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

Despite one less win than the Ole Miss Rebels, the Arkansas Razorbacks are significantly higher in the RPI thanks to a much tougher strength of schedule. That was enough for us to put them ahead of Ole Miss in our SEC Power Rankings after they beat the Rebels.

Now, to be fair, beating the Rebels alone may not have been enough. After all, it was only a one-point game, and Arkansas was playing at home. After that they were blown out by the Mississippi State Bulldogs.  And that’s why these teams aren’t too far apart overall.

After all, Arkansas may have a tougher strength of schedule by the numbers, but they haven’t yet beaten a Top 100 RPI team either. So there’s not much for them to brag about at this point.

To be fair, in his first year as head coach, Mike Neighbors has this team playing with a different mentality than Jimmy Dykes did. And they were competitive with the Alabama Crimson Tide. At 10-6 and with a No. 63 RPI ranking, the Hogs are in very good position to try to make a run at the NCAA Tournament. And it looks like they will at least come close.

However, they’re going to have to win the easier SEC games and steal a few. That means winning at home against the Florida Gators and on the road against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Sweeping the Kentucky Wildcats would help, and then they need to steal a few.

They have a chance this week with the Georgia Bulldogs on the road. Following that, they have a major road test against a team on their level who is just above them in our SEC Power Rankings.