middle Tennessee State, the Xavier front line controlled Alysha Clark, the leading scorer in the nation last season, holding her to only 11 points and just four field goal attempts. | |||
| Up this week: @ No. 17 Michigan State (12/09) | |||
| 7 |  |
TEXAS A&M | 6-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 10; AP - No. 10; USA Today/ESPN No. 7 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Stephen F .Austin (W, 106-56); v. Southern Illinois (W, 72-58); @ California (W, 68-61) | |||
| Texas A&M get a bump after a big road victory, defeating California to take the title in the Collier’s International Classic. The Aggies overcame a 21-5 Cal run in the second half which put the Golden Bears up five with five minutes to play, but A&M responded with an 11-2 run to put the game away. | |||
| Up this week: v. North Texas (12/08); @ TCU (12/12) | |||
| 8 |  | DUKE | 7-1 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 11; AP - No. 11; USA Today/ESPN - No. 12 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Ohio State (W, 83-67); v. Southern California (78-72) | |||
| Duke moves into the Top 10 on the strength of strong second half play in two games. The Blue Devils pulled off a major upset against Ohio State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, using a 24-8 second-half run to break open a close game as Jasmine Thomas led the way with 29 points, 24 in the second half. Duke trailed by as many as 14 against unranked USC in the first half and was down 41-33 at the break, but again the Blue Devils responded in the second half behind Thomas to win by six. The Blue Devils take this week off, and re-open on the 15th at Stanford. | |||
| Up this week: No games. | |||
| 6 |  | LSU | 6-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 6; AP - No. 7; USA Today/ESPN - No. 11 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Louisiana Tech (W, 77-74) | |||
| For the second time in as many games LSU was taken to the wire by an in-state foe. Last week it was Tulane; this time it was Louisiana Tech. Last week I gave LSU a pass for their uninspired performance, but this week the Tigers drop three spots. Allison Hightower scored 32 in the victory. | |||
| Up this week: v. New Orleans (12/13) | |||
| 10 |  | OHIO STATE | 9-1, overall; 1-0 in-conference |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 7; AP - No. 3; USA Today/ESPN - No. 3 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Duke (L, 67-83); v. Wisconsin (W, 70-55) | |||
| Ohio State has been rated as high as number three in other national polls but we’ve been unconvinced. Their loss to Duke exposed the Buckeyes as a Top 10, not a Top 5, team. The hangover from Durham lasted halfway through the Wisconsin game, but the Buckeyes came alive in the second half to avoid an opening loss in Big Ten conference play. | |||
| Up this week: @ Mississippi (12/13) | |||
| 11 |  |
GEORGIA | 8-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 13; AP - No. 13; USA Today/ESPN - No. 16 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Alabama - Birmingham (W, 71-42); v. Georgia Tech (W, 56-50) | |||
| Georgia gets a bump notwithstanding less than stellar play. The Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech despite shooting only 34 percent from the free-throw line. The Lady Dogs missed 21 free throws, but Porscha Phillips managed to make two from the charity stripe with five seconds left to seal the game. | |||
| Up next week: v. Tennessee State (12/08) | |||
| 12 |  | FLORIDA STATE | 8-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 14; AP - No. 12; USA Today/ESPN - No. 9 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Indiana (W, 82-74); v. Alcorn State (W, 78-50) | |||
| The Seminoles continue their climb up the charts, remaining undefeated (albeit against less than challenging competition) and picking up two more victories. . | |||
| Up this week: No games. | |||
| 13 |  |
NORTH CAROLINA | 6-1 |
| Last week’s ranking: Full Court Press - No. 5; AP No. 4; USA Today/ESPN No. 4 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ No. 17 Michigan State (L, 66-72); v. St. John’s (W, 83-73) | |||
| North Carolina takes the biggest tumble with their upset loss to last week’s No. 17 team, Michigan State. The Spartans were the first real competition faced by the Tar Heels this season, and they did not rise to the occasion. It appears that the Tar Heels will have to go without Jessica Breland the entire season and the rest of the team hasn’t responded. A ten-point win over St. John’s doesn’t justify a Top 10 ranking. | |||
| Up this week: v. Radford (12/08); v. Gardner-Webb (12/13) | |||
