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All for Tennessee Women’s Basketball Jan. 25 SEC Power Rankings: Lady Vols Slip

By Caleb Calhoun

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Jan 1, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; Kentucky head coach Matthew Mitchell yells at his players during the first half against Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brianna Paciorka/Knoxville News Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK
Jan 1, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; Kentucky head coach Matthew Mitchell yells at his players during the first half against Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brianna Paciorka/Knoxville News Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK /

Welcome to the hottest team in the SEC right now outside of the two best teams. The Kentucky Wildcats had a rough start in SEC play by starting out 1-2 with losses to the Tennessee Vols and Texas A&M Aggies and barely beating the Missouri Tigers.

But despite a worse overall record, the same conference record, and the head-to-head loss in comparison to the Aggies, the Wildcats have now done enough to move up in our SEC Power Rankings.

And they shot up after last week.

This team scored two huge road wins against the LSU Tigers and Auburn Tigers, both of whom were in the top half of the SEC last week and who still stand in the Top 30 of the RPI.

Before that, they had wins at Alabama and at home against Georgia.

So this team is on a four-game winning streak with three wins on the road. Matthew Mitchell’s team is clearly back on track after their start in the SEC knocked them out of the Top 25.

And defense is the name of the Wildcats.

Senior Makayla Epps is the overall leader on both sides of the floor, and her emotion is clearly propelling this team. Meanwhile, Evelyn Akhator has emerged as a superstar down low and is now a double-double machine.

Those two are the keys for the team, and they could be the biggest stars in the conference overall at their positions.

With a 14-6 record, 5-2 in the SEC, and a No. 14 ranked RPI spot due to their No. 2 ranked strength of schedule, the Wildcats are easily in position to be a Top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

With Ole Miss and Missouri up next, they have two winnable games this week, but they can’t relax. But then comes South Carolina.

So the Wildcats don’t get a real break any time soon.

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