Jennifer
12-10-2001, 04:56 PM
UConn Almost Unanimous No. 1
By CHUCK SCHOFFNER
AP Sports Writer
Connecticut moved closer to becoming a unanimous choice at No. 1 Monday in The AP women's basketball poll, which looks a lot like the previous one.
The poll has the same top-seven as last week, with Tulane and Auburn as newcomers.
UConn (10-0) received 42 of 45 first-place votes from a national media panel after capping a week of impressive victories by beating Louisiana Tech. The other three
first-place votes went to No. 2 Tennessee (6-0).
Last week, Connecticut had 41 first-place votes and Tennessee four.
UConn had 1,122 points in the voting, Tennessee 1,081 and No. 3 Oklahoma 1,024. Vanderbilt was fourth with 991 points.
Connecticut, No. 1 all season, has an average victory margin of 38 points. Last week's games were typical for the Huskies - a 60-point blowout of St. John's and a 43-point
win over Holy Cross, followed by a 74-50 victory over Louisiana Tech, which fell from eighth to 11th in the poll.
Tennessee beat Boston College 75-66 in its only game last week. Before that, the Lady Vols' closest game had been a 15-point win over Louisiana Tech.
Oklahoma (9-0) is off to its best start since the 1984-85 season, when the Sooners won their first 10. Vanderbilt (10-1) has lost only to Connecticut and is shooting 56.4
percent.
Iowa State remained fifth, two points ahead of Stanford. They two were tied for fifth last week. Purdue held at No. 7, Duke jumped three places to eighth, Baylor remained ninth
and Georgia went from 13th to 10th.
Louisiana Tech dropped only to 11th despite a 2-3 record. All three of Tech's losses were to teams now in the Top Ten - Connecticut, Tennessee and Duke.
Texas Tech was 12th and Colorado 13th, followed by Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Colorado State, Texas and Florida.
LSU, Tulane, South Carolina, Old Dominion and Auburn held the final five places. Penn State and Drake dropped out.
Tulane (8-1) made the Top 25 for the first time since the final poll of the 1999-2000 season. The Green Wave own a victory over Florida and have lost only to Purdue.
Auburn (9-0) was ranked for the first nine weeks last season, reaching as high as 12th. The Lady Tigers have good balance offensively and are playing their usual sticky
defense, holding opponents to 34.3 percent shooting.
Penn State (5-3), 22nd last week, dropped out after splitting two games. The Lady Lions lost to Old Dominion in overtime and beat Maryland.
Drake (3-2), which had been 24th, lasted only one week in the Top 25 after joining for the first time in 3 1/2 years. The Bulldogs lost to Iowa State 90-60 in their only game
last week.
Wisconsin made the biggest jump within the poll, moving from 19th to 15th after beating North Carolina State, its third victory over a ranked team this season.
North Carolina State fell from 10th to 16th to match the biggest drop. Colorado State tumbled six places to 18th after a 75-72 loss to Florida International.
By CHUCK SCHOFFNER
AP Sports Writer
Connecticut moved closer to becoming a unanimous choice at No. 1 Monday in The AP women's basketball poll, which looks a lot like the previous one.
The poll has the same top-seven as last week, with Tulane and Auburn as newcomers.
UConn (10-0) received 42 of 45 first-place votes from a national media panel after capping a week of impressive victories by beating Louisiana Tech. The other three
first-place votes went to No. 2 Tennessee (6-0).
Last week, Connecticut had 41 first-place votes and Tennessee four.
UConn had 1,122 points in the voting, Tennessee 1,081 and No. 3 Oklahoma 1,024. Vanderbilt was fourth with 991 points.
Connecticut, No. 1 all season, has an average victory margin of 38 points. Last week's games were typical for the Huskies - a 60-point blowout of St. John's and a 43-point
win over Holy Cross, followed by a 74-50 victory over Louisiana Tech, which fell from eighth to 11th in the poll.
Tennessee beat Boston College 75-66 in its only game last week. Before that, the Lady Vols' closest game had been a 15-point win over Louisiana Tech.
Oklahoma (9-0) is off to its best start since the 1984-85 season, when the Sooners won their first 10. Vanderbilt (10-1) has lost only to Connecticut and is shooting 56.4
percent.
Iowa State remained fifth, two points ahead of Stanford. They two were tied for fifth last week. Purdue held at No. 7, Duke jumped three places to eighth, Baylor remained ninth
and Georgia went from 13th to 10th.
Louisiana Tech dropped only to 11th despite a 2-3 record. All three of Tech's losses were to teams now in the Top Ten - Connecticut, Tennessee and Duke.
Texas Tech was 12th and Colorado 13th, followed by Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Colorado State, Texas and Florida.
LSU, Tulane, South Carolina, Old Dominion and Auburn held the final five places. Penn State and Drake dropped out.
Tulane (8-1) made the Top 25 for the first time since the final poll of the 1999-2000 season. The Green Wave own a victory over Florida and have lost only to Purdue.
Auburn (9-0) was ranked for the first nine weeks last season, reaching as high as 12th. The Lady Tigers have good balance offensively and are playing their usual sticky
defense, holding opponents to 34.3 percent shooting.
Penn State (5-3), 22nd last week, dropped out after splitting two games. The Lady Lions lost to Old Dominion in overtime and beat Maryland.
Drake (3-2), which had been 24th, lasted only one week in the Top 25 after joining for the first time in 3 1/2 years. The Bulldogs lost to Iowa State 90-60 in their only game
last week.
Wisconsin made the biggest jump within the poll, moving from 19th to 15th after beating North Carolina State, its third victory over a ranked team this season.
North Carolina State fell from 10th to 16th to match the biggest drop. Colorado State tumbled six places to 18th after a 75-72 loss to Florida International.