| 14 |  | ARIZONA STATE | 6-1 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 12; AP - No. 15; USA Today/ESPN - No. 13 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Idaho State (W, 65-56); v. Pepperdine (W, 62-52) | |||
| Arizona State drops two spots due to two more unimpressive wins over weak competition. In two weeks the Sun Devils will get a chance to prove themselves with games against Texas A&M and Baylor. | |||
| Up this week: v. North Dakota (12/09)td> | |||
| 15 |  | KANSAS | 5-2 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 18; AP - No. 24; USA Today/ESPN - Not Ranked (received 14 votes) | |||
| Last week’s action: v. UCLA (W, 54-49); v. Northern Colorado (W, 81-54) | |||
| Coming up with the number 15 team this week was the toughest call of all. Kansas gets the nod. Last week the Jayhawks were upset by Xavier, then lost to TCU when they called a timeout they didn’t have. This week the basketball gods shined on them as a very questionable offensive foul was called that negated a three-point shot that would have given UCLA the lead with 18 seconds to go. | |||
| Up this week: v. Missouri-Kansas City (12/10); v. Creighton (12/13) | |||
| 16 |  | OKLAHOMA | 6-2 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 19; AP - No. 18; USA Today/ESPN - No. 18 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Texas-Arlington (W, 100-67); v. Arkansas (W, 87-86, OT) | |||
| The Sooners proved this week how important both Whitney Hand and Danielle Robinson are to the program. Without Hand (who is out for the season to an ACL tear), Oklahoma struggled to a one-point overtime victory over Arkansas. The Sooners trailed by 16 with 13 minutes left but battled back, led by Robinson who scored a game high 31 points in the victory. | |||
| Up this week: @ Marist (12/09); @ Army (12/10) | |||
| 17 |  | MICHIGAN STATE | 5-3, overall; 0-1, in-conference |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 17; AP - No. 22; USA Today/ESPN - No. 21 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. North Carolina (W, 72-66); v. Indiana (L, 63-68) | |||
| Michigan State went an expected 1-1 this week. What wasn’t expected was that the win came over last week’s No. 5 North Carolina, while the loss came at the hands of unranked Indiana. | |||
| Up this week: v. No. 6 Xavier (12/09); v. Florida Gulf Coast (12/13) | |||
| 18 |  | PITTSBURGH | 7-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 20; AP - No. 19; USA Today/ESPN - No. 20 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Youngstown (W, 89-37); v. Western Michigan (W, 89-65) | |||
| Do I believe there are only seventeen teams better than Pittsburgh? No. Do I believe anyone else deserves this ranking? No. As long as the Panthers stay undefeated, I guess they have earned their ranking. | |||
| Up this week: v. Valparaiso (12/08); @ Penn State (12/12) | |||
| 19 |  | TEXAS | 5-3 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 16; AP - No. 17; USA Today/ESPN - No. 17 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Oral Roberts (W, 94-80); @ No. 3 Tennessee (L, 58-78) | |||
| Losing at Tennessee was expected, but the Longhorns didn’t have to go down to defeat quite so easily. Texas will have 10 days to reflect on the loss. They then enjoy a powder-puff non-conference schedule the rest of the way. | |||
| Up this week: No games. | |||
| 20 |  |
DAYTON | 8-1 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press- No. 22; AP - No. 25; USA Today/ESPN - No. 24 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Illinois-Chicago (W, 73-46); v. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (W, 86-52); v. Wright State (W, 79-58) | |||
| Dayton enters the top 20 with three more victories over flimsy competition. The Flyers could easily win their next seven, although Vermont could pose some problems. | |||
| Up this week: @ Toledo (12/09); @ Miami-OH (12/12) | |||
| 21 |  | JAMES MADISON | 6-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - Not Ranked; AP - Not Ranked; USA Today/ESPN - Not Ranked | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Liberty (W, 60-50); @ No. 15 Virginia (W, 75-73) | |||
| James Madison enters the Top 25 at No. 21 on the strength of an upset victory at last week’s No. 15, Virginia. Dawn Evans scored a career-high 38 points and outperformed Monica Wright, who posted 31 for the Cavaliers. The Dukes will be able to confirm their ranking in two weeks when they travel to Durham to take on Duke. | |||
| Up this week: v. Siena (12/13) | |||
| 22 |  | NEBRASKA | 8-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 23; AP - Not Ranked (received 41 votes); USA Today/ESPN - Not Ranked (received 30 votes) | |||
| Last week’s action: v. South Dakota (W, 77-38); @ Miami-FL (W, 76-71) | |||
