Iowa cracks top 10 in AP women's
basketball poll for 1st time in 2 years. UConn, South Carolina 1-2
[January 20, 2026]
By DOUG FEINBERG
Iowa cracked the top 10 for the first time in two years and UConn
remained the unanimous No. 1 choice in The Associated Press Top 25
women's basketball poll released Monday.
The Hawkeyes last were ranked this high in the final poll of Caitlin
Clark's senior year. They had been as high as 11th a few times this
season.
UConn received all 30 first-place ballots from a national media
panel as the top six teams in the poll were unchanged from a week
earlier. The Huskies have won 35 consecutive games dating to last
season. After the poll was released, UConn beat former Big East
rival Notre Dame, which fell out of the poll this week.
No. 2 South Carolina and No. 3 UCLA were next. Texas remained fourth
despite losing to South Carolina 68-65 last week. Vanderbilt and LSU
were next, while Michigan moved up a spot to seventh with
Louisville, TCU and Iowa rounding out the top 10. Each team climbed
one place after Kentucky lost to Mississippi State on Sunday. The
Wildcats fell four spots to 11th.
Soaring Blue Devils
Duke vaulted back into the poll at No. 21 after winning its 10th
consecutive game last week. The team was seventh in the preseason
Top 25 before dropping six of its first nine games to fall out. Duke
has been on a hot streak over the last month.
Rising Tigers
Princeton moved up to No. 20 this week, the Tigers' best ranking
since they were 13th in the final poll of 2015. The Tigers have a
14-game winning streak after beating Harvard in overtime on Monday.
The lone defeat on the season came against Maryland.
[to top of second column] |
UConn guard KK Arnold (2), UConn forward Sarah Strong (21) and UConn
guard Azzi Fudd (35) react from the bench in the second half of an
NCAA college basketball game against Villanova, Thursday, Jan. 15,
2026, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Falling Cyclones
Iowa State dropped out of the poll for the first time this season
after losing its fifth consecutive game on Sunday. The Cyclones were
10th on Dec. 22, but have steadily fallen in the rankings since.
Conference supremacy
The Southeastern Conference has nine teams in the Top 25 for the
second straight week. The Big Ten is next with seven as Washington
re-entered the poll this week and Illinois fell out. The Big 12 has
five ranked teams after West Virginia returned to the rankings. The
Atlantic Coast COnference has two while the Big East and Ivy League
each have one.
Game of the week
No. 5 Vanderbilt at No. 2 South Carolina, Sunday. The Commodores
will put their undefeated SEC record on the line against the
Gamecocks. Vanderbilt is off to its best start ever at 19-0 after
Monday's 72-69 win over Michigan.
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