Women's Basketball: AP Poll updated after another exciting week of action

March is here and the women’s college basketball season is rapidly making its way to postseason play. With that, the AP Top 25 Poll has released an update on its rankings for the best teams in women’s college basketball.

This last week was, of course, headlined by Iowa star Caitlin Clark. On Sunday, she broke the NCAA all-time scoring record, passing LSU legend Pete Maravich in the process. Meanwhile, South Carolina was wrapping up an unbeaten regular season. Add in the rest of what was, at times, a chaotic week, and it was a great final stretch of the season.

So, with all that in mind, here is a look at the updated AP Poll for women’s college basketball:

1. South Carolina

South Carolina has had an absolutely remarkable season and once again the Gamecocks are being honored for it with the top spot in the AP Poll. Now, South Carolina can officially call it an unbeaten regular season after getting a big win over Tennessee on Sunday. It’s an incredible accomplishment.

Now, South Carolina needs to avoid a postseason letdown in March. That starts with the SEC Tournament, which is getting going later in the week. Every team is going to give South Carolina their best and the Gamecocks need to be ready for it.

2. Stanford

Stanford bounced back from an upset loss two weeks ago and finished the season strong, winning three games in a row. That included a hard-fought win over a very good Oregon State team. With that, the Cardinal became the final Pac-12 regular season champion in women’s basketball, at least in its current form.

The Cardinal will be back in action later this week for the Pac-12 Tournament. Managing to make a deep run there will likely help Stanford to compete for and potentially make the case for a one-seed in the tournament.

3. Iowa

It was a magical week for the Iowa Hawkeyes. On Wednesday, the Hawkeyes got a dominant win over Minnesota, leading to a final clash against Ohio State with ESPN College GameDay in attendance. There, in front of a packed house, Caitlin Clark became the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and Iowa scored an upset win.

That win over Ohio State was Iowa’s fifth in a row to end the season. That should give the Hawkeyes momentum heading into the Big Ten Tournament and later the Women’s NCAA Tournament. Still, it’s going to be important to avoid an emotional letdown.

4. Ohio State

Ohio State won the Big Ten in the regular season. At the same time, it’s hard for the Buckeyes to not be getting ready for postseason play with a bad taste in their mouth. Ohio State ended the season on the road at Iowa, where the Buckeyes failed to play spoiler and took a tough loss, their first since December.

That loss was tough. However, Ohio State is still clearly one of the best teams in the country this season. Now, they’re looking to make noise in March. That starts with the Big Ten Tournament but will undoubtedly continue into the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

5. USC

After dropping a game just before last week’s AP Poll was released, the USC Trojans finished the season strong and that’s reflected in their current AP ranking. The Trojans won their final two games of the season and nine of their final 10 games. That included a close win on the road against Arizona last week.

With all of that, USC finished the season tied for second in the Pac-12 regular season standings. It goes to show how deeply competitive the Pac-12 has been this season and how exciting the conference tournament is going to be this March.

6. Texas

Going into the final week of the season, Texas had a chance to beat Oklahoma, avenging an early season loss, and potentially win the Big 12 in the regular season. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, that didn’t happen, with Texas falling to the Sooners by a single point. The Longhorns bounced back with a win over BYU, but it was a frustrating loss.

Despite the loss to Oklahoma, Texas is still one of the best teams in the country and that’s reflected by their ranking in the AP Poll. They’re also expected to be one of the best teams this postseason.

7. UCLA

The UCLA Bruins won five games in a row and seven of their final eight games this season. That recent success is reflected by their ranking in this week’s AP Poll. This past week, in particular, the Bruins were dominant, beating Arizona and Arizona State by an average of 24.5 points.

Like rival USC, UCLA finished the season in a tie for second in the Pac-12 standings and is seen as one of the favorites to win the conference tournament. The Bruins have momentum and could create havoc throughout the month of March.

8. LSU

At the end of January, LSU suffered a pair of losses to South Carolina and Mississippi State. Since then, however, the Tigers have been one of the most dominant teams in the country, rapidly rising in the AP Poll along the way. That includes this past week, when LSU beat Georgia and Kentucky handily.

LSU finished the season second in the SEC behind South Carolina. Now, the Tigers will look to upset those Gamecocks in the SEC Tournament before going into the Women’s NCAA Tournament, where LSU is looking to defend its national title.

9. UConn

At times, UConn has been a little quiet this season compared to previous ones. That, likely, comes down to storylines like unbeaten South Carolina and the individual talent of Caitlin Clark stealing women’s basketball headlines. At the same time, it was a great season for the Huskies, going unbeaten in Big East play.

Now, UConn will look to continue its success against Big East teams in the conference tournament. After that, the Huskies are going to do their best to remind the country that they’re still a force to be reckoned with in the women’s game.

10. NC State

NC State has been one of the best teams in the country all season. However, the Wolfpack slipped out of the AP Top 10 last week, after losing two games in a row. NC State was able to stop the bleeding, though, winning its final two games, including against a ranked Syracuse team.

NC State is heading into the ACC Tournament as the number two seed. There, the Wolfpack are going to be one of the favorites to win the conference tournament. After that, they’ll be a team nobody wants to play in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

Remaining teams in AP Top 25

11. Virginia Tech
12. Indiana
13. Oregon State
14. Notre Dame
15. Gonzaga
16. Kansas State
17. Baylor
18. Colorado
19. Oklahoma
20. Syracuse
21. Creighton
22. Utah
23. UNLV
24. Louisville
25. Fairfield

Others Receiving Votes: Princeton 24, Michigan State 12, West Virginia 9, Mississippi 9, Duke 3, Columbia 3, North Carolina 3, Richmond 1, Kansas 1, Toledo 1, Jackson State 1, Iowa State 1.