One of the undefeated teams, Purdue, went down Tuesday night. Another, Stanford, lost to Tennessee in Knoxville on Wednesday.

As it stands, the no-loss gang consists of Auburn, Connecticut, Duke, LSU, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina-Wilmington, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

Maybe Purdue has nothing to feel bad about by not being in that group anymore. The Boilermakers have pushed themselves hard this month, facing in the span of 10 days Vanderbilt at Arizona State's tournament, Indiana in Indianapolis and then UC Santa Barbara in the Golden State. The Gauchos won 83-82 in overtime Tuesday.

Then again, coach Kristy Curry seems displeased with her team's overall effort. Next up for Purdue, on Saturday, is Boston College. From a schedule standpoint, the Boilers are doing what they need to do to be ready for the Big Ten season. We'll have to see if this loss motivates them in that direction.

Auburn and Minnesota haven't had real tests yet. All the Gophers' opponents save Harvard are triple-digit RPI teams; Minnesota's best nonconference foe might be Dayton on Dec. 30.

New coach Pam Borton likely will schedule some tougher games next season for Minnesota. Which is good, because junior guard Lindsay Whalen needs to get on TV more often than just against Big Ten foes. She has great matchups in her league, but she's a player fans around the country want to see against top nonconference teams, too.

Auburn, which has been a true cupcake connoisseur for a while, will go for a little heavier fare after the holiday break. It faces Clemson, Illinois and Tulane before the SEC madness begins.

The best victory for Ole Miss thus far was a thorough thumping of Western Kentucky, 79-45, on Monday. Ole Miss hasn't made the NCAA field since 1996; since it also will get thrown in the SEC blender soon, a great nonconference start is imperative.

Then there are two ranked SEC teams, LSU and South Carolina. LSU perhaps could have tested itself a little more early, but it still has Texas, Penn State and UCSB coming up. South Carolina has beaten Clemson and Boston College, plus has North Carolina and Temple remaining.

West Virginia might enter Big East play 10-0, but considering its weakness of schedule, that really won't tell us much. However, the Mountaineers' first two Big East games -- against Notre Dame and Villanova -- will.

UNC Wilmington's best victory is over Pittsburgh. But if a Colonial Athletic Association team wants to attain true believers, it has to beat Old Dominion.

Finally, will Duke and UConn stay unbeaten until their matchup Feb. 1 in Durham, N.C.? That path looks tougher for the Huskies right now. Among their foes before the Blue Devils are Tennessee, Rutgers and Notre Dame, with the Irish matchup being on the road.

Mechelle Voepel is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage. She can be reached at mvoepel@kcstar.com.