Women's College Basketball Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 following multiple ranked matchups

Going into the final week of January, the teams at the top of Women’s College Basketball for the 2024-25 season are well established. Now, they’re largely battling for position in the respective conference races, potential Tournament seeding, and the next AP Top 25 Poll.

This week’s AP Poll is coming with some major changes after multiple ranked teams clashed last week. That included several important games between teams ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll. With that, there has been plenty of shuffling around and the poll has a new look at perhaps a less clear picture after the first couple of teams.

With all of that in mind, here is a look at how things shake out in the latest Women’s College Basketball AP Top 25 Poll:

1. UCLA

The UCLA Bruins remain unbeaten after what has been a difficult few weeks for the city of Los Angeles itself. This past week, the Bruins had to stay unbeaten against a tough Big Ten road trip to the East Coast to play Rutgers and Maryland. That came after a non-conference game against Baylor. All three were double-digit wins.

UCLA doesn’t have a midweek game this week as they return to Los Angeles for a stretch of home games. It should be tough, starting with Minnesota next Sunday before they turn their attention to Ohio State.

2. South Carolina

South Carolina continues to win, having beaten 14 teams in a row. That includes several very difficult tests in SEC play. Last week, that included beating LSU by 10 points. That was the Tigers’ first loss of the season and represented a fourth-straight win against an AP-ranked opponent. 

At this point, South Carolina’s only loss remains to UCLA. That makes for an interesting discussion at the top of the AP Poll while the two teams continue to dominate their respective conference schedules. Next week, South Carolina turns its attention to an interesting road test at Tennessee before hosting Auburn.

3. Notre Dame

Notre Dame only had one game since the last AP Poll came out. That came against Boston College and ended up being another double-digit point win for the Irish. Again, the Notre Dame offense was dominant in that win, scoring more than 80 points for the third game in a row. They’ve hit that mark in eight of their last 10 games.

ACC play continues this next week for Notre Dame. The Irish have an interesting road trip coming up. First, they’ll take on Virginia Tech. After that, Notre Dame is set to turn its attention to Louisville.

4. USC

The USC Trojans, like the UCLA Bruins, have had their month of January disrupted by the fires in Los Angeles. Similarly, they’ve been able to focus on the court and haven’t dropped a game all month despite the disruption. Since the last AP Poll came out, the Trojans added another road win in the Big Ten in a blowout over Purdue.

USC will be back in action on Thursday when they’ll take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers at home. After that, it’s another road trip with USC heading out to Iowa. The test of the season now becomes that difficult Big Ten travel schedule.

5. Texas

It was a very busy week for Texas. First, the Longhorns had a non-conference game against Maryland, ranked eighth in the AP Poll at the time. After that, they returned to SEC play against a very good Tennessee team. That game against Tennessee was a thriller going down to the wire. After that, the Longhorns survived an upset attempt by Ole Miss on the back of a fourth-quarter comeback.

Texas remains 19-2 on the season and in a three-way tie for second in the SEC standings. Still, after a couple of close calls, they’ll look to refocus next week. That will start against Missouri before Texas takes on rival Texas A&M on Sunday.

6. UConn

The UConn Huskies continue to roll in the Big East and with that, they remain one of the highest-ranked teams in the AP Poll. Last week that saw UConn dominate Villanova before taking care of business against Creighton. Incidentally, Creighton is second in the Big East standings.

Next week will see Big East play continue for UConn. First, they’ll hit the road for a mid-week game against DePaul. After that, they’ll return home to take on Butler. DePaul is one of the teams nipping at UConn’s heels in the conference standings, but Butler sits toward the bottom of the conference this year.

7. LSU

Going into the game last Friday against South Carolina unbeaten, it felt like the entirety of LSU’s season had led to that game. Then, they came out and struggled offensively at times, only shooting 29.9 percent from the field. Add 17 turnovers and LSU had its first loss of the season.

The Tigers would bounce back from that loss on Sunday with a win against Texas A&M, but the goal is going to be to get ready for the SEC Tournament in hopes they get another shot at South Carolina. For next week, the focus will be on Oklahoma and Mississippi State first, though.

8. Ohio State

The Ohio State Buckeyes are quietly 20-1 and rolling as one of the major threats in the Big Ten. That’s now reflected in the AP Poll after they managed to earn wins against Maryland and Nebraska last week. 

Like several other teams, Ohio State is going to get a bit of a break in the midweek, not playing anyone. After that, the Buckeyes are set to take on the Washington Huskies. That is before setting up a clash on the road at UCLA in a couple of weeks. First, however, the focus needs to remain on Washington.

9. TCU

After breaking into the Top 10 of the AP Poll, TCU suffered an upset loss at the hands of Oklahoma State. They’d bounce back with a good win against Baylor, but that loss has tightened things at the top of the Big 12 standings. Nobody is unbeaten and four teams have either one or two losses.

Next week, TCU has the midweek off. That should give them some time to reset before taking on Iowa State. That’s a road test that could end up being tricky for the Horned Frogs.

10. Duke

Since losing to North Carolina in overtime, Duke has won five games in a row. That included a massive win over SMU last week before turning around to beat a talented Georgia Tech team in a close game on Sunday. 

With that, they’re tied for second in the ACC standings, biting at Notre Dame’s heels. Weirdly, the Blue Devils won’t play another game before the next AP Poll comes out. So, that Georgia Tech game is going to be their last game until February 3rd when they play an important game at NC State.

Rest of AP Top 25 Poll

11. Kansas State
12. Kentucky
13. Oklahoma
14. Maryland
15. North Carolina
16. Michigan State
17. NC State
18. Tennessee
19. Cal
20. Georgia Tech
21. West Virginia
22. Alabama
23. Vanderbilt
24. Oklahoma State
25. Florida State