Women’s SEC Power Rankings for Jan. 9: Are Lady Vols No. 1?

There’s obviously no debating this one at the moment. The Mississippi State Bulldogs are 17-0 an 3-0 in conference play. They are undefeated like the Tennessee Lady Vols and have significantly better conference wins than the Tennessee Lady Vols, most notably against the LSU Tigers on the road.

But blowing out the Georgia Bulldogs on the road also counts for more than anything Tennessee has done to this point, and while the Arkansas Razorbacks at home were a relatively easy opponent for this team, it’s not easy to beat them by 42. Simply put, the Bulldogs have dominated.

Their undefeated record is with the No. 15 ranked strength of schedule, so you know it’s legitimate. And it’s why there is no debate at this particular moment that they belong at No. 1 in our SEC Power Rankings.

That upset win over the UCONN Huskies last year started a wave for the program, and Vic Schaefer has continued it into this year, further validating his amazing work in turning Mississippi State into a national powerhouse.

With the Ole Miss Rebels and Alabama Crimson Tide both at home being the next two games, expect this team to move to 19-0. And that No. 3 RPI will likely stay where it is.

But then they get what it likely their toughest test with the Tennessee Lady Vols on the road. Should they pull that off, then going undefeated in the regular season is all of a sudden a real possibility. They’ll at least get to 22-0 before back to back games against the Missouri Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks.

With Mizzou, Tennessee, South Carolina and later in the year the Texas A&M Aggies still all on the slate, they have many more opportunities to beef up their resume. And they have more chances to fall. But for now, they’re clearly No. 1 in our SEC Power Rankings.