OSU women drop eight spots after two losses; OU up one spot
BY Staff and Wire Reports
Monday, January 07, 2013
Baylor is back where it started the season — No. 1.
The Lady Bears regained the top spot in The Associated Press women's basketball poll Monday after former No. 1 Connecticut lost to Notre Dame on Saturday.
Baylor, which received 32 first-place votes this week, was the top choice in the preseason after going 40-0 last year. The Lady Bears had a run of 21 straight weeks at No. 1 end with a neutral site loss to Stanford in November.
While Baylor coach Kim Mulkey was happy her team was back at No. 1, she was focused on other things.
"I never worry about it because I've come to learn that the only thing that matters is championships in your conferences, a good seed in the NCAA tournament," she said after Baylor's rout of Oklahoma State on Sunday. "You don't have to be ranked No. 1 to get a No. 1 seed or to even be the overall No. 1 seed. I think the (NCAA) selection committee uses it as a gauge, but because you're No. 1 in the country doesn't mean you're going to be the No. 1 seed. I don't put much stock in it, other than it might bring a little recognition to your school, your program."
The Lady Bears host Iowa State, which came into the poll at No. 25, and visit 17th-ranked Kansas this week.
Notre Dame jumped up three spots to No. 2 after its thrilling one-point victory at UConn. The Irish, who received two first-place votes, have only lost at home this season to Baylor. The Huskies fell to third, marking just the second time the school lasted one week at No. 1. In 2004, UConn ascended to the top spot on Feb. 23 before losing to Boston College a few days later.
UConn still has games left this season against Baylor, Notre Dame and No. 4 Duke, which is the only undefeated team left in Division I. The Blue Devils received four first-place votes.
"The beauty of college basketball is that so many of the top teams play each other," said voter Marcus Henry, who writes for Newsday. "That also makes it tougher to put together a poll each week."
Henry kept Connecticut at No. 1.
With Baylor, Stanford and UConn all holding the top spot so far this season, it's the first time since 2006 that there have been this many different teams reaching No. 1 in the poll.
"It's great for women's basketball, having different teams upsetting different teams," said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, whose Cardinal were ranked fifth. "That's the direction we're going in a little bit."
Stanford is followed by Kentucky, California, Penn State, Tennessee and Maryland.
Oklahoma State had the biggest drop, falling eight spots to No. 21 after losing twice.
Miami also re-entered the Top 25 as Nebraska and Arkansas fell out.
OU rose one spot to No. 16 after winning Saturday at Texas.
The AP Women's Top 25
Record Pts Prv
1. Baylor (32) 12-1 984 2
2. Notre Dame (2) 12-1 945 5
3. UConn (2) 12-1 907 1
4. Duke (4) 13-0 903 3
5. Stanford 13-1 860 4
6. Kentucky 13-1 791 6
7. California 12-1 747 7
8. Penn St. 12-2 706 9
9. Tennessee 11-3 667 12
10. Maryland 10-3 596 8
11. North Carolina 15-1 581 15
12. Purdue 13-2 537 14
13. Georgia 13-2 506 10
14. UCLA 11-2 451 16
15. Louisville 12-3 411 11
16. Oklahoma 12-2 388 17
17. Kansas 11-2 264 21
18. Florida St. 12-2 255 19
18. South Carolina 13-2 255 18
20. Texas A&M 12-4 241 24
21. Oklahoma St. 10-2 229 13
22. Dayton 12-1 225 22
23. Colorado 11-2 121 20
24. Miami 12-2 115 —
25. Iowa St. 11-1 91 —
Others receiving votes: Nebraska 74, Vanderbilt 59, Michigan 25, Syracuse 22, Arkansas 14, DePaul 7, Michigan St. 7, UTEP 6, Illinois 4, Villanova 3, Texas Tech 2, Wyoming 1.
