After winning the 2007 national championship over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on April 3, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers wasted no time mounting their title defense, jumping out to a 5-0 start with impressive wins over the Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Longhorns and West Virginia Mountaineers.
Returning 6-foot-5 All-Everything Candace Parker, listed on the roster as a guard, forward and center, the Lady Vols have once again established themselves as the team to beat. The reigning Wooden Award winner, Parker has averaged 22.8 points on 54.5 percent from the field so far. She joined exclusive company when she was named a unanimous Preseason All-American, claiming the same historic honor as previous Div. I standouts Chamique Holdsclaw, Diana Taurasi, Alana Beard and Seimone Augustus.
Joining Parker on the Preseason All-American list are Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, the Stanford Cardinal's Candice Wiggins, the LSU Tigers' Sylvia Fowles, and the Maryland Terrapins' Crystal Langhorne. Paris, a junior who returns to the Sooners after averaging 23.5 points and 15.9 rebounds per game, won 2007's AP Player of the Year.
At No. 2 are the University of Connecticut Huskies, another perennial powerhouse with Hall of Fame leadership.
Huskies coach Geno Auriemma and Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt have certainly had an icy relationship over the years. Yet whether she likes the Huskies or not, Summitt will certainly feel UConn tugging at Tennessee's heels this season, as the Huskies have already handled top programs Stanford and the Duke Blue Devils by double digits.
While it might be the top rivalry in women's basketball, the UConn-Tennessee matchup will not take place for the first time since the 1993-94 season, the programs announced this summer. UConn had signed a contract to extend the series to the 2008-09 season, but the Vols declined the offer.
As a result, the Vols will not see the Huskies' balanced attack this season, unless the two square off in the NCAA Tournament come March, which, considering both team's starts, is not out of the realm of possibility.
UConn boasts a deep bench including freshman Maya Moore, who leads the team in scoring at 18.6 points per game. UConn has been getting contributions from nearly its entire roster, as the team averages 83 points per game with only two individuals in double figures. Six-foot-four sophomore center Tina Charles leads the team in rebounding and is second to Moore with 14.0 points a contest.
Rounding out the AP top five are 8-0 Maryland, the 7-0 North Carolina Tar Heels and 3-1 Rutgers. Stanford, the Georgia Bulldogs, LSU, Oklahoma and the Baylor Bears make up the rest of the top 10, and unlike on the men's side, the women's season has already hosted battles between many of these title contenders.
Rutgers entered the 2007-08 season with a big chip on its shoulder. Not only were the Scarlet Knights ousted after their improbable run to the national championship game last season, falling 59-46 to the Vols, but they also stood in the center of the infamous Don Imus controversy.
But coach C. Vivian Stringer's team has the tools to rebound. After not graduating a single player from last year's squad, Rutgers still boasts its stifling defense, allowing only an average of 47 points per game.
Fans will have to wait until Feb. 11 for a rematch of the Tennessee-Rutgers title game, when the Knights travel to Knoxville, but this season is certainly not lacking quality matchups. Saturday's UNC-Tennessee game and Maryland-Rutgers the following afternoon are the two biggest on the horizon. Stanford has a two-week break for exams after this weekend but returns to action with a huge Baylor showdown Dec. 16.
