South Carolina remains No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll and is one of just three unbeaten teams left in women’s college basketball. No. 2 UCLA and No. 4 Baylor are the others. Iowa moved up to third after previously unbeaten N.C. State lost to Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack fell to sixth. Colorado was fifth. North Carolina and UNLV are back in the poll while TCU and Syracuse dropped out.
South Carolina remained No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll and is now one of three unbeaten teams left.
The New Year began with seven undefeated teams.
The Gamecocks (14-0) received 34 of the 35 first-place ballots Monday after beating Florida and Mississippi State last week. UCLA (14-0) garnered the other No. 1 vote and was second in the Top 25 once again.
Baylor (14-0) jumped up two spots after topping previously undefeated TCU and Houston.
Colorado was fifth. LSU, which won at Mississippi on Sunday in front of a program-record crowd of 9,074 for the Rebels, was No. 7 behind N.C. State and Stanford, USC and Texas rounded out the top 10.
Virginia Tech moved up two spots to 11th, leapfrogging Kansas State and UConn. The Hokies’ two losses this season have come to Iowa on a neutral court and at LSU.
IN AND OUT
After wins over Syracuse and Notre Dame, North Carolina re-entered the Top 25 one week after dropping out. The Tar Heels, who were the only team to beat two ranked opponents last week, came in at No. 20. UNLV also returned to the poll at No. 25.
Syracuse and TCU fell out. The Horned Frogs also lost star Sedona Prince indefinitely to a hand injury. TCU had won its first 14 games, the best start in school history, before losing to Baylor.
UNBEATEN NO MORE
West Virginia and Oregon State were the other two undefeated teams heading into 2024. The 24th-ranked Mountaineers fell to Texas last week and the Beavers were swept by USC and UCLA.
WELCOME BACK
No. 18 Notre Dame got a lift from the return of Sonia Citron from a nine-game absence due to a knee injury. She had 18 points in a loss to North Carolina on Sunday. Notre Dame is still without guard Olivia Miles, who tore her ACL last season.
MILESTONE WIN
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer won her 1,200th game on Sunday, a victory over Washington. In 44 years as a head coach, VanDerveer has won three NCAA titles. She surpassed former Tennessee coach Pat Summit in 2021 as the women’s career victories leader and sits two behind former Duke men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski for most all-time in college basketball.
THE TOP 25
1. South Carolina (34 first-place votes) 14-0
2. UCLA (1) 14-0
3. Iowa 15-1
4. Baylor 14-0
5. Colorado 13-1
6. NC State 14-1
7. LSU 15-1
8. Stanford 14-1
9. Southern Cal 12-1
10. Texas 15-1
11. Virginia Tech 12-2
12. Kansas St. 15-1
13. UConn 12-3
14. Indiana 13-1
15. Louisville 13-2
16. Gonzaga 14-2
17. Ohio St. 11-3
18. Notre Dame 10-3
19. Utah 11-4
20. North Carolina 11-4
21. Florida St. 12-4
22. Creighton 11-3
23. Marquette 13-2
24. West Virginia 13-1
25. UNLV 12-1
