All for Tennessee
Fansided

Women’s SEC Power Rankings Feb. 13: Lady Vols continue rising

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 15
Next
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

Last week: Lost to Missouri Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs

Last rank: 8th

Before last week, it looked like Matthew Mitchell could sneak his team back in the mix to another NCAA Tournament and keep that streak alive. But they hit reality last week against two good teams, and the losses were enough for us to drop them in our SEC Power Rankings.

To be fair, it’s not terrible to lose to the Missouri Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. And they gave Mizzou a major fight, which is why we only dropped them one spot in our rankings. Also, that drop was due to what another team did.

Overall, it’s pretty clear that this Kentucky team has been getting better in recent weeks. But with a 12-14 record and 4-8 conference record, that improvement is a day late and a dollar short. The Wildcats have almost no shot at the NCAA Tournament.

Currently, Kentucky has the No. 97 ranked RPI. That’s due to their No. 32 ranked strength of schedule, which doesn’t justify a losing record for a team thinking it’s good enough to get to the NCAA Tournament. So the Wildcats need a strong run to try to get onto the Bubble. That’s highly unlikely.

Kentucky’s final four games include two against teams significantly worse in these SEC Power Rankings. The other two are likely losses at the South Carolina Gamecocks and at home against Mississippi State again. It’s hard to see them winning those games. So they’re likely done.