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Women’s basketball Jan. 23 SEC Power Rankings: Lady Vols take significant dive

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 21: Tennessee Volunteers fans hold up a cardboard photo of women's basketball coach Pat Summitt during the game against the Connecticut Huskies at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 21, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee defeated Connecticut 60-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 21: Tennessee Volunteers fans hold up a cardboard photo of women's basketball coach Pat Summitt during the game against the Connecticut Huskies at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 21, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee defeated Connecticut 60-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

Last week: Lost to South Carolina Gamecocks and Alabama Crimson Tide

Last rank: 12th

They lost two games last week. But one was to a team that fully healthy is among the Top 5 in the nation. Another was a two-point loss on the road to a team on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Despite being 5-16, that’s not a bad look.

The Vanderbilt Commodores aren’t going anywhere this year, but the way they are playing right now is enough for us to say that they don’t belong at the bottom of our SEC Power Rankings. After all, they did beat the Kentucky Wildcats by 15 points.

And they gave South Carolina a better game last week than Kentucky did. As a result, Stephanie White’s team is not looking terrible. They are only No. 131 in the RPI, which isn’t as bad as it could be when you look at their record.

That’s because they have the No. 9 ranked strength of schedule. If you follow this team, though, you know they are significantly better than they were to start the year. A series of bad early losses is the only reason the record looks so bad. Then they began brutal SEC play.

Unfortunately, that brutal play is not about to get any easier. Vanderbilt at least has a week off to regroup, but their next game is against the Texas A&M Aggies. In fact, three of their next four games are against Top 25 RPI teams. This team just can’t catch a break.