Women's Basketball Rankings Prompt Questions

Following Connecticut's loss to Stanford on Thursday, which concluded an amazing 90-game winning streak, it was unclear how the rankings would shake out. With the new AP poll released today, available in full on ESPN.com, the Huskies fell to No. 2 while Baylor rose one spot to the top. Stanford gained two places, moving to No. 4 and Duke remained third.

This new configuration of the rankings is pretty illogical. Beginning with Baylor, which received 23 of 40 first place votes, it is peculiar that the Bears are number one given that they lost to the Huskies earlier in the season. This is a classic case of the voters over-emphasizing a recent loss when choosing how to cast their votes. The schools have had similarly difficult schedules (both having played multiple ranked teams), and both teams have one loss. Yet, even though Connecticut beat Baylor earlier in the season, the Bears are inexplicably ranked above them.

Next, there is Duke - the only undefeated team among the top four - and the only team other than Connecticut that should have a logical claim at No. 1. Though it is an understandable argument that the Blue Devils have not done enough to earn the top ranking, despite having defeated two top ten teams, they also aren't receiving a fair shake in the poll. The fact that Duke garnered only one first place votes is an indictment of this, especially when Stanford - the only of the group to have two losses - earned two first place votes. This was the only poll since the first of the season in which any school other than Connecticut received a first place vote, when Baylor got one.

The reality is that the rankings today don't mean much, especially with conference play looming. Connecticut has nine remaining matches against ranked opponents, including one on January 31st against Duke, which has eight more matches against ranked teams. So, difficult roads lie ahead for both teams. Baylor faces five more ranked teams, while Stanford's only two are against conference rival and current No. 12 UCLA. But for now, it's just a little perplexing as to why Baylor has the No. 1 ranking.