How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Two more SEC teams earn my vote
After another week of conference chaos, my top three teams were undefeated last week.
No. 1 South Carolina continues to stack up blowout wins in SEC play, NC State beat North Carolina and Colorado swept its road trip to the state of Washington. The Wolfpack are the only ones not sitting atop their conference, but they'll have a chance tonight to move into No. 1 in the ACC with a matchup against Louisville.
The Buffs' wins put them in a tie for No. 1 in the Pac-12 after Stanford's loss to USC. JuJu Watkins led the Trojans to a victory with 51 points, nearly outscoring the Cardinal herself. Watkins is a generational talent, plain and simple. USC moves up two spots to No. 8.
Stanford split the week with a 20-point win over UCLA, which is still without Lauren Betts due to an undisclosed medical reason. The Cardinal dropped one spot after going 1-1 against the LA teams.
UCLA dropped only one spot due to the movement in the top 10 and Betts' absence. The Bruins are just a different team without her. UCLA coach Cori Close said she expects Betts to play again this season, so hopefully she's OK and able to return sooner rather than later.
Who's new to my ballot (or just returning after a hiatus)
Oklahoma's upset of No. 2 Kansas State put it at the top of the Big 12 standings. It's not like they had a breezy schedule, either. The Sooners got wins over the Wildcats and Texas to go 9-1 in conference play, and their only loss is to Kansas State on the road. Oklahoma returns to my ballot at No. 22 this week.
My two other additions to this week's ballot are from everyone's favorite conference: the SEC.
With Mississippi State's signature win and Tennessee holding onto second in the conference, both teams are on my ballot this week. There isn't a single other Power Five conference that doesn't have its second-place team ranked, and the SEC's depth gives me no reason to make it the exception.
The Lady Vols are 7-2 in the SEC, and they haven't had the easiest schedule to start conference play. They played five of those games on the road with back-to-back road games twice. Tennessee also beat both Auburn and Mississippi State on the road – two teams LSU lost to on the road, which speaks to the depth of the conference this season.
Most of Tennessee's losses were also without its best player, Rickea Jackson, due to an early season injury. The Lady Vols are 11-3 with Jackson now, and it's abundantly clear they are a different team with her on the court – and I don't think there are 25 teams in the country better than them with Jackson in the lineup. Say what you want about the defense, but Tennessee is stacking wins up in conference play right now.
WEEK 11: How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Good vs. bad losses in conference play
The Bulldogs took down LSU at home, adding a signature win to their resume. Mississippi State's nonconference schedule was pretty weak, so it needed to prove itself in SEC play – and it certainly did that. The Bulldogs just need to be consistent now, but 19-5 and 6-3 in the SEC isn't a bad spot to be at all.
Cora Hall's AP Top 25 ballot for Week 13
South Carolina
NC State
Colorado
Iowa
Stanford
Texas
UCLA
USC
Kansas State
Ohio State
Notre Dame
UConn
Oregon State
Utah
LSU
Louisville
Virginia Tech
Baylor
Indiana
Gonzaga
Syracuse
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Mississippi State
North Carolina
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted for more SEC teams in AP Top 25
