Whether it was the loss to Vanderbilt last Thursday or Tennessee on Sunday — we will never know — Georgia’s women’s basketball team has apparently lost all respect in the eyes of the pollsters.

Having begun the season ranked No. 12 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls, the Lady Dogs have been on a steady decline.

ANDY LANDERS

This week, however, represents the most remarkable and significant drop the team has suffered this season. For the first time this year, the Lady Dogs have dropped out of the top 20 in the AP as they sit at No. 21.

Not surprisingly, the recent poll drop by Georgia has coincided with its schedule becoming more difficult.

Prior to the game against Kentucky on Jan. 19, the Lady Dogs were ranked as having the nation’s 44th-ranked schedule.

Four games later — and having played then-No. 6 Kentucky and then-No. 7 Tennessee — their strength of schedule has jumped to No. 24 in the country.

Four of the five teams to defeat Georgia this season are now ranked above them in the AP Poll, with Kentucky at No. 6, Tennessee at No. 8, Georgetown at No. 17 and Gonzaga at No. 20.

All four are also above the Lady Dogs in the ESPN/USA Today Poll.

Needless to say, should Georgia struggle to turn around its recent downwards momentum, its season-long stay in the nation’s top-25 could become tenuous.