Women's College Basketball Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 features new No. 1 after upset

The South Carolina Gamecocks have been the dominant force around women’s college basketball, not losing since the 2023 Final Four. That is, until the Gamecocks ran into the UCLA Bruins this past week. With that, the women’s basketball AP Top 25 Poll has been shaken up after the major upset.

It’s still early in the season and the AP Poll and with that there is still a certain amount of figuring things out that needs to happen. However, as major matchups happen in the non-conference slate, it’s going to become a more clear picture of where teams stand early in the season.

With all of that context for this week’s poll, here is a look at where the current women’s basketball AP Poll shakes out:

1. UCLA

The UCLA Bruins came into the season with some massive expectations. It’s hard to say that they haven’t lived up to those so far, especially in the wake of their convincing upset win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. 

UCLA had five players who scored in double digits against South Carolina. That included a double-double from Lauren Betts. Then, Londynn Jones led UCLA in scoring while playing just 18 minutes. Now, UCLA won’t sneak up on anyone and will look to keep the momentum alive moving forward.

2. UConn

Since the last AP Poll came out, the UConn Huskies only played one game. That was a dominant win over Fairleigh Dickinson. That game saw Sarah Strong and Paige Bueckers combine for 36 points compared to Fairleigh Dickinson’s 41 points as a team.

Non-conference play continues with a game against Oregon State in their next time out. That’s UConn’s only game during the holiday week. After that, the schedule is going to become more difficult to manage with several tough ACC opponents in the upcoming schedule.

3. Notre Dame

Notre Dame is off to an incredibly strong start to the season. That hot start was capped off with a 74-61 win over USC. It was an effort, unsurprisingly, led by star Hannah Hidalgo, who had 24 points in 40 minutes of action. Olivia Miles also had 20 points in the win. With that, Notre Dame earned its place in the AP Poll.

The Irish have been dominant, particularly on offense so far this season. In five games, Notre Dame has twice scored over 100 points and four times scored at least 90 points. So, to an extent, being held to 74 against USC was a bit of an offensive struggle. 

4. South Carolina

The South Carolina Gamecocks lost their first game since 2023 when they lost to UCLA on Sunday. Perhaps the most surprising part of that game ended up being that the Bruins were dominant in the win, going into halftime with a 21-point lead. The Gamecocks played a bit better in the second half but it wasn’t enough and South Carolina lost by 15.

With the loss, South Carolina fell out of the top spot in the AP Poll. There are a couple of ways to take that. In a way, it could take the pressure off South Carolina as they try to repeat as national champions. It could also force the Gamecocks back to the drawing board after getting a chance to play another top-tier team.

5. Texas

The Texas Longhorns played just one game since the last Women’s AP Poll came out. That was a dominant 83-41 point win over Tarleton State. Madison Booker led the way, scoring 25 points in 24 wins.

Non-conference play continues forward from there for Texas. The Longhorns will have a non-conference game against New Mexico State next week before taking on Notre Dame in a marquee matchup that could again shake up the top of the AP Poll in early December.

6. USC

The USC Trojans suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of Notre Dame. That game largely came down to a hot start by the Irish in the first quarter, jumping out to a lead that the Trojans weren’t able to come back from. That was despite the best efforts of JuJu Watkins who had 24 points.

Despite the loss, it was to another top-tier program and USC is still ranked highly in the AP Poll. With that, the Trojans still have everything ahead of them this season. That begins with a pair of non-conference games next week against Seton Hall and Saint Louis.

7. LSU

The LSU Tigers kept on winning with a pair of wins last week. The first of those came in dominant fashion against Troy. After that, the Tigers took on Tulane in an in-state battle against Tulane. The Green Wave did their best to give the Tigers a game, but the Tigers controlled it for the most part.

LSU is back in action on Monday, shortly after the AP Poll came out, in a battle against Washington out of the Big Ten. After that, the Tigers will have some time off before taking on NC Central on Sunday. 

8. Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners remained unbeaten with a pair of non-conference wins last week. The first of those came against Wichita State and the second came against UNLV. Both of those were dominant 30-point wins. 

From here, the Sooners have another non-conference game before the next AP Poll comes out. That’s against DePaul. Oklahoma won’t start SEC play until January when the Sooners play rival Texas in what looks like it’s going to be an excellent game. However, there’s plenty of non-conference play before then.

9. Kansas State

In a season where Kansas State has high expectations for itself, the Wildcats are still unbeaten going into the week of Thanksgiving. That’s coming after a week where Kansas State added a pair of dominant wins in non-conference play. That included a 111-46 win over Milwaukee in their last game out. 

The non-conference slate is pretty immediately going to get more difficult for Kansas State, though. That starts with a game against Duke on Monday. A win in that game would be by far the best of the season for Kansas State and help add a layer of proof to the Wildcats’ AP ranking this season.

10. Maryland

It’s been a dominant start to the season for Maryland. The most recent of those was 107-35 over Saint Francis. That effort was led by Kaylene Smikle and Allie Kubek, who both had more than 20 points. It was part of a dominant offensive stretch for the Terrapins, who are averaging 93.5 points per game in their last four wins. 

From here, non-conference play continues against George Mason and Toledo. Conference play will then get underway in December when Maryland plays its first Big Ten game against Purdue.

Rest of AP Top 25 Poll

11. Ohio State
12. West Virginia
13. Duke
14. Kentucky
15. Iowa State
16. North Carolina
17. TCU
18. Ole Miss
19. Illinois
20. NC State
21. Oregon
22. Iowa
23. Alabama
24. Louisville
25. Nebraska