In Monday’s Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll, Caitlin Clark and Iowa moved back up to No. 2, with the star guard getting closer to breaking the NCAA lifetime scoring record.
The Hawkeyes are ranked second in the poll for the second time in a few weeks, a position that hasn’t been kind to teams in the last month. Since January 8, UCLA, Iowa, and Kansas State have alternated in second place, although none of the teams was able to maintain that position for longer than a week at a time.
South Carolina, which is once again the unanimous choice of a 35-member national media panel, has maintained a firm hold atop the poll, despite the fact that No. 2 has been shifting about recently.
This week, the Gamecocks (21-0) will host Missouri and UConn, ranked No. 11. Star center Kamilla Cardoso, who departed for a week to play with the Brazilian national team at an Olympic qualification event, will not be available for Dawn Staley’s team for those games.
Prior to this season, Iowa had occupied the second rank twice, most recently the week of January 15 after the Hawkeyes’ defeat by Ohio State.
Clark will attempt to extend her stay this time around. She is just 66 points away from breaking the record as the all-time best scorer in NCAA women’s basketball history. With an eye toward breaking Kelsey Plum’s record, she will guide the Hawkeyes this week against Penn State and Nebraska.
Clark will attempt to extend her stay this time around. She is just 66 points away from breaking the record as the all-time best scorer in NCAA women’s basketball history. With an eye toward breaking Kelsey Plum’s record, she will guide the Hawkeyes this week against Penn State and Nebraska.
Iowa was followed by No. 3 North Carolina State, No. 4 Colorado, and No. 5 Ohio State. This season, the Buckeyes have never ranked higher.
Stanford’s loss to USC and JuJu Watkins dropped them two spots to sixth. In the game, the incredible rookie scored 51 points.
Following their victories over Baylor and then-No. 2 Kansas State last week, Texas shot up five spots to sixth place. After losing to Oklahoma, who came in at No. 24 in the poll, the Wildcats dropped to seventh place. USC rose five spots to tenth place, while UCLA came in ninth.
Only Stanford in 2009–10 was the No. 2 team for the whole season in the previous 15 years. Lately, it has become a volatile place. The No. 2 spot changed the most—ten times—during the 2018–19 season. This season, there have already been seven No. 2 teams.
Coach Geno Auriemma of UConn is one win away from being just the third Division I coach with 1,200 victories, after Tara VanDerveer (1,206) and Mike Krzyzewski (1,202). The Huskies’ game against Seton Hall on Wednesday will be Auriemma’s first opportunity to attain that milestone.
Despite narrow defeats to Virginia Tech and N.C. State this week, North Carolina dropped out of the rankings. Eight games have been lost by the Tar Heels this season, five of which have come against teams who are presently ranked (South Carolina, Kansas State, UConn, Virginia Tech, and N.C. State). Those Top 25 defeats have all come within 12 points of one another. Also, they have triumphed over four of the current Top 25 teams (Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Oklahoma).
Throughout the season, receive updates and poll notifications about basketball from the AP Top 25. AP women’s college basketball registration is available at https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball.
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