| Nebraska justified its berth in our Top 25 with a road victory at previously undefeated Miami (Florida). They’ll have an opportunity in two weeks to elevate their status when they take on No. 9 LSU. The Cornhuskers feature a balanced attack with four players averaging at least 11 points per game. | |||
| Up this week: v. Creighton (12/09); v. Northern Illinois (12/13) | |||
| 23 |  | VIRGINIA | 6-2 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 15; AP - No. 14; USA Today/ESPN - No. 15 | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Purdue (W, 56-49); v. James Madison (L, 73-75) | |||
| Despite an off night for All-American candidate Monica Wright, who played only 17 minutes before fouling out with just seven points, Virginia beat Purdue. Wright recovered to score 31 against James Madison, but Dawn Evans led the Dukes to the upset in Charlottesville and the Cavaliers take a slide in the rankings. | |||
| Up this week: v. Furman (12/08) | |||
| 24 |  | TEMPLE | 6-1 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - Not Ranked; AP - Not Ranked; USA Today/ESPN - Not Ranked (received four votes) | |||
| Last week’s action: @ No. 25 Rutgers (W, 62-51) | |||
| Temple debuts in our rankings at No. 24, becoming the third Atlantic 10 conference team in the Top 25 with a win over last week’s No. 25 team, Rutgers. Temple has beaten Illinois and Auburn earlier this season. Their only loss was to Hartford. | |||
| Up this week: @ Hampton (12/08); v. Ohio (12/10); @ Kent State (12/12) | |||
| 25 |  | WISCONSIN - GREEN BAY | 7-0 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - Not Ranked; AP - Not Ranked (received eight votes); USA Today/ESPN - Not Ranked | |||
| Last week’s action: v. DePaul (W, 79-68); v. Northern Iowa (W, 82-69) | |||
| Wisconsin-Green Bay is undefeated and has beaten both DePaul (who dropped out of the Top 25 only last week and is still in the Top 25 of other national polls) and Wisconsin this season. This is certainly more than Pittsburgh has done and the Panthers are seven spots higher. On the other hand, for the rest of the season, the Phoenix play only one more team in the Top 100, Marquette. Even if they go undefeated in the regular season, UWGB does not have the quality of schedule to move into the Top 15, but for now, welcome to the Top 25. | |||
| Up this week: @ Ball State (12/10); @ Evansville (12/12) | |||
Dropping out of this week’s rankings:
| NR |  | VANDERBILT | 8-1 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 21; AP - No. 16; USA Today/ESPN - No. 14 | |||
| Last week’s action: @ Wright State (W, 63-46); v. Bowling Green (L, 60-66); v. Western Kentucky (79-73, OT) | |||
| Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 14 in some national polls and will doubtless still be ranked this week, but what we see is a team that lost to Bowling Green at home, was taken to overtime by Western Kentucky, and hasn’t beaten a Top 50 team thus far this season. Their two best wins are over Western Kentucky (a squeaker) and North Carolina State | |||
| Up this week: @ Quinnipiac (12/10) | |||
| NR |  | MIAMI (FLORIDA) | 7-1 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 24; AP - Not Ranked (received 13 votes); USA Today/ESPN - Not Ranked (received five votes) | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Nebraska (L, 71-76) | |||
| Miami (Florida) squeaked into the rankings last week, undefeated at 7-0, but also untested by serious competition. They had a chance to prove they deserved to be nationally ranked in last week’s game against Nebraska. The Hurricanes lost so they are out, likely not to be seen again. | |||
| Up this week: No games. | |||
| NR |  | RUTGERS | 5-4 |
| Last week’s rankings: Full Court Press - No. 25; AP - Not Ranked (received 45 votes); USA Today/ESPN - Not Ranked (received 13 votes) | |||
| Last week’s action: v. Temple (L, 51-62); @ Princeton (W, 60-50) | |||
| The Scarlet Knights slid into the bottom of the rankings last week on the strength of their success against ranked teams in the Thanksgiving tournament in the Bahamas. They turned around and lost to then-unranked Temple last week, something you can’t do if you’re clinging to the bottom rung of the rankings ladder by the skin of your teeth. But unlike Agnus Berenato at Pittsburgh, C Vivian Stringer has scheduled Rutgers to get them ready for Big East competition. The Scarlet Knights may be out of the Top 25 now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they finish ahead of Pitt. | |||
| Up this week: v. Florida (12/07); v. Prairie View A&M (12/10); v. Tennessee (12/13) | |||
Originally published Sun, December 06, 2009
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