Women's College Basketball Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 after multiple upsets

The Women’s College Basketball AP Poll Top 25 has been updated again. This time it comes after a week of exciting conference action that included multiple ranked teams dropping games and another team in the AP Top 10, Ohio State, getting upset since the last time the poll came out.

A week of upsets is always going to lead to a shakeup in the rankings. This week is no different and there’s plenty of movement. For those teams that won, they’ll have the opportunity to take a jump forward in the rankings. Meanwhile, depending on the loss, those ranked teams came into the week expecting to drop in the AP Poll.

With all of that in mind, here’s a look at how this week’s AP Top 25 Poll shakes out for women’s college basketball:

1. UCLA

The UCLA Bruins are dealing with the fallout from the tragic fires in Los Angeles, which has impacted the entire community. For UCLA, they have both had to move the location of games meanwhile their game against Northwestern ended up being postponed. Still, when they were able to play Penn State, they earned the win last week.

Next week, the Bruins are set to take on Baylor in an interesting non-conference road test. From there, UCLA is set to return to Big Ten play with an East Coast trip. That will include a game against Rutgers this next week before a tough game against Maryland to finish up a busy week of games and travel.

2. South Carolina

South Carolina continues to dominate opponents in SEC play. That’s even after playing a difficult schedule last week against Alabama and Oklahoma. Both of those teams were ranked at the time they played, still the Gamecocks won by double digits in both games, including a 101-60 win over Oklahoma.

On Thursday, South Carolina is going to play one of the biggest games of the regular season. That’s when they’ll take on LSU at home. For the time being, the Tigers are unbeaten and it should be one of the best matchups between AP ranked teams all season long that helps determine the SEC regular season race.

3. Notre Dame

Since Notre Dame dropped two games in a row the Irish have now won 11 games in a row, including multiple games against AP ranked opponents and ACC opponents. They were even briefly without star Hannah Hidalgo. Still, the Irish earned wins against Georgia Tech and SMU last week, with Hidalgo returning for the SMU win.

With Hidalgo back, the Irish are going to be very difficult to beat in the ACC moving forward. On top of that, Notre Dame has a relatively light week to rest up this week, only playing one game. That’s a conference test against Boston College on Thursday.

4. USC

The USC Trojans, like UCLA, have been impacted by the Los Angeles fires. That manifested for the team on the court by having a game against Northwestern postponed. Still, once USC got on the road last week they were able to add another win on the road at Indiana.

That road trip is going to continue into next week with a road game against Purdue. However, that’s USC’s only game next week. So, the Trojans should have some time to hit the reset button going into the end of January.

5. LSU

The LSU Tigers are still unbeaten and are now sitting highly ranked in the AP Poll. For some time, LSU had not been ranked overly highly due to their non-conference schedule. However, after adding wins against Vanderbilt and Florida amid a hot start to SEC play, LSU is clearly a major threat this season.

Next week, LSU is preparing for perhaps its biggest test in the entire regular season. LSU is set to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in a road test. This comes at a time when South Carolina is clicking on all cylinders. So, the Tigers need to be ready for a massively challenging game on Thursday.

6. UConn

UConn is off to a dominant start in Big East play. Now 8-0 in conference play, the Huskies added wins against St. John’s and Seton Hall last week. The Seton Hall win was particularly impressive, winning that game 96-36. That’s a Pirates team sitting at third in the Big East standings.

It seems like Creighton, also unbeaten in Big East play, is going to be UConn’s big threat in the regular season. That’s not UConn’s next game, but it is coming up this next week. First, the Huskies host Villanova. After that, it’s a road trip to take on those Bluejays on Saturday.

7. Texas

After dropping a tough game against South Carolina, Texas had a week with only one game to try and bounce back. They were able to do that well, beating Auburn by double digits on Thursday. That loss to South Carolina wasn’t overly costly in the AP Poll and bouncing back well has helped too.

This upcoming week is going to be much more difficult. Starting on Monday, Texas has a very difficult non-conference game against Maryland. After that, it’s back to SEC play with Tennessee and Ole Miss, making for a busy week ahead. 

8. Maryland

Another team coming off a week with only one game is Maryland. Still, it was a tricky game, with the Terrapins playing an AP-ranked Minnesota team. That game ended up being one of the most exciting of the week. In a shootout, Maryland was able to win 99-92.

Now, with only one loss in the season, Maryland is staring down the barrel of an incredibly difficult week. The Terrapins have three games coming up. The first is a non-conference game against Texas. Then, it’s back to Big Ten play against Ohio State and UCLA. So, by next week, there should be another major shakeup in the rankings.

9. TCU

TCU continues to roll through Big 12 play. Last week, that started with a win against UCF. From there, the Horned Frogs had a tougher test against Utah, but they were still able to win 81-73. With that, they’ve moved into the Top 10 of the AP Poll.

It seems like the Big 12 is a race between TCU and Kansas State this season. However, this is a conference with plenty of teams capable of making noise and winning on a given night. That includes Oklahoma State, who TCU is playing this week. After that, it’s an interesting test against Baylor.

10. Kansas State

Kansas State moved into the Top 10 of the AP Poll on the back of two more Big 12 wins. These came against Arizona and Arizona State respectively. By the end, neither one of those was a particularly close game either.

It’s going to be some time before Kansas State gets its shot at TCU. In the meantime, they’ll need to maintain their focus and avoid any possible upsets along the way. Next week that’s going to include a pair of tough tests with Colorado and Iowa State scheduled.

Rest of AP Top 25 Poll

11. Kentucky
12. Ohio State
13. North Carolina
14. Duke
15. Oklahoma
16. West Virginia
17. Tennessee
18. Georgia Tech
19. Alabama
20. NC State
21. Michigan State
22. Cal
23. Minnesota
24. Michigan
25. Baylor