UCLA and South Carolina are 1-2 in
women's AP Top 25; No. 6 TCU has highest ranking in its history
[March 11, 2025]
By DOUG FEINBERG
UCLA vaulted back up to No. 1 in The Associated Press women's
basketball Top 25 on Monday after beating USC for the Big Ten title
over the weekend.
The Bruins, who spent 12 weeks atop the poll before losing to the
rival Trojans in early February, received 16 first-place votes from
a national panel to jump from fourth to first. It was the second
time this season that the Bruins leaped over a few teams to move up
to No. 1. UCLA topped then-No. 1 South Carolina before Thanksgiving
to move up four places to claim the top ranking.
South Carolina knocked off previous No. 1 Texas in the Southeastern
Conference Tournament championship game and moved up to second from
fifth in the poll. The Gamecocks garnered nine first-place ballots.
Texas and USC going down marked just the fourth time since the
1999-00 season that the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the poll lost on
the same day, according to Stats Perform. It last occurred Nov. 30,
2019, when Oregon was first and Baylor was second.
UConn remained third going into Monday night's game against No. 22
Creighton for the Big East title. The Huskies received the other
seven first-place votes.
USC, which beat UCLA twice in the regular season, fell two spots to
fourth and Texas dropped to fifth.
TCU climbed up two spots to sixth for the highest ranking in school
history after topping Baylor for the Big Ten championship Sunday.
The Horned Frogs last won a tournament title in 2005 when they were
a member of Conference USA.
Duke moved up four places to seventh after it beat N.C. State for
the ACC championship. It was the Blue Devils' first tournament title
in 12 years. It's also the team's best ranking since it was also
seventh on Nov. 17, 2014.
Notre Dame fell to eighth with N.C. State and LSU rounding out the
top 10.
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UCLA players celebrate after an NCAA college basketball game against
Southern California in the championship of the Big Ten Conference
tournament in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael
Conroy)
Ins and outs
Mississippi joined the poll at No. 25 after reaching the
quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss was ranked for the
first nine weeks of the season. Michigan State fell out of the poll.
Getting recognition
UTSA received a vote in the poll for the first time in school
history. The Roadrunners finished off the regular season with a
school record 26 wins, including a 17-1 mark in the American
Athletic Conference. The 17 conference victories match the school
mark set in 2002-03 when the team was in the Southland Conference.
The team is led by conference player of the year Jordyn Jenkins and
is coached by Karen Aston.
Conference breakdown
The Southeastern Conference has eight ranked teams. The ACC and Big
12 each have five while the Big Ten has four. The Big East has two
and the Summit League one.
Games of the week
With the power conference tournaments finished, attention turns to
the mid-major showdowns. The MAAC, NEC and Ivy League all have their
championships this weekend.
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