No one is safe anymore in women's basketball. Back when players wore Lady Pro-Keds and jumped with all the elevation of tree trunks, you knew Tennessee was going to win another championship -- and if not Tennessee, then Old Dominion or Louisiana Tech. The sport wasn't exactly a thrill a minute, but there was comfort in certainty.

	Semeka Randall is capable of leading the Vols back to the title.

Now the intruders are everywhere -- ladykillers like Purdue and Duke -- just waiting to leap out and put an untimely end to somebody's season. This isn't a matter of one-time scares, either. It's a serial kind of thing. Exhibit A: last season, which began with Purdue shocking three-time defending champ Tennessee and ended with the Boilermakers cutting down the nets in San Jose. This season, the road to Philadelphia is paved with bad intentions. "There are eight to 10 teams with Final Four potential," says Iowa State's Bill Fennelly.

Even the pollsters are uneasy. Although UConn sits atop several lists, Rutgers and Tennessee also find themselves ranked No. 1. The one common denominator is Georgia. Ranked among the top four in almost every poll, the Lady Dawgs are looking for their first national title. They feature twin guards Kelly and Coco Miller, who averaged more than 18 points apiece, and six other returnees from a 27-7 team that lost to Duke in the Final Four (UGa's third national semi in five years). Nearly the entire squad stayed in Athens over the summer, lifting weights and playing pickup. "We haven't said a whole lot, but we've done a whole lot," says longtime coach Andy Landers. "I've seen more improvement in our players in one season than I have in 20 years."

For those who crave security, Connecticut is the established fave. The Huskies return junior All-America forward Svetlana Abrosimova and a group of talented sophs in Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams. But Geno Auriemma's club also has some problems -- namely Rutgers, which has begun to challenge UConn's annual free skate in the Big East. It's critical for soph Sue Bird to establish herself at the point, and for senior center Paige Sauer to finally live up to her ability. The Huskies are coming off a 29-5 season that began with a flurry of 100-point games but ended with a rash of injuries and a loss to Iowa State in the Sweet 16.

It might have been easier to see the Cyclones coming if they hadn't been hiding out in, well, Ames. The best three-point-shooting team in the land has everybody back, including preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Stacy Frese, all-conference second-teamer Megan Taylor and '98-99 Newcomer of the Year Desiree Francis. Still, they'll need more from their bench. Down the stretch against UConn, the Cyclones had five players on the court with four fouls. "We're not laced with All-Americas," Fennelly says. "But we have surprises. It's not baseball. You only have to beat somebody once."

No team has more single-game fright potential than Rutgers, which returns four starters, including the country's grittiest backcourt-Natasha Pointer and Shawnetta Stewart. Coach Vivian Stringer is one of the game's best teachers, even if her players don't always show it. They'll brutalize you on one possession, then hide on the next. But if they can get their heads on straight, stay out of their way.

Which brings us to the Lady Vols. Some polls have dissed Pat Summitt's gang, ranking them as low as No. 6 now that Chamique Holdsclaw and steady PG Kellie Jolly have graduated. But counting out the Lady Vols is like saying Freddy's dead. (Witness UT's stunning 65-64 upset of the U.S. women's national squad earlier this month.) "They're still the most talented team, or the second-most talented team, in the country," Landers says. Tamika Catchings, Semeka Randall and Kristin "Ace" Clement are the class of the nation's juniors, while frosh Gwen Jackson and Kara Lawson should make an immediate impact. There is depth and talent at every position -- just not maturity.

Other stalkers include UCLA, Notre Dame and Penn State. The Bruins return eight players who combined for 78 points a game last season, led by Pac-10 Player of the Year Maylana Martin. Irish center Ruth Riley averaged 16.6 ppg as a soph while earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in the Big East. And the Lady Lions have the sharpshooters to make that March trip down the turnpike.

Scared yet? We haven't even mentioned potential uh-ohs like Louisiana Tech, Virginia Tech, Oregon, Kansas, Boston College and UC-Santa Barbara. So if you're looking for a safe bet this season, you picked the wrong sport.