By The Maryland Terrapins dropped out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in 13 years, while the South Carolina Gamecocks are now the unanimous No. 1. It was only the second week of the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season, but more of the top teams have already picked up a loss.
Maryland had stayed in the Top 25 for 251 consecutive weeks — the sixth-longest run ever in the AP Top 25. That was also the longest active streak behind UConn. As luck would have it, the Huskies were the ones responsible for the drop by handing Brenda Frese’s squad a 32-point loss on Nov. 16.
South Carolina jumped to No. 1 last week after entering the season ranked sixth, but the Gamecocks weren’t the unanimous favorite until today. Even though this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for them, they have been a force to reckon with and have scored 100+ points in each of their first three games, a first in program history.
Another team taking care of business is Cori Close’s UCLA Bruins. They had a bit of a scare against Princeton but pulled off a 77-74 win that helped them climb one spot to No. 2 — the highest ranking ever for UCLA women’s basketball. UCLA and South Carolina are the only two teams that started this season in the Top 10 to not lose a game yet.
Colorado and Stanford climbed two spots to be the No. 3 and No. 4 teams as the Pac-12 continues to make a statement. USC moved up two places to No. 8, while Utah is currently sharing the No. 10 ranking with NC State.
Iowa went down three places to No. 5 after getting upset 65-58 by Kansas State. The Hawkeyes saved themselves from going lower by bouncing back on Sunday with a 113-90 win over Drake. Deservingly so, Kansas State has entered the poll at No. 16.
AP Women’s Basketball Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ women’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (36) | 3-0 | 900 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 4-0 | 837 | 2 |
| 3 | Colorado | 4-0 | 773 | 5 |
| 4 | Stanford | 4-0 | 768 | 6 |
| 5 | Iowa | 4-1 | 678 | 2 |
| 6 | UConn | 3-1 | 672 | 8 |
| 7 | LSU | 4-1 | 642 | 7 |
| 8 | USC | 3-0 | 600 | 10 |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 2-1 | 567 | 9 |
| 10 | Utah | 4-1 | 518 | 4 |
| 10 | North Carolina State | 4-0 | 518 | 14 |
| 12 | Texas | 4-0 | 517 | 11 |
| 13 | Florida State | 4-0 | 490 | 12 |
| 14 | Baylor | 3-0 | 457 | 21 |
| 15 | Ohio State | 2-1 | 400 | 13 |
| 16 | Kansas State | 4-0 | 368 | NR |
| 17 | Notre Dame | 3-1 | 343 | 16 |
| 18 | North Carolina | 4-0 | 328 | 17 |
| 19 | Tennessee | 3-1 | 309 | 15 |
| 20 | Louisville | 4-0 | 263 | 19 |
| 21 | Indiana | 3-1 | 259 | 18 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | 5-0 | 146 | 25 |
| 23 | Washington State | 5-0 | 114 | 24 |
| 24 | Ole Miss | 4-1 | 105 | 23 |
| 25 | Mississippi State | 5-0 | 55 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Maryland 48, Creighton 10, Princeton 6, Marquette 6, Michigan 1, UNLV 1, Davidson 1.
