And then there were three.

That's right, just three Division I teams -- Connecticut, North Carolina State and Tulane -- remain undefeated as we head into the eighth week of the 1999-2000 season.

	Three D-I teams remain unbeaten, but the Dish says Sue Bird and UConn are head and shoulders above the competition.

Although it's not really surprising top-ranked UConn hasn't lost this season -- after all, the Huskies were ranked No. 1 in nearly every preseason poll -- the caliber of UConn's foes helps put the Huskies' 12-0 record in perspective. As if beating six ranked teams weren't enough, consider this: UConn's biggest wins have come against three of the top five teams in the country -- No. 5 Penn State, No. 4 Louisiana Tech and No. 2 Tennessee.

Talk about strength of schedule.

But while the Huskies have faced several of the top programs around the country, you can't say the same for either N.C. State or Tulane.

Now don't get us wrong. Both programs, at 14-0, have played well this season and are on their way to posting the best seasons in their respective programs' history. But for all you folks out there who suggested N.C. State should have vaulted past No. 2 Tennessee in this week's Top 25, consider this, too: With the exception of N.C. State's huge win over then-No. 3 Rutgers in both teams' season opener, the Wolfpack have played just one other Top 25 team, beating in-state rival North Carolina 79-72 on Jan. 3.

And although by the end of the regular season N.C. State will have played 11 teams from last season's NCAA Tournament, in the meantime, the Wolfpack are beating opponents by an average of 16.7 points, including 20-point wins over Drake, Wake Forest and Miami (Fla.), a 26-point victory over New Hampshire and 28-point and 35-point blowouts over New Orleans and Southern Mississippi, respectively.

As for Tulane, the Green Wave haven't exactly played the country's toughest schedule, either. The Green Wave's 76-72 over LSU -- a team that looked great in beating Georgia on Dec. 2 but stunk in losing to Tennessee by 36 points -- at home has been Tulane's toughest opponent so far, and the Green Wave have played all but four of their 14 games at home at Fogelman Arena.

Of course, in pointing out these things we don't mean to infer that Summer Erb and Co. or Grace Daley and the Green Wave aren't talented or don't belong where they're at. Both teams feature outstanding players. But the point -- and yes, we're getting to it -- is that although these are the last three unbeaten teams in the country, it's tough to lump them in the same group because Connecticut remains heads and shoulders above N.C. State and Tulane.

Now, in two weeks, that might all change. Tulane will continue to be tested as Conference USA play heats up. The Wolfpack have the opportunity to gain some ground as well, hosting Virginia next Monday and Duke next Thursday. The following week, the competition really heats up at Texas on Jan. 23 and against Tennessee (in Cleveland) on Jan. 29.

But until then, let's be careful with our suggestions.

The week that was ...
In the year's most-anticipated game to date, top-ranked Connecticut beat Tennessee 74-67 in Knoxville. UConn sophomore point guard Sue Bird played great, notching a career-high 25 points.

Her Tennessee counterpart, Kristen "Ace" Clement, wasn't so great, committing seven turnovers and contributing just two assists. As Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt put it, "Ace was not the Ace that we've been watching this season." Enough said.

... And the week ahead
No. 13 Illinois at No. 5 Penn State, 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday: After upsetting Georgia on Jan. 2, can Tauja Catchings, Susan Blauser and the Illini knock off the Lady Lions?

No. 1 Tennessee at No. 7 Georgia, 1 p.m. ET Monday (ESPN2): The biggest SEC game of the season is also one of the year's biggest matchups. How will Tennessee's Clement be able to handle one Miller, let alone two? And, will Georgia's buffed-up inside game be able to handle Tamika Catchings and Michelle Snow?

No. 11 Rutgers at No. 1 Connecticut, 3 p.m ET Monday (ESPN): Can UConn run over Big East foes as easily as it has over its non-conference competition? Will Rutgers' defense affect the Huskies as much as everyone else?

One step forward ...
Duke: The Blue Devils, who moved up two spots to No. 8 in this week's ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, might finally be getting the respect they deserve. Sure, they haven't played as tough a schedule as last season, but they did beat Penn State and are riding a 13-game winning streak.

Stony Brook: The Seawolves aren't even close to breaking into the Top 25, but the first-year Division I program has won 10 of its past 11 games and seem to have a winning combination with Trish Roberts (a former All-American at Tennessee who also played in the 1976 Olympics and also coached the Atlanta Glory in the ABL) at the helm and freshman guard Julie Szabo running the floor. Through Monday, Szabo ranked eighth in the nation with a 21.9 scoring average through 14 games.

... Two steps back
Purdue: So Katie Douglas is playing as well as ever. And Camille Cooper has continued to step up her game as well. But back-to-back losses against Michigan (74-67) and Penn State (55-50) proved one thing: The Boilermakers lack depth.

Against Michigan on Saturday, Douglas scored 30 points and Cooper added 26. The problem? The rest of the team added just 11 points and made just 5 of 19 shots from the field as the Wolverines went on to hand the defending NCAA champion Boilermakers a 1-2 conference record.

Overall, Douglas (254 points) and Cooper (184) have combined for 438 -- or 50 percent -- of Purdue's 871 total points this season.

North Carolina: First the Tar Heels lose Nikki Teasley, who announced earlier this week that she's taking an indefinite leave from the team for undisclosed reasons. Now they've lost three straight games. The last time they did that was in the 1995-96 season, which also was the last year UNC didn't get invited to the NCAA Tournament.