More on WBB top 25

[jbgood57]

Found this in the Bristol News and thought I'd share it with the BB&B readers. In her own way Pat Summit pays Louisiana Tech several complements.



http://www.bristolnews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=TRI%2FMGArticle%2FTRI_BasicArti cle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031779582444&path=Variables.p ath





Column: Women's basketball more unpredictable and exciting

BY MIKE CONNOLLY
Assistant Sports Editor

Bristol Herald Courier

Dec 9, 4:00 AM EST


Pat Summitt thinks a little harder this year when she fills out her top 25 women’s basketball poll.
For the past several years, it’s been pretty simple. Write Connecticut and Tennessee at the top, mix a few other strong teams like Duke and Stanford in the next couple of spots and continue right down the list keeping mostly the same teams in the same places from week to week.

Women’s basketball usually sticks to the status quo more strictly than a drill sergeant marching new recruits in formation.

This year, those recruits are running wherever they please.

"The numbers frequently change where you position people," Tennessee’s head coach said. "It’s quite different now. There have always been some teams you could always put in the top 5 or top 10. We talk about parity a lot and now everyone says it’s here."

Nobody understands how quickly the rankings can change better than Summitt. Her Lady Vols were ranked No. 1 entering the season and quickly fell after a Thanksgiving Day loss at Texas. A home loss to Duke on Dec. 2 dropped Tennessee all the way down to No. 9.

It could have been even worse. Tennessee only beat unranked Temple by four points, 52-48.

Even mighty Connecticut is not unbeatable this year. The Huskies won the last three national championships with dominant seasons, but already lost to North Carolina this year. They even had to go to overtime to beat unranked South Florida.

Few preseason favorites remain unbeaten. Texas lost to Georgia, which has two losses of its own. No. 5 Notre Dame dealt No. 3 Duke its only loss, but the Irish then lost to Michigan State.

Only No. 1 Louisiana State, led by consensus preseason player of the year Seimone Augustus, have played like one of the unbeatable juggernauts that usually rule women’s basketball. No. 2 Stanford is also unbeaten, but has played just one ranked team - Texas Tech.

Part of the reason for the increase in parity in college basketball is Summitt’s fault. Teams are following the same formula that she used to build the Lady Vols into a powerhouse.

Summitt identified Louisiana Tech as the top level program she wanted her squad to emulate. With three national titles, the Lady Techsters set a high standard. Summitt’s teams lost seven straight to Louisiana Tech in the 1980s, but those games showed the Lady Vols what it took to win.

"They dominated us and made us better," Summitt said. "When you play teams that are better than you, it makes you better."

Throughout the 1990s, Tennessee was one of the standards of excellence in women’s basketball.

Like Lousianna Tech showed the Lady Vols how to play, Summitt gave other teams first-hand lessons in great women’s basketball through difficult schedules full of ranked opponents. Now those teams are applying those lessons and making women’s basketball more unpredictable and exciting.

Tennessee’s schedule is full of tough games for the rest of the season. No. 15 DePaul visits Knoxville on Sunday before Tennessee travels to face Louisiana Tech on Dec. 15. Other difficult matchups against No. 25 TCU, No. 2 Stanford, No. 24 Rutgers and Old Dominion lie in Tennessee’s path before the highly anticipated showdown with Connecticut on Jan. 8.

That game usually is between No. 1 and No. 2. This year, both teams might only be ranked in the top 10.

This season has been quite unusual for women’s basketball. Tennessee and Connecticut look mortal. Louisiana Tech is out of the top 25 for the first time in 23 years. There might actually be a slew of upsets in the NCAA Tournament.

But, eventually, things should sort themselves out by the end of the year, Summitt believes. Tennessee is trying to blend seven freshmen into its roster while Connecticut searches for life after Diana Taurasi. When the tournament begins, answers to those questions should be found.

"I will be surprised if you don’t see a lot of those teams come back up and get into the top 5," Summitt said.

That could end up being the most shocking part of this whole season. After all the early season upsets and unrest in the top 25, the usual suspects could still rule the Final Four. Teams like Tennessee and Connecticut might start the tournament as No. 2 or 3 seeds, but they still intend on getting back to the top.

Parity may have finally arrived in women’s college basketball, but that doesn’t mean the big girls have to like it.

[dawg80]

Is that why the Lady Vols' unis are trimmed in Techsters' blue?

[champion110]

That is exactly the reason. Summit stated that in the 80's. No one can deny that Tech set the standard. Hopefully, we can get back to that standard in the near future. However, we may see the end of any one school dominating the scene for that long. It was Tech, then Tenn., then UConn. We shall see if there is another. I have a feeling it will be more like the men's teams now, though, with parity.

[bulldawg03]

Say what you will about Pat Summit, but I have nothing but great respect for that women. She has stood faithfully by us, even since Barmore left. Sometimes I wonder if, in her book, she ranks us higher and is more loyal to Tech than any other team.

[dawg80]

Pat Summit is a class act.

I could say more, ya know about her 7(?) national championships, etc... but I think that simple sentence says it all.