Does UConn deserve to be the No. 1 women’s college basketball team in the country?

Surprise: the UConn Huskies are No. 1 in the most recent AP poll, as they have been since Week 8. To those who don’t pay much attention to women’s college basketball, that might not seem like much of an event, or even worth writing about. In fact, it might seem like evidence that women’s college basketball isn’t worth paying attention to at all.

But what this ranking actually proves is that there is no clear front-runner in women’s college basketball right now, and voting for UConn — a team without a loss but also without a win against a decisive, top-tier team — is a convenient fallback option. The closest they’ve come is against No. 16 DePaul, who stayed within striking distance for much of the game.

Coach Geno Auriemma said as much himself earlier in the season (though since this comment, the Huskies have been looking a little bit more like their usual blowout-prone selves). “That’s not really true,” Auriemma told reporters when the team moved up to No. 2. “We’re just there because we haven’t lost yet. Everybody else happened to lose, but we ain’t No. 2 in the country.”

At this point, the Huskies are one of just four undefeated teams left in DI, down from 11 just two weeks ago, but only now is the team starting to face some actual competition. Their highly touted match-up against the reigning-champion No. 6 Baylor Lady Bears, who snapped the Huskies’ regular-season win streak a year ago, is Thursday — and yes, it’s airing on ESPN (No asterisk!). An exhibition game against Team USA is slated for later in January, and games against Oregon and South Carolina follow not long after.

Meanwhile, their peers at the top of the poll are entering much tougher periods of conference play — in particular, 14-0 Oregon State appears to be nipping at UConn’s heels for the top spot and is already garnering a few No. 1 votes of its own. I believe I heard the inimitable Debbie Antonelli say on Monday’s Maryland/Ohio State broadcast that the Beavers were her top choice, further convincing me that if I were an AP voter right now, they would be my pick too. (Oregon State has their own tough matchup this Friday against No. 18 Arizona.)

Auriemma and his team insist this Baylor game doesn’t really matter, that whether they win or lose it won’t impact their postseason chances. The fact is, they’re probably right — they’ve lost and successfully regrouped several times throughout the last few seasons. But a second consecutive loss to Baylor would further challenge the women’s college basketball status quo, which suggests that when in doubt, choose UConn. It might not be so easy anymore to say who’s the best, and that’s a good thing!

For Baylor’s part, the Lady Bears have been mostly dismantling other teams in easy matchups, aside from an upset loss to now-No. 4 South Carolina in November. They have the highest average margin of victory in the league right now (UConn is No. 8), according to Her Hoop Stats, with five players averaging double-digits. What they have that UConn hasn’t yet been compelled to contend with this season is size: Baylor’s strong post play has earned it the highest field-goal percentage in the country (though UConn actually has higher effective field-goal percentage), and the recent return of Lauren Cox should only bolster that number. They’re also the top defense in the country, according to Her Hoop Stats, while UConn is at No. 8 (interestingly, they average the same number of blocks, thanks in large part to the efforts of Olivia Nelson-Ododa).

What UConn is banking on is crafty guard play from Christyn Williams and Crystal Dangerfield, that prolific scorer Megan Walker will be herself, and that Nelson-Ododa will at least be able to slow down the Lady Bears in the paint, if not stop them completely. It’s time for them to prove what dynasties are all about, and frankly, who could ask for better television?

More games to watch

No. 21 Arkansas at No. 4 South Carolina, Jan. 9, 7 p.m. ET, SECN+/ESPN+

Yes, it’s at the same time, but SEC women’s basketball is worth a two-screen experience. Chelsea Dungee alone is must-see TV.

No. 3 Oregon State at No. 18 Arizona, Jan. 10, 10 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network/No. 2 Oregon at No. 18 Arizona, Jan. 12, 2 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

Poor Arizona is running the gauntlet this weekend, with two feisty Oregon teams coming to the desert to pad their resumes. Can the Beavers and/or Ducks get it done on the road or will Aari McDonald go off for a million points (or both)? These are going to be fun ones.

Texas at No. 19 West Virginia, Jan. 12, 1 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Go

I think it’s only airing/streaming regionally, but if you can figure out how to watch it, this one should be interesting, as Texas continues to jockey for a ranking following their big upset of Stanford and West Virginia tries to separate themselves from the pack.