Women's College Basketball Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 updated after exciting week

Women’s College Basketball Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 updated after exciting week

Posted by Admin November 18, 2024 Basketball

The Women’s AP Poll has been updated after an exciting second week of action in the sport. That included several upsets that led to a shake-up within the Top 25.

It’s still early in the season. However, there is already a group of teams who are proving to be at the top of the sport. At the same time, there is plenty of time for things to change, especially as non-conference play continues on.

With that, here is a look at how the updated Women’s AP Poll after the second week of action:

South Carolina remains at the top of the AP Poll. That’s not a particular surprise, given that they’ve kept on dominating. That included beating ECU by 51 points on Sunday and Coppin State earlier in the week.

Next week, South Carolina is going to need to keep their foot on the gas against improving competition. That includes against rival Clemson. After that, South Carolina is preparing for a showdown with UCLA.

UConn only had one game since the last AP Poll dropped. However, they certainly made it count by beating a ranked North Carolina team by 11. Unsurprisingly, Paige Bueckers was the stand out in that game, scoring 29 points.

The level of competition should settle down for the next week. UConn has a game against Fairleigh Dickinson, which they’ll be a heavy favorite in. So, it seems like the Huskies will be at the top of the poll for a while.

The USC Trojans got a pair of wins in the past week. Both of those were against non-conference opponents who the Trojans outclassed with neither game being particularly close. The win over Cal State Northridge was by 85 points.

Next week, USC will only have one game and that’s not until next Saturday. However, it is a massive game, with the Trojans taking on another AP Top-10 team in Notre Dame.

Texas kept rolling along with a pair of 30-point wins. With that, it’s not a surprise that the Longhorns are ranked so highly in the AP Poll. This is a talented team that has been balanced in terms of its offensive scoring output.

Next week, Texas is scheduled to continue non-conference play with another two games. They’ll be big favorites in each one of those games. So, without an upset, Texas is going to stay at the top of the rankings.

Kiki Rice, UCLA — (Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)

The UCLA Bruins are coming off a dominant week, beating both Pepperdine and Arkansas. Neither of those games were particularly close and with that, the Bruins look like they could beat anyone in the country.

Next week, UCLA will have that chance as the Bruins are preparing for a massive game next week against South Carolina. If the Bruins can pull off an upset in that game, they’d be able to force a massive shakeup in the Top 5 of the AP Poll for next week.

To this point, Notre Dame has had one of the best offenses in the country. The Irish have scored at least 91 points in every game this season. That includes in both of their non-conference wins last week.

The Irish are in for a test next week, though. Notre Dame is getting ready to play USC. That game is better known as a rivalry in football but with two of the best teams in the country facing off, it should be a thriller.

The LSU Tigers kept on winning last week, grabbing a pair of non-conference wins. While none of their wins to this point have come against a power conference opponent, they’ve all been impressive wins for the Tigers.

That non-conference slate is going to continue for the Tigers with another pair of games against mid-majors. First, LSU will take on Troy. After that, the Tigers are going to get set to host Tulane.

Coming into the season, Iowa State looked poised to make noise in the Big 12 and potentially even win the conference. In particular, with Texas and Oklahoma leaving, the path seems wide open for the Cyclones. To this point, the Cyclones haven’t done anything to make it seem like they’re not capable either.

Iowa State will put their unbeaten record and ranking in the AP Poll on the line. That starts with a game against Northern Iowa on Wednesday against a team that would love to upset the Cyclones.

The Oklahoma Sooners are still ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll after convincingly winning another game. That included beating Western Carolina by 66 points last Wednesday. That came on the back of a 27-point performance from Raegan Beers.

This week, Oklahoma is going to have two more games against non-conference opponents. First is going to be against Wichita State on Tuesday. Along the way, the Sooners can expect everyone’s best shot.

Similarly to Iowa State, Kansas State is in a position where the Wildcats believe they can make a deep run in the Big 12. That starts with playing well in the non-conference slate, which to this point, Kansas State has.

Kansas State will play a pair of mid-major teams in their non-conference slate this week. That’s before Kansas State will play Duke in a week. That game will likely be their biggest test of the early season.