How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Let's talk about conference play
It's always interesting to see how rankings might get shaken up in conference play, and this week the Big 12 teams showed they came to play.
While Iowa State sits atop the conference with an unblemished 5-0 record, Oklahoma is right behind them at 4-1 with a big upset over Baylor this week – it's the first time the Sooners beat Baylor since 2015. Madi Williams and Skylar Vann and leading that Oklahoma team to a great start.
Watch out for Texas Tech, which has upset both Texas and Kansas State. Kansas also pulled off an upset Texas and was three points away from doing the same to Baylor.
Louisville and NC State are dominating ACC play, and right behind them is Notre Dame and ... Virginia Tech. Meanwhile Duke is sitting No. 9 in the conference after taking two losses to the Hokies in its first five ACC matchups. Virginia Tech earned back my votes. They've been hovering just outside the top 25, and are still a solid team with one of the best centers in the country and some great shooters.
LAST WEEK: How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Newcomers earn my votes in week nine
WEEK 8: How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Yes, South Carolina is still No. 1
WEEK 6: How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in AP Top 25: Top 10 musical chairs continues
Indiana and Michigan sit at the top of the Big Ten, and the Wolverines pulled off a massive win over Maryland in College Park, 69-49, on Sunday. Iowa handed two losses to Nebraska and Ohio State has only taken losses to Indiana and Michigan in conference play.
The Pac-12 took some hits with COVID-19 outbreaks on teams, so the start of conference play was a bit delayed. But the Pac-12 hasn't disappointed so far. Stanford holds the No. 1 spot, with Colorado right behind them. The Cardinal are the only team to beat the Buffs this season.
Oregon came up with a massive upset at home in overtime over Arizona on Saturday. The Ducks got hit with injuries early this season but look ready to shake things up in conference play.
Last, but not least, the SEC. Tennessee sits alone at the top of the SEC, going undefeated through six conference games. South Carolina is next, with one loss to Missouri and a win over LSU, which is in third.
Perhaps the most surprising fall from the top is Texas A&M, who is 1-4 to start SEC play. The Aggies are the reigning SEC regular season champions and were favored to finish near the top of the conference in Gary Blair's last season.
With that, here is my AP Top 25 ballot:
1. South Carolina
2. Stanford
3. Tennessee
4. Louisville
5. NC State
6. Indiana
7. Michigan
8. Arizona
9. Iowa State
10. LSU
11. Maryland
12. UConn
13. Texas
14. Georgia Tech
15. Oklahoma
16. Georgia
17. Notre Dame
18. BYU
19. Duke
20. Baylor
21. DePaul
22. North Carolina
23. Virginia Tech
24. Colorado
25. Kansas State
Cora Hall: Covering UT women's athletics
Twitter | cora.hall@knoxnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25 week 10
