The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2019. They replaced UCLA after the Bruins suffered their first loss of the season against USC.
Texas was another candidate to move to the top spot after overcoming a slow start and knocking off LSU on Sunday. That was the Longhorns’ third consecutive win over a top-10 opponent. They moved up to No. 2 while receiving eight first-place votes. UCLA still received six first-place votes this week but dropped to No. 3.
The Bruins almost suffered a second loss when facing Michigan State on Sunday while leading scorer Lauren Betts sat out with a foot injury. However, a 3-pointer by Timea Gardiner with 44 seconds remaining gave the Bruins the lead and a narrow 75-69 win.
USC improved to No. 4 after taking down UCLA thanks to a historically dominant two-way performance from JuJu Watkins. The Trojans were less assertive against Washington on Sunday, but still managed to get a 69-64 win.
USC shocks top-ranked UCLA: JuJu Watkins delivers signature performance as Trojans rise to first in Big Ten
Isabel Gonzalez
UConn also had an exciting week with a dominant win against South Carolina. The Huskies’ 87-58 victory snapped the Gamecocks’ 71-game home winning streak, while proving Geno Auriemma’s team is a dangerous one when locked in.
UConn is No. 5 this week while South Carolina dropped to No. 6. LSU, Ohio State, North Carolina and TCU round out the top 10.
Women’s college basketball AP Top 25 poll
| 1 | Notre Dame | 22-2 | 733 (16) | 2 |
| 2 | Texas | 26-2 | 718 (8) | 3 |
| 3 | UCLA | 24-1 | 694 (6) | 1 |
| 4 | USC | 23-2 | 668 | 6 |
| 5 | UConn | 24-3 | 632 | 7 |
| 6 | South Carolina | 23-3 | 599 | 4 |
| 7 | LSU | 25-2 | 569 | 5 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 21-3 | 499 | 9 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 23-4 | 475 | 12 |
| 10 | TCU | 24-3 | 472 | 11 |
| 11 | Duke | 20-5 | 444 | 13 |
| 12 | Kansas State | 24-3 | 420 | 14 |
| 13 | NC State | 2-5 | 411 | 10 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 20-4 | 378 | 8 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 19-6 | 354 | 15 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 19-6 | 327 | 16 |
| 17 | West Virginia | 20-5 | 190 | 18 |
| 18 | Alabama | 20-5 | 187 | 21 |
| 19 | Baylor | 22-5 | 154 | 25 |
| 20 | Georgia Tech | 21-5 | 136 | 19 |
| 21 | Maryland | 19-6 | 133 | 17 |
| 22 | Michigan State | 19-6 | 131 | 22 |
| 23 | Creighton | 21-4 | 96 | 24 |
| 24 | Oklahoma State | 20-5 | 90 | 20 |
| 25 | Illinois | 21-5 | 53 | NR |
Others receiving votes: California 48, Utah 43, Louisville 28, South Dakota State 17, Florida State 16, Richmond 10, Michigan 10, Mississippi 10, James Madison 2, Vanderbilt 2, Harvard 1
