How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Is Tennessee still ranked?
The following is a sentence I did not think I would write this season.
Lady Vols basketball has dropped out of my Associated Press Top 25 ballot this week.
I still don't think it's time to completely panic. November was a tough, tough month for Tennessee – in regard to schedule and results – and I think Kellie Harper has learned a lot about her team after eight games. Despite the fact the Lady Vols played much weaker competition this weekend, the rotations are getting more comfortable and there are some signs the team is starting to find its way.
But I can't rank a team that just pulled .500 on a win over Eastern Kentucky, no matter how good the teams it lost to were.
WEEK TWO:How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Tennessee, Texas tumble after losses
WEEK ONE:How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Did Tennessee drop out of top 10?
So, by that logic, Texas is out of my rankings, too. The Longhorns are now .500 on the season with Rori Harmon's return, but I'm not ranking a 3-3 team whose best win is against Princeton.
My top three stayed the same and UConn added another ranked win this week. Azzi Fudd is shooting the lights out and dare I say she looks like an All-American early on? The return of Aubrey Griffin and the breakout season Aaliyah Edwards is starting off with has helped immensely. But Nika Mühl's 10.8 assists per game is the most mind-blowing stat from the Huskies.
With the win over No. 9 Iowa Sunday, UConn now has three top-10 wins in November.
North Carolina makes the jump to No. 6 after a gritty comeback win over Iowa State, who drops from No. 4 to No. 7. The Tar Heels went on a 19-3 run to start the fourth quarter and take the lead after trailing the entire game.
UNC's effort was fantastic, and Iowa State crumbled down the stretch with a chance to win. The Cyclones had three straight turnovers with fewer than 30 seconds left, forcing them to send UNC to the free throw line three times without scoring themselves.
Louisville continues to drop in my ballot after losing to South Dakota State in its final Battle 4 Atlantis game. The Cardinals are barely hanging on to being ranking at No. 23 with their only ranked win over Texas, which I don't even have ranked anymore.
The last note I'll make is that I've been impressed with the Big East in November. It used to be one of the best women's basketball conferences in the country. While it may never return to that era, the Big East is on the rise this season.
Big East teams have racked up eight ranked wins, according to Her Hoop Stats' Megan Gauer, which is five more than any other conference. Three of those belong to UConn, but Creighton, Marquette, Villanova and DePaul have all notched ranked wins.
AP Top 25 Week Three
South Carolina
Stanford
UConn
Indiana
Ohio State
North Carolina
Iowa State
Notre Dame
Virginia Tech
NC State
Creighton
UCLA
Iowa
LSU
Utah
Arizona
Michigan
Maryland
Oregon
Marquette
Gonzaga
SDSU
Louisville
Baylor
Villanova
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Is Tennessee still ranked in Lady Vols writer Cora Hall's AP Top 25?
