South Carolina remains alone with the second-longest streak at the top of the Associated Press Women’s Basketball Top 25 rankings, while the Gamecocks remain No. 1 for the 37th straight week.
The Gamecocks (32-0) won the Southeastern Conference Tournament last weekend and remain undefeated heading into the NCAA Tournament. South Carolina, which received all 28 first-place votes from the national media group on Monday, broke a tie with Louisiana Tech for most consecutive weeks at No. 1. The national champions are now second only to UConn, which has spent 51 consecutive weeks at the top of the Top 25.
With the final poll of the season due out next week, the Gamecocks are poised for a No. 1 ranking this year ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa moved up five spots to No. 2 after participating in the Big Ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes routed Ohio State by 33 points in Sunday’s title game behind another strong performance from Kaitlyn Clark, who posted her third triple-double in conference tournament history.
It’s the Hawkeyes’ best ranking since an eight-week stint at No. 2 in 1994.
Indiana dropped one spot to third, while Virginia Tech moved up four spots to No. 4. The Hokies, who won the ACC tournament for the first time, have the highest seed in history.
Stanford and Maryland were the next two. UConn moved up to seventh, followed by Utah and LSU. The Utes and Tigers each have five straight losses in their respective conference tournaments.
Villanova entered the top 10. That’s the Wildcats’ best ranking, and it happened Monday night when they faced UConn for the Big East title.
Tennessee is back in the poll at No. 24 after reaching the SEC Tournament final. South Florida and Iowa State dropped out of the top 25. The Cyclones were ranked for 36 consecutive weeks before being relegated.
MAKING HISTORY
Washington State made history by becoming the first seven-seed to win the Pac-12 Tournament after the Cougars beat California, Utah, Colorado and UCLA. The 20th-ranked Cougars are ranked in the top 25 for just the second time in school history after spending a week at No. 25 in 2021.
RIGHT TO CONFERENCE
The Pac-12 has six teams ranked in the top 25, with Washington State entering this week. The Big Ten is next with five teams and the ACC with four. The SEC has three with the Big East and the Big 12 each having two. Gonzaga, Middle Tennessee and UNLV represent the middle three of the major conferences.
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AP Women’s College Basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter .com/AP_Top25
