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Tennessee Lady Vols should have been in top 25 after beating Indiana win

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 10, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Lady Vols guard Jordan Horston (25) brings the ball up court against the Furman Lady Paladins during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 10, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Lady Vols guard Jordan Horston (25) brings the ball up court against the Furman Lady Paladins during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The AP and Coaches Polls ignored the Tennessee Lady Vols.

Where is the love for Kellie Harper’s Tennessee Lady Vols? Does a road win against a top 15 team count for nothing this early in the season? Apparently, an overtime loss against another Power Five team on the road with a winning record counts worse.

Coming off a huge 66-58 upset win over the Indiana Hoosiers last Thursday, who were 2-1 and ranked No. 15 in both polls, UT remained out of the top 25 of both polls this week despite moving to 5-1 on the season Sunday. This week’s AP Poll, released Sunday, had them at No. 31 with 12 votes, and the Coaches Poll, released Tuesday, had them tied at No. 39 with three votes.

Somehow, though, Indiana only dropped to No. 18 in the Coaches Poll and No. 19 in the AP Poll. How could they remain a top 20 team with a 3-2 record while the Tennessee Lady Vols, who beat them on the road, aren’t even in the top 25 with a 5-1 record?

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None of this makes sense. Sure, WVU is 5-2 with losses to the Baylor Bears and Oklahoma State Cowgirls. However, there’s no shame in that, and they did blow out a Power Five team themselves, the LSU Tigers, even if this year’s LSU team is not that good.

Simply put, UT’s win at Indiana should outweigh its loss to WVU, and even if it’s going to be left out of the top 25, the team it beat should not remain in the top 20 after being No. 15. Something just isn’t up with that.

Indiana isn’t the only team unjustly ahead of the Tennessee Lady Vols either. The distance between them and Harper’s team just happens to be the most egregious. However, there are other two-loss teams who also shouldn’t be ahead of them.

Take the Gonzaga Bulldogs, for instance. This team is 5-2 and has no Power Five wins. One of its losses is to the South Carolina Gamecocks, which is understandable. The other, however, is to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. So Gonzaga has one more loss than UT despite playing the same number of ranked teams and one less Power Five team. Yet they are No. 23 in both polls.

Another two-loss team, the Missouri Lady Bears, also faced one top 25 team, the Maryland Terrapins, and lost. They lost to South Dakota State as well and are 4-2 on the year. Somehow, though, they’re No. 24 in both polls.

By the way, South Dakota State has as much gripe as UT. They beat both Missouri State and Gonzaga and also have two losses but are No. 25 in the Coaches Poll, behind both teams, and are only receiving votes in the AP Poll. Still, all three teams are ahead of Rocky Top in those polls, and that’s completely unfair.

We can be fair to some two-loss teams. The UCLA Bruins, have played five Power Five schools and two top 10 schools. They are fine at No. 11. It’s a bit dicier with the DePaul Blue Demons, as they have a 41-point loss to the Louisville Cardinals, but both of their losses are to ranked teams, and they did beat the Kentucky Wildcats, a top 25 team.

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In general, though, the Tennessee Lady Vols have a much better resume early on this year than lots of other teams, and it makes no sense to leave them behind some of these teams. You have to question what’s in the minds of voters.