South Carolina women's basketball stays near top of AP poll
Another week, another dominant set of wins for South Carolina women’s basketball. The Gamecocks smacked the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners on Sunday 101-60, just a few days after beating a ranked Alabama team by 18 points on the road despite playing far from their best game. Following the big week, Carolina’s ranking didn’t change, but they made up a little ground on the top spot.
[Win tickets: South Carolina-LSU WBB]
When the updated AP top 25 rankings came out on Monday, South Carolina held at the No. 2 spot. However, unlike last week, the Gamecocks earned a first-place vote. Last week, the AP gave USC zero first-place votes, down from two the week prior. As expected, they remain behind the undefeated UCLA Bruins, the only team who has beaten them this season.
Despite what the Associated Press voters believe, there is a growing sentiment around the country that the Gamecocks are the best team in women’s college basketball.
UCLA deserves to be in the top spot because of their undefeated record and head-to-head win over South Carolina. However, Dawn Staley’s team has the best resume in the country. Riding a 13-game winning streak, a 6-0 record in a stacked SEC, and an NCAA-leading eight wins over Quad 1 opponents, the Gamecocks easily sit atop the NET rankings. Meanwhile, UCLA is fourth thanks to a much weaker schedule and some close calls.
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As things stand, unless UCLA loses, the AP voters would be unlikely to jump the Gamecocks over the Bruins. However, with South Carolina’s strength of schedule, there is a world in which USC is so impressive that they make the conversation interesting.
You can see the entire AP top 25 below (first-place votes in parentheses):
- UCLA Bruins (27)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (1)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2)
- Southern Cal Trojans
- LSU Tigers
- UConn Huskies
- Texas Longhorns
- Maryland Terrapins
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Duke Blue Devils
- Oklahoma Sooners
- West Virginia Mountaineers
- Tennessee Lady Volunteers
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- NC State Wolfpack
- Michigan State Spartans
- Cal Golden Bears
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Michigan Wolverines
- Baylor Bears
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This week, South Carolina and LSU will play in one of the season’s most anticipated matchups. Following the No. 2 Gamecocks hosting the No. 5 Tigers (with College GameDay in the house), next week’s AP rankings will look different near the top. Dawn Staley’s team also will be going for its 17th win in a row over the Bayou Bengals.
Tip-off against LSU is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. in Colonial Life Arena. ESPN will broadcast the contest, while the ESPN app makes it available for streaming.
