Tennessee’s women’s basketball team is one of the most storied programs in sports history, but recently broke a streak it would have been happy to continue.
In the latest AP Top 25 for women’s basketball, the Lady Vols (16-11, 7-7 SEC) have fallen out of the rankings for the first time in 31 years.
POLL ALERT: Tennessee’s 31-year run in AP Top 25 women’s poll ends; went 565 weeks ranked. https://t.co/Icw26NixFA pic.twitter.com/FfxQKg39zq
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) February 22, 2016
Tennessee was ranked No. 24 last week, but then lost two of three to fall out entirely. The longest streak in terms of being in the women’s Top 25 now belongs to No. 1 UConn, but Huskies fans should pump the brakes in terms of breaking the Lady Vols’ record. As great a coach as Hall of Famer Geno Auriemma is, the AP states that it would take UConn about seven years to match Tennessee’s streak.
The good news is that the season isn’t over yet, so Tennessee should have the opportunity to get back in the rankings with a strong performance this week.