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All for Tennessee Women’s Basketball SEC Power Rankings for Feb. 8: Huge Drop for Lady Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 4, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick speaks with her team during the second half against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Baylor won 88 to 66. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick speaks with her team during the second half against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Baylor won 88 to 66. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 6, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs head coach Vic Schaefer yells from the bench in the first quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the women's SEC basketball tournament at Jacksonville Memorial Veterans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs head coach Vic Schaefer yells from the bench in the first quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the women’s SEC basketball tournament at Jacksonville Memorial Veterans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports /

And of course, with the South Carolina Gamecocks at No. 2, it was obvious the Mississippi State Bulldogs would be No. 1 in our Women’s SEC Power Rankings for this week.

Nothing that happened this past week was enough to drop Vic Schaefer’s team out of that No. 1 spot.

Now yes, they are one spot below South Carolina in the RPI with their 23-1 record and 9-1 SEC record due to their No. 19 ranked strength of schedule. And South Carolina has the tiebreaker over them for the SEC regular season championship due to their head-to-head win since the teams won’t meet again in the regular season.

But that was a three-point loss on the road in Columbia. So on a neutral court, the Bulldogs still look like the team that would win. After all, nothing changes the fact that Mississippi State owned Tennessee in Knoxville while the Lady Vols beat the Gamecocks in Columbia.

And this past week, the Bulldogs on average had better wins. Missouri is higher on our list than Kentucky, and Auburn is higher up than Arkansas.

The Bulldogs have the Vanderbilt Commodores at home and the Ole Miss Rebels on the road this week. Both are games they should easily win. Assuming they do and assuming South Carolina beats Auburn, our position on the No. 1 spot in these SEC Power Rankings will come down to what the Gamecocks do against the Huskies this week.