Yolett McPhee-McCuin, the head coach of the Ole Miss women’s basketball team, has built a program that deserves respect, and she’s not going to wait for pollsters to notice it anymore. McPhee-McCuin is making it clear that her team deserves recognition that matches their performance on the court after leading the Rebels to a 16-3 record and big wins over ranked teams.

After the latest AP Top 25 poll came out on January 12, Yolett McPhee-McCuin went to X to complain about the ranking system.

“This is a joke! And if the voters not going to do their jobs, we don’t need a AP POLL! Had we lost two games in a row, we’d be fighting to stay in, or we’d be out!” she wrote.

The coach’s harsh words came after Ole Miss moved up only two spots to No. 16, even after having a great week that included beating then-No. 5 Oklahoma, 74-69, on the road and Mississippi State, 93-68, at home.

The numbers back up Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s argument.

Rebels beat a team in the top five in Norman, then beat Mississippi State by 20 points for the first time since 1997. The Rebels scored 48 points in the paint against the Bulldogs and forced 16 turnovers while only making eight of their own. The 93 points were the most scored against Mississippi State since 1994, but the Rebels only moved up a little in the rankings.

Fans supported Coach Yo’s message and flooded social media with support for the program.

Many pointed out that the polls don’t always move in the same direction. For example, teams often drop more for losses than Ole Miss rises for quality wins. Supporters pointed out that the Rebels have beaten Mississippi State four times in a row and should be recognized for dominating the rivalry completely.

Fans rally behind coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s call for recognition

McPhee-McCuin‘s direct message struck a chord with people outside of Ole Miss, and fans agreed with her frustration.

People were upset with how the AP voters judged Ole Miss’s performance. “Agreed! Keep ballin’ and prove them wrong,” remarked one fan, echoing the idea that the Rebels should use the perceived slight as motivation. This reaction came after Ole Miss’s slow progress in ranking, even though they beat a No. 5-ranked team and beat Mississippi State by 25 points. Many thought these performances deserved a bigger jump in the rankings.

Another backed up the coach’s point of view: “That’s right! Let them know, coach. Get it right.” More and more people thought McPhee-McCuin was right to question the poll’s credibility. Fans thought that the two-spot jump to No. 16 didn’t reflect the team’s body of work, especially since teams with similar or weaker resumes were ranked higher. Ole Miss even had a 16-3 record and a good road win over Oklahoma.

“FAP is a joke as I have said before,” read another response, which seemed to be an abbreviation to completely dismiss the poll’s validity. People were even more doubtful about the voting process, especially since Ole Miss scored 93 points against Mississippi State – the most in the rivalry since 1994 – but didn’t get much attention. Fans thought the Rebels’ 63.6 percent shooting in the first half and 48 points in the paint showed a level of execution that deserved more attention.

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“Do your job, AP voters! These players deserve it!!!” was another reaction that echoed McPhee-McCuin’s own words. It stressed that the student-athletes, especially Cotie McMahon, who scored in double digits for 19 straight games, deserved to be recognized for their consistent excellence all season long.

Another user commented, “The AP poll has been crooked for over a decade. I swear the voters do not watch any of the games.” This reaction came from being upset that Ole Miss’s big win, which included four players scoring in double figures and only eight turnovers, didn’t have a bigger impact.

Fans who saw the Rebels’ defense force 16 turnovers and steal 13 times, with Sira Thienou getting five steals on her own, agreed with the statement that voters don’t watch games.