No. 2 USC has best ranking in AP
Top 25 in 39 years after beating UCLA; Texas still No. 1
[March 04, 2025]
By DOUG FEINBERG
Southern California has its best ranking in 39 years after moving up
to No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll on
Monday.
The Trojans won the Big Ten regular-season title Saturday, beating
then-No. 2 UCLA for the second time this year. That victory vaulted
USC up two spots for its highest appearance in the poll since the
team was second on Jan. 5, 1986. USC garnered six first-place votes
from a 31-member national media panel.
“A goal was to come here and bring USC back to what it was at one
point,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said in a phone interview.
“Recognition of our history and admiration of the history and its a
neat feeling in the present moment.”
Texas remained the top choice after receiving the other 25
first-place ballots. The Longhorns beat Georgia, Mississippi State
and Florida last week to wrap up a share of the SEC title with South
Carolina.
The Bruins fell to fourth with UConn right in front of them. South
Carolina, which won a coin flip to get the top seed in the SEC
Tournament, was fifth. Notre Dame dropped three places to six after
losing to Florida State last week.
North Carolina State and TCU were seventh and eighth. The Wolfpack
shared the ACC regular season crown with Notre Dame while the Horned
Frogs won their first Big 12 title after beating Baylor on Sunday.
LSU fell to ninth after the Tigers dropped both their games, losing
to then-No. 20 Alabama in overtime and to Ole Miss. The Tigers also
will be without star Flau'Jae Johnson for the SEC Tournament as she
recovers from shin inflammation.
Oklahoma rounded out the top 10.
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Southern California head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, center, celebrates
with her team after they defeated UCLA in an NCAA college basketball
game Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J.
Terrill)
Ranked Rabbits
South Dakota State entered the poll for the first time this season,
coming in at No. 25. It's the first time the Jackrabbits are ranked
since the preseason poll in 2022. The team went 16-0 in conference
play and have gone undefeated in the Summit League three straight
years. The Jackrabbits have won 63 straight regular season
conference games and are 81-1 dating back to the beginning of the
2020-21 season. The team's only three losses this season came to
Duke, Georgia Tech and Texas.
Conference breakdown
The Southeastern Conference has seven ranked teams. The ACC, Big Ten
and Big 12 each have five. The Big East has two and the Summit
League one.
Games of the week
All four of the major conferences begin their tournaments this week
with the championship games on Sunday.All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
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