Nov. 3, 2004
WACO, Texas - The Baylor Lady Bear basketball team received its highest-ever ranking in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Top 25 when the poll listed the team at No. 8 in the initial ranking of the season on Wednesday, Nov. 3.
Prior to the No. 8 preseason ranking, the Lady Bears' highest Coaches' Top 25 ranking was No. 11, which they achieved in the final poll last year. Baylor, 26-9 last season with four starters returning for 2004-05, received 688 points. Tennessee is ranked No. 1 with 944 points and 15 first place votes. LSU, Baylor's first opponent of the season, sits at No. 2 and received 10 first place votes while Texas, Connecticut and Georgia round out the top five. In all, Baylor will play 11 games versus teams ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes in the poll, LSU, Texas (2 games), Texas Tech (2), Kansas State, Penn State, Oklahoma (2), Florida, and Colorado.
Baylor tunes up with two exhibition games before tipping off against LSU. The Lady Bears host the Houston Jaguars on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7:00 p.m. in the Ferrell Center and will take on the Basketball Travelers' TTT Riga (Latvia) on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m. Baylor and LSU will face each other on Sunday, Nov. 14 in the first game of the State Farm Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic at 12:30 p.m. (CST) in the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Texas and Penn State will take to the floor in the second game at 3:00 p.m. Both games will be broadcast by ESPN2. Tickets to the Tip-Off Classic may still be purchased from the Baylor Athletic ticket office, call 254-710-1000 or 1-800-BAYLORU.
USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Poll
| Rank | School | Record | Pts. | Last Ranking |
| 1. | Tennessee (15) | (31-4) | 944 | 2 |
| 2. | LSU (10) | (27-8) | 934 | 3 |
| 3. | Texas (9) | (30-5) | 908 | 10 |
| 4. | Connecticut (6) | (31-4) | 883 | 1 |
| 5. | Georgia | (25-10) | 782 | 8 |
| 6. | Duke | (30-4) | 747 | 5 |
| 7. | Stanford | (27-7) | 724 | 7 |
| 8. | Baylor | (26-9) | 688 | 11 |
| 9. | (tie) Ohio State | (21-10) | 555 | NR |
| 9. | (tie) Texas Tech | (25-8) | 555 | 17 |
| 11. | Notre Dame | (21-11) | 483 | 20 |
| 12. | North Carolina | (24-7) | 472 | 21 |
| 13. | Vanderbilt | (26-8) | 468 | 13 |
| 14. | Minnesota | (25-9) | 425 | 4 |
| 15. | Purdue | (29-4) | 420 | 9 |
| 16. | Michigan State | (22-9) | 397 | NR |
| 17. | Rutgers | (21-12) | 324 | NR |
| 18. | (tie) Boston College | (27-7) | 259 | 14 |
| 18. | (tie) Kansas State | (25-6) | 259 | 15 |
| 20. | DePaul | (23-7) | 232 | 25 |
| 21. | Penn State | (28-6) | 226 | 6 |
| 22. | Louisiana Tech | (29-3) | 165 | 12 |
| 23. | Maryland | (18-13) | 153 | NR |
| 24. | Arizona | (24-9) | 147 | NR |
| 25. | Oklahoma | (24-9) | 139 | 18 |
Others receiving votes: UCLA (17-12) 89; Utah (24-7) 83; TCU (25-7) 69; Villanova (23-7) 52; Houston (28-4) 45; Chattanooga (29-3) 43; Southwest Missouri State (28-4) 38; Old Dominion (25-7) 34; Florida (19-11) 32; UC-Santa Barbara (27-7) 32; Middle Tennessee (24-8) 25; UNLV (25-7) 23; Louisville (20-10) 16; Colorado (22-8) 15; Marquette (22-10) 15; Virginia Tech (23-8) 15; Montana (27-5) 14; Temple (21-10) 12; New Mexico (22-8) 8; Auburn (22-9) 7; Richmond (23-9) 5; Liberty (25-7) 4; Miami (Fla.) (22-7) 4; Oregon (14-15) 4; Virginia (13-16) 4; Arizona State (17-12) 3; Marshall (18-12) 3; South Alabama (22-7) 3; Wisconsin-Green Bay (23-8) 3; Eastern Michigan (22-8) 2; George Washington (22-8) 2; Maine (25-7) 2; Arkansas (16-12) 1; Creighton (21-10) 1; Idaho State (19-9) 1; North Carolina State (17-15) 1; Western Kentucky (20-14) 1.
