Postponements, cancellations, and upsets, oh my! A wild week in women’s basketball has moved a new team into the top spot: the Louisville Cardinals. The Cards beat Boston College handily after the break before escaping Atlanta Sunday with a win over the top defensive team in the country, Georgia Tech. Since losing to Arizona in their first game of the season, Louisville has won 12 straight. South Carolina suffered a loss to unranked Missouri to open SEC play, but with six wins over top 25 teams on the season, the Gamecocks slide just one spot to two. Texas holds place at three after defeating Oklahoma State on the road. The Longhorns will host Texas Tech before traveling to Waco to take on Baylor later in the week. Stanford cruised to a victory over Washington State to hold at four, while NC State dominated Clemson to stay put at five. The Wolfpack will host UNC Thursday night in a much-anticipated ACC matchup.
Indiana battled with Maryland, coming out victorious in an overtime thriller, which earned them the sixth spot. Michigan handled business over Ohio State on New Year’s Eve to keep them at seven; they’ll take on Nebraska Tuesday night in Lincoln. The Lady Vols rise one spot to eight after wins over Alabama and Arkansas; Tennessee received a late Christmas gift as they welcomed back star senior Rae Burrell Sunday afternoon. The Arizona Wildcats haven’t seen game action since Dec. 17, but climb one spot this week to nine. The Terrapin’s effort against the Hoosiers gives them the edge over UConn, who is on COVID pause for the final spot in the top 10.
The Huskies sit at 11 this week, and are followed by Baylor who dropped four spots to 12 after being upset by Kansas State to open Big 12 play. Iowa State had an impressive win over West Virginia to hold their spot at 13. LSU got back-to-back wins over ranked opponents to start SEC play; their wins move them up three spots to 14. The Tigers host the Gamecocks Thursday night before traveling to Auburn. Georgia was one of the teams that LSU defeated last week, and that loss to the Tigers bumps them one spot down to 15. The Bulldogs travel to Kentucky before hosting Alabama this week.
BYU climbs two spots to 16, while the Yellow Jackets holds tight at 17. Duke took a blow at the hands of Virginia Tech, but rebounded with a signature comeback win over Notre Dame Sunday. The Blue Devils drop to 18 this week. Oklahoma and Iowa hold spots 19 and 20, respectively.
Kentucky was placed on COVID pause, and remain at 21. They’re followed by South Florida at 22. Despite a loss to Duke, Notre Dame enters the poll at 23. The Fighting Irish have a nice balance of youth and veteran play, and freshman sensation Olivia Miles looked phenomenal against the Blue Devils yesterday, showing the world that she and her team are not a team to sleep on. Ole Miss climbs one spot to 24, and after a win over Baylor, Kansas State enters the poll at 25. The Wildcats only two losses this season came to NC State and South Carolina; they also defeated Oregon before the break.
Top 25
- Louisville
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Stanford
- NC State
- Indiana
- Michigan
- Tennessee
- Arizona
- Maryland
- UConn
- Baylor
- Iowa State
- LSU
- Georgia
- BYU
- Georgia Tech
- Duke
- Oklahoma
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- South Florida
- Notre Dame
- Ole Miss
- Kansas State
RV: Texas A&M, Nebraska, UNC, Colorado, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Florida Gulf Coast, Arkansas, Missouri State, DePaul