Women's College Basketball Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 updated amid conference tournament slate

The focus in women’s college basketball has turned to the conference tournaments. Those are still ongoing and, amid them, the AP Poll Top 25 has once again been updated for women’s college basketball.

In the AP Poll, it will be interesting to see how the voters balance the body of work that teams put up in the regular season with what they do in their conference tournament. How much value is placed on a deep tournament run and will teams be punished for quickly going out? It’s going to be a challenge to fight that balance. On top of that, some of these tournaments have already come to an end while others are still being played out. So, could having more full results impact the AP Poll?

The Women’s NCAA Tournament is rapidly approaching. First, however, the conference tournaments do need to wrap up. With that, here’s the updated Women’s AP Poll Top 25 following a busy week around the sport.

1. UCLA

It’s been an excellent season for UCLA, who spent a large portion of the season ranked first in the AP Poll. They slipped a little bit late, losing twice to rival USC, but were still one of the best in the country and proved that in the Big Ten Tournament. 

Comfortable wins for UCLA against Nebraska and Ohio State got the Bruins to the Big Ten Championship in their first season with the conference. There, they ran into USC again. This time, however, UCLA was able to find a win in arguably the most important of their three meetings. With that, UCLA is now the Big Ten Tournament Champion.

2. South Carolina

The South Carolina Gamecocks have been excellent this season. After losing three times in the previous three seasons, South Carolina did have three losses in the 2024-25 season. So, while dominant, the Gamecocks weren’t as dominant as they’ve been in the past. At the same time, they’ve been excellent and deserve their AP ranking.

In the SEC Tournament, South Carolina dominated. In all three games that South Carolina played, the Gamecocks won by double digits in every game. That included against Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, and Texas in the SEC Championship. With that, they’re tournament champions again.

3. UConn

The UConn Huskies are off to a quick start in the Big East Tournament. In their first two games, they were dominant against St. John’s and Villanova. With that, they’ve now won nine games in a row.

The Big East Tournament Championship is scheduled for March 10th. There, UConn is set to take on Creighton, a very capable two-seed in the conference. This isn’t their first meeting of the season, either. In a late regular season game, UConn beat Creighton by 19 points. Previously, they’d also won that matchup by 11 points. 

4. USC

The USC Trojans, in their first season as a Big Ten team, won the conference in the regular season. They were looking to do that in the Big Ten Tournament too, beating Indiana and Michigan to get to the conference tournament championship. That’s where the run ended, though. 

USC ran into rival UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament Championship. This was their third meeting of the year and in each of the first two games, it was the Trojans who came out on top. However, that wasn’t the case in the Big Ten Tournament, when it was UCLA that walked away with the tournament crown.

5. Texas

The Texas Longhorns lost a coin toss and ended up with the second seed in the SEC Tournament this year. In the end, they’d have a chance to battle it out on the court with South Carolina. First, however, the Longhorns added a pair of good wins against LSU and Ole Miss.

The South Carolina game was the third time this season the two sides had met. Both have been the top-ranked team in the AP Poll at one time or another. However, in the end, it was the Gamecocks who were dominant in the game. With a 64-45 final score, it was Texas’ offensive struggles that largely cost them the SEC Tournament.

6. TCU

After winning the Big 12 in the regular season, TCU has now also won the conference’s tournament. So, it’s clear that the Horned Frogs are the top team in the Big 12 this season, even amid what has been a competitive conference, and they deserve their place within the current AP Poll rankings. 

In three Big 12 Tournament games, TCU consistently proved it belongs among the best teams in the country. First, they had wins over Colorado and West Virginia. That earned them their trip to the championship game against Baylor. There, the Horned Frogs beat a talented Baylor team by five points.

7. Duke

Duke has flashed the ability to beat just about anyone in the country at times this season. However, in the regular season, that came with some difficult losses too, especially on the road. Now, after the ACC Tournament, Duke again finds itself highly ranked in the AP Poll.

It’s no surprise to see Duke ranked here. The Blue Devils went on a deep ACC Tournament run, beating Louisville, Notre Dame, and Duke to win the ACC Tournament. It was a run with multiple upsets that has positioned the Blue Devils riding a wave of momentum for the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

8. Notre Dame

Notre Dame was hoping to make a deep run in the ACC Tournament. However, they’d only get one win before stumbling against Duke in their second game. Only scoring 56 points, the Irish offense struggled massively, losing the rebounding battle and turning the ball over 16 times in the process. 

In their first game, the Irish beat Cal to get to that point. However, after dropping a late-regular season game against NC State, Notre Dame has stubbed its toe a couple of times going into the Women’s NCAA Tournament. There, the Irish will look to have more success.

9. NC State

After beating Notre Dame and finishing 16-2 in the ACC for the regular season, NC State went into the ACC Tournament as the top seed. There, they quickly found they’d get everyone’s best shot. Georgia Tech nearly pulled off an upset in their first game. After that, the Wolfpack needed to face a talented and hungry North Carolina team.

NC State got through that stretch to face Duke in the ACC Tournament Championship. There, they ran into the Duke Blue Devils. That Duke team was on a mission and took down NC State. The game wasn’t particularly close either, with NC State losing by 14 points. In particular, a bad third quarter cost the Wolfpack.

10. LSU

The LSU Tigers entered the SEC Tournament as the three seed and seemed to be a little overlooked. That’s amid what has largely been a race between South Carolina and Texas. On top of that, the Tigers scuffled at the end of the regular season, losing their final two regular season games.

Those struggles didn’t improve in the SEC Tournament. After getting a win over an outmatched Florida team, LSU lost to Texas, only scoring 49 points. Shooting 33.9 percent from the floor didn’t help. Neither did only make two three-point shots to go with 15 turnovers.

Rest of AP Top 25 Poll

11. Oklahoma
12. North Carolina
13. Kentucky
14. Baylor
15. Ohio State
16. West Virginia
17. Oklahoma State
18. Maryland
19. Kansas State
20. Tennessee
21. Alabama
22. Creighton
23. Florida State
24. South Dakota State
25. Ole Miss