Your first look at women's hoops in 2010-11

I'm not on the Associated Press voting panel, so this is probably all irrelevant.

But here is one guy's guess on a preseason Top 25 for next year in Division I women's college basketball.

This much is clear: In the women's game, there's nothing that resembles parity. From year to year, somebody like Maryland, Purdue, Notre Dame or Duke crops up to join the frontrunners. But by and large, there's Connecticut, Tennessee, Stanford ... and there's everybody else.

Anyway, here's your first glimpse into 2010-11, from a mere amateur. I've taken the initiative to assume Connecticut over Stanford for this year's title.

1. CONNECTICUT (39-0) -- Only three teams in this year's final rankings lose more of their scoring punch (the Huskies return only 52.9 percent of their points). But Maya Moore returns, the recruiting class will be dynamite and with 78 consecutive wins, UConn has to be No. 1 until somebody knocks them off.

2. BAYLOR (27-10) -- Brittney Griner is known for dunking (the basketball) and decking (opponents). She leads a talented den of sophomores and juniors. Connecticut's No. 1, but Baylor's my early pick to grab the national championship.

3. STANFORD (36-2) -- Jayne Appel graduates, but there are many reasons to continue to Fear The Tree. Two of them have the last name of Ogwumike (that's oh-GWOOM-i-ke): Nnemkadi is a former Gatorade national player of the year; younger sis Chiney is the current one. She'll be a freshman.

4. TENNESSEE (32-3) -- The Lady Vols are one of four teams in next year's rankings that do not graduate anybody. Originally, I had UT as the No. 1 team. After seeing them fall apart late against Baylor in the regional semifinals, I decided otherwise.

5. XAVIER (30-4) -- Musketeers will be thinking about the final 15 seconds of their regional final with Stanford for ... well, forever. How will Final Four near-miss affect them in the offseason? Certainly there's enough talent there to compete with the heavyweights.

6. KENTUCKY (28-8) -- The women advanced just as far as the men this year in Bluegrass country, reaching the Elite Eight and playing Oklahoma close before fading late. Kentucky will push Tennessee in the SEC.

7. WEST VIRGINIA (29-6) -- Like Tennessee, the Mountaineers return each and every player for 2011. This is the new challenger for Connecticut in the Big East.

8. OHIO STATE (31-5) -- Laid an egg in the second round of the NCAA, but Jantel Lavender and Samantha Prahalis make the Buckeyes the team to beat (again) in the Big Ten.

9. GEORGETOWN (26-7) -- Ninety-four percent of the scoring returns from a team that fashioned a 16-game winning streak midway through the season.

10. DUKE (30-6) -- Third-team All-American Jasmine Thomas highlights a roster that had a Final Four berth in its grasp before Baylor rallied in the final 3 minutes.

11. UCLA (25-9) -- The Pac-10's main hope (OK, only hope) of ending Stanford's run of 10 straight conference championships.

12. ST. JOHN'S (25-7) -- Came within a point of the Sweet 16 (lost in overtime to Florida State), and the top three scorers return.

13. TEXAS A&M (26-8) -- Five of the top six scorers are back from a team that won the Big 12 Conference tournament title.

14. UW-GREEN BAY (28-5) -- Here's the country's best mid-major (no, I don't put Xavier in the mid-major category). The Phoenix outplayed Iowa State for 35 minutes in the NCAA second round. Everybody's back. Everybody.

15. IOWA (20-14) -- Finished with a 12-4 rush that got them into the NCAA Tournament (a No. 8 seed, no less) and into the second round. Everybody's back.  If the Hawkeyes stay healthy, they're primed to challenge Ohio State in the Big Ten. Inch for inch, 5-foot-9 Kachine Alexander is among the nation's top rebounders. Could be Lisa Bluder's best team yet.

16. DE PAUL (21-12) -- Snuck into the NCAA Tournament, and with 97 percent of their scoring back, the Blue Demons are a good bet for further advancement next year.

17. IOWA STATE (25-8) -- Cyclones will be hard-pressed to replace all that Alison Lacey did for them -- the scoring, the passing, the leadership -- but Kelsey Bolte is a proven outside scorer, and the posts (Prins, Poppens and Zimmerman) will have a year under their belts.

18. NOTRE DAME (29-6) -- Irish staggered somewhat late, dropping five of their final 11 games after a 23-1 start. There's some reloading to be done in South Bend.

19. NORTH CAROLINA (19-12) -- With 92 percent of their scoring coming back, the Tar Heels could be primed for an upward push.

20. GEORGIA (25-9) -- Stanford taught the Lady Dawgs the same thing it taught Iowa ... there's a large gap between the elite and the next level.

21. LSU (21-10) -- Tigers got one win in the NCAA and very nearly pulled an upset of Duke in Round 2.

22. OKLAHOMA (27-11) -- Advanced to the Final Four. Like Big 12 rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma State, will make an extreme makeover; more than half of the scoring graduates.

23. FLORIDA STATE (29-6) -- Coming off a successful postseason run that ended in the regional finals. Seminoles have some rebuilding to do.

24. ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK (27-7) -- Picked up a win in the first round of the NCAA, and should be better next year.

25. TULANE (27-7) -- The Green Wave is consistently a quality program; it advanced to the second round of the NCAA this year.