AP Poll: Lady Vols Unanimous No. 1

Monday, Nov. 19, 2007 | 6:53 a.m.

A pair of wins against Top 25 teams kept Tennessee a unanimous choice at No. 1.

The Lady Vols once again received all 50 first-place votes in the AP poll Monday and totaled 1,250 points - 64 more than No. 2 Connecticut.

Tennessee (3-0) edged then-No. 9 Oklahoma 70-67 and routed No. 21 Texas 92-67 last week.

Auburn, meanwhile, entered the poll at No. 24 - the first time the Tigers have been ranked since the final ballot of the 2004 season. Auburn has won its first three games by an average of 28 points.

"It's taken a lot of hard work to get the program back to where it has been in the past," Auburn coach Nell Fortner said. "It's nice to see a little bit of that work pay off. It's going to be a lot harder to stay there in that upper echelon."

The Tigers have a tough road ahead, playing in Ohio State's Classic this week and Arizona State's tournament next weekend.

"It's a very tough schedule," Fortner said. "It's a challenge to see if our team is ready. The games we've played have consistently gotten tougher. I think that will continue as we go."

Fortner took over in 2004 and Auburn has improved every year. Last season, the Tigers were 21-13, and reached the round of eight in the Women's NIT.

Maryland (5-0) remained No. 3 after beating then-No. 23 Notre Dame 75-59 and routing then-No. 4 LSU 75-62 on Sunday.

"I'll take it one day at a time," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "I love in the first five games we've played teams that will make us better."

Stanford moved up to fourth and North Carolina is fifth. The Tar Heels jumped up two spots, but lost guard Alex Miller to a knee injury.

LSU fell to sixth and Rutgers, despite beating George Washington 67-42 on Sunday, dropped to seventh. Georgia, Duke and Oklahoma finish out the top 10.

Texas A&M, California and Baylor remained 11th through 13th. Arizona State and Ohio State each moved up a spot. West Virginia moved up three spots to 16th. The Mountaineers will host Tennessee on Wednesday. George Washington fell to 17th.

DePaul made the biggest jump, moving up six spots to 18th after beating then No. 18 Florida State. Michigan State and Florida State round out the top 20.

Texas, Purdue, Notre Dame, Auburn and Vanderbilt held the final five spots. Purdue entered the poll for the first time this season. The Boilermakers had been ranked every week the last two years.

Louisville and Wisconsin fell out of the poll after losses. The Cardinals were beaten by both Western Carolina and Minnesota. The Badgers lost to Marquette.

Connecticut, Stanford, Duke, and Texas A&M all play in the Paradise Jam tournament this week.