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Tennessee Lady Vols No. 12 in both AP and Coaches Top 25 rankings

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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The Tennessee Lady Vols are now ranked No. 12 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches’ Poll. See how far the women’s basketball Volunteers jumped.

Following wins over the Florida Gators and the South Carolina Gamecocks to end the regular season, the Tennessee Lady Vols still enter postseason play outside of the Top 10. But they did jump multiple spots in both polls.

At 23-6 and 11-5 in the SEC, Holly Warlick’s team jumped three spots in the AP Poll to No. 12. They also jumped to the same spot in the USA TODAY Coaches’ Poll, but that was only jumping two spots.

The jump shows tentative support for this team. After all, they did blow out South Carolina to sweep them on the season. But in both games, A’ja Wilson did not play.

That’s why Dawn Staley’s team is still ranked No. 8, four spots ahead of the Tennessee Lady Vols. Faith in Tennessee is very limited at this point, and they have a lot to prove in the SEC Tournament.

Tennessee is only the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament, and their first game is Thursday against the Auburn Tigers. However, despite all this, they are getting significant love in the RPI.

The Lady Vols are No. 9 in the Women’s RPI due to their No. 8 ranked strength of schedule. The Mississippi State Bulldogs are the only SEC team with a higher ranking in the RPI. Meanwhile, it’s them and South Carolina as the only SEC teams with higher rankings in both the AP and Coaches Polls.

But somehow there are four other teams technically ahead of them in the conference standings. That should give you an idea of how loaded the top half of the league was throughout this season. It can be grueling for a young team like Tennessee to deal with.

So this wide range is why it’s difficult to project where the Tennessee Lady Vols will go in the NCAA Tournament. That’s why the SEC Tournament is so crucial for them. What is clear, however, is that people still have no idea what to make of this team. We all just know they’re good enough for postseason play.