The USC Trojans improved to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll, their highest ranking since 1986. Lindsay Gottlieb’s team started March on a high note with a win over UCLA on Sunday, which helped them sweep the Bruins this season and also earned the Trojans the Big Ten regular-season title in their debut year in the conference.
UCLA has only lost two games and both were to the Trojans. The Bruins’ resume is still very strong, so they stayed in the top five this week at No. 4.
USC vs. UCLA: Trojans win Big Ten title after shutting down Bruins again
Isabel Gonzalez
Texas is the No. 1 team for the second consecutive week, but the Longhorns are not a unanimous decision as USC is also receiving votes.
Vic Schaefer celebrated his birthday with the Longhorns getting a dominant 72-46 win over Florida on Sunday and earning a share of the SEC regular-season title with South Carolina. The Gamecocks won the coin flip to get the top seed in the conference tournament, which tips off Wednesday in Greenville, S.C.
Notre Dame beat Louisville on Sunday, but the Fighting Irish fell to No. 6 because they suffered an 86-81 loss to Florida State on Thursday. The Seminoles lost to Duke, but their win over Notre Dame still helped them improve to No. 22.
LSU dropped to No. 9 after losses to Alabama and Ole Miss. The Tigers locked in the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament, but they will be playing without leading scorer Flau’Jae Johnson. The junior guard is dealing with shin inflammation and Kim Mulkey wants her to be healthy for the NCAA Tournament.
Women’s college basketball AP Top 25 poll
| 1 | Texas | 29-2 | 768 (25) | 1 |
| 2 | USC | 26-2 | 749 (6) | 4 |
| 3 | UConn | 38-2 | 685 | 5 |
| 4 | UCLA | 27-2 | 676 | 2 |
| 5 | South Carolina | 27-3 | 664 | 6 |
| 6 | Notre Dame | 25-4 | 626 | 3 |
| 7 | NC State | 24-5 | 589 | 9 |
| 8 | TCU | 28-3 | 570 | 10 |
| 9 | LSU | 27-4 | 490 | 7 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 23-6 | 450 | 13 |
| 11 | Duke | 23-7 | 436 | 16 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 22-6 | 405 | 15 |
| 13 | Ohio State | 24-5 | 397 | 12 |
| 14 | North Carolina | 25-6 | 386 | 8 |
| 15 | Maryland | 23-6 | 316 | 19 |
| 16 | West Virginia | 23-6 | 301 | 18 |
| 17 | Baylor | 25-6 | 286 | 17 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 21-8 | 236 | 11 |
| 19 | Alabama | 23-7 | 221 | 20 |
| 20 | Kansas State | 25-6 | 220 | 14 |
| 21 | Oklahoma State | 24-5 | 189 | 21 |
| 22 | Florida State | 23-7 | 128 | 24 |
| 23 | Creighton | 24-5 | 83 | 22 |
| 24 | Michigan State | 21-8 | 67 | 23 |
| 25 | South Dakota State | 26-3 | 42 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Louisville 40, Richmond 21, Mississippi 15, Utah 6, James Madison 5, Iowa 3, Fairfield 2, California 2, Georgia Tech 1
