At this point, only three women's college basketball teams are undefeated: the Vanderbilt Commodores, the UConn Huskies, and the Texas Tech Lady Raiders. UConn's success this season is little surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the program Geno Auriemma has been building of late (or, you know, over the past 40+ years); the Commodores have been diligently committed to the path laid out by head coach Shea Ralph when she moved to Nashville a few years ago.
But the Lady Raiders? They've emerged as a bit of a surprise for anyone who doesn't regularly watch the Big 12, and their current success has many fans of college basketball intrigued and curious: just who is this team, and how good are they?
This is the best Lady Raiders roster in years
The Associated Press ranked the team at No. 17 overall in its January 12 poll, soon after the Lady Raiders beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 71-60. That win was the first against the Bearcats for the program in its history.
There's no denying that this season's roster is the strongest the team has had in several years — even though the team's home attendance doesn't match the performances they're putting in (yet). They've pulled out several 20+ wins over their opponents and have consistently been ranked in the top 25 of college teams throughout the non-conference and conference season.
The Lady Raiders are also awaiting the confirmed arrival of Stephanie Okechukwu, the 7'1" center the team signed in January. The team's staff is working with Okechuwku to get her on the court, and once she's out there, there may be very few teams who can get in their way (that is, until March Madness roll around).
Okechukwu is originally from Umunneochi, Nigeria, and attended college in Japan. Her recruitment was part of an extended effort by the program to evaluate and bring in more international players (that list has included Gemma Núñez (who came to the school from Spain), Julie Nekolná (Czech Republic), Mariam Sanogo (France) and Sarengbe Sanogo (France).
The Lady Raiders will soon face serious challenges
The team's upcoming games include matches against Iowa State on January 28 and TCU on February 1, back to back home games that will truly test that undefeated record (if Kansas State, BYU, and Utah don't get there first).
Those challenges will be good for a team that hasn't made it to the NCAA Tournament since 2013, and that hasn't seen a lot of conference success in the intervening years.