Through Saturday, BYU had won three straight games to open 2002-03. But in terms of respect, the Cougars are 0-for-2 this season.

	Erin Thorn and BYU reached last season's Sweet 16.

The first insult landed in early November. Despite the Cougars' impressive run to the Sweet 16 last March, BYU received a handful of points but wasn't ranked in either the preseason ESPN/USA Today coaches poll or the Associated Press Top 25. Then the Cougars, who have four returning starters, were again left off the coaches poll the following week after knocking off then-No. 11 Texas 79-63 in its season opener on Nov. 22.

While BYU did break into the AP rankings, the No. 22 spot still seemed a little low. And it's time BYU got its due. This is a quality team that ran over sixth-seeded Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March, then upset third-seeded Iowa State on the Cyclones' home court in the second. In the Sweet 16, BYU had an early lead on Tennessee before the perennial favorite ended the Cinderella season.

While current rankings can't reflect past accomplishments, we're not sure people made enough noise after the Texas upset. Sure, the Longhorns' top player was stuck in foul trouble for most of the game, but Texas shot just 28.6 percent from the field, its eighth-lowest single-game shooting effort in the Longhorns' 28-plus year history. The loss also marked the first time in four years that Texas, which is expected to be one of the top teams in the tough Big 12 Conference this season, lost its season opener.

So don't call the upset a fluke. BYU not only returns a ton of experience from last season, but also most of its offense. Senior guard Erin Thorn, last season's Mountain West Conference tournament MVP, averaged 17.3 points to lead the Cougars in scoring for the third straight year. Senior forward Jennifer Leitner, a MWC all-tournament honoree a year ago, topped the team in rebounding with 8.7 boards a game and ranked second in scoring (11.9). Sophomore forward Danielle Cheesman ranked second in rebounding (4.4) and nailed better than 52 percent of her shots from the field.

So the Cougars, who probably hurt their cause with a 51-41 win over Weber State on Saturday, have plenty of ammo. Now it's time the rest of the country starts recognizing it. After all, the Mountain West ranks fourth in the latest WBCA RPI, yet the MWC is the only league in the top eight that doesn't have a team ranked in the coaches poll (thanks to Ron in Colorado for pointing that out).

Same goes for the Gamecocks
All but four teams that reached last season's Sweet 16 were ranked in the preseason. Another team that got skipped? South Carolina. And like the Cougars, the Gamecocks are no one-hit wonder, either.

On the heels of last season's success, the Gamecocks opened 2002-03 with a 72-58 win over Clemson, marking South Carolina's first victory against its in-state rival since 1994.

While the win was impressive -- Jocelyn Penn and Cristina Ciocan each tallied 23 points for the game and USC shot 45 percent from the field in the first half -- the crowd was truly eye-opening. The game, which was played in the Gamecocks' new The Carolina Center, drew a school-record (for men and women) 17,712 fans, the largest crowd to ever witness a basketball game in the state of South Carolina. It also marked the fifth-best attended regular-season game in 2002.

Since the opener, unbeaten South Carolina also has posted lopsided wins over the College of Charleston and Oregon, and on Saturday, the Gamecocks clinched the St. Thomas division of the Paradise Jam tournament win with a 54-51 upset over No. 19 Boston College.

Crunching UConn's numbers
Over the past few years, Connecticut's offense hasn't had any problem pouring on the points.

In 1999, the Huskies led the country with 91.2 points per game, which ranks 10th all-time in NCAA history. Last season, UConn again led the nation in scoring with an 87 point-per-game average while setting the NCAA record for average victory margin in a season (35.4 points). And over the past five seasons (1997-2002), the Huskies have scored at least 100 points in 37 games.

In that same time span, UConn has lost just 12 games, and scored 60 or fewer points only five times. Maybe that's why UConn's slim, 60-53 win over Hawaii on Saturday seemed so eye-opening. It just doesn't happen very often.

A look at UConn's 60-or-fewer games since the 1997-98 season:

Date		Opponent		Score
Jan. 29, 2002	Virginia Tech	W 59-50
Feb. 12, 2000	Rutgers		W 49-45
March 20, 1999	Iowa State		L 64-58
Jan. 27, 1999	Rutgers		W 56-55
March 23, 1998	N.C. State		L 60-52

GET TO KNOW THE NAME Arkansas' India Lewis is averaging 18.4 over five games this season. The senior guard scored 26 points in a win over No. 19 TCU on Nov. 25, then added 21 in a win over ODU on Nov. 28. Lewis had 15 points against Duke in an OT loss on Saturday.

RAISING ARIZONA While Stanford beat No. 2 Kansas State, Arizona's win over ninth-ranked Georgia on Saturday gets our vote for the week's top upset. The Wildcats used different presses and a zone defense to stifle the Lady Bulldogs' inside game for a 70-49 rout.

NOTABLE NUMBER 1 Penn State will look to give coach Rene Portland her 600th win when the Lady Lions host Maryland on Wednesday. Portland enters the game with a career coaching record of 599-208 over 27 seasons.

Melanie Jackson coordinates ESPN.com's women's college basketball coverage. Click here to e-mail the Dish with any story ideas, suggestions or feedback.