Who's No. 1? No. 2 UConn, No. 5 UCLA and No. 6 Notre Dame all have chance at top spot in AP poll

 

[November 25, 2024]  By DOUG FEINBERG

A wild weekend in Los Angeles set up for a new No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll when it's released Monday. The question is who will it be?

Defending champion South Carolina has been No. 1 for 23 straight weeks after going undefeated last season and winning its first few games of the new season before losing 77-62 at No. 5 UCLA. Sixth-ranked Notre Dame took it to No. 3 USC winning 74-61 a day earlier.

UCLA coach Cori Close said she watched the entire Notre Dame-USC game and came away really impressed with the Irish.

“Notre Dame looked really good and we have a lot of teams that can make a good case to be No. 1 and that’s a great testament to our game," she said. "There’s a lot more parity.”

As far as where her team should be in the new poll, she didn't care as much about than that they "learn the lessons that this game taught us, I want us to fall more in love with the process to be great. That's the only thing that matters to me.”

Still, it would be something for UCLA which has never been No. 1 in the poll before.

Besides the Bruins and Irish, No. 2 UConn can make a case to move up to the top spot. The Huskies haven't lost yet this season. They have a ranked win at then-No. 14 North Carolina. If they do move up to No. 1, it would be the 251st time that Geno Auriemma's team has held that spot. The last came in the final poll of 2021.

UCLA center Lauren Betts, center, celebrates after an NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Auriemma just became the NCAA all-time victories leader when he got his 1,217th win on Wednesday, breaking a tie with Tara VanDerveer.

If the Irish move up to No. 1, it would be the second consecutive season that a No. 6 team vaulted up to the top spot. South Carolina did it last year in the first regular-season poll, marking the biggest leap to No. 1 in the history of the poll. That started the Gamecocks run at No. 1 until Monday. Notre Dame hasn't been No. 1 since 2019.

Women's basketball was the bigger winner over the weekend as the atmosphere in Los Angeles was great for the sport with both games having sold out crowds, including a star-studded celebrity group at the USC game that was led by Michael B. Jordan, Snoop Dogg and Jason Sudeikis.

The Ted Lasso star, who is a dedicated women's basketball fan, also was at the UCLA game.

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