In this week’s Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll, released on Monday, there is a shakeup in the top five following a rare conference loss from a powerhouse program.
Here are five takeaways from the poll:
Texas moves up after making statement; South Carolina drops two spots
In a tightly contested battle between two of the top teams in the SEC, the Longhorns (24-2, 10-1 SEC) picked up a huge win at home over the Gamecocks to avenge a prior loss to South Carolina on Jan. 12. The win moves Texas up one spot to No. 3.
Impressively, Texas won the game without making a three-pointer, becoming the first team to do so against an AP top five opponent since UConn went 0-of-9 against Oklahoma in the 2002 national championship game. That could be a problem in closer games down the stretch, but it did not prevent the Longhorns from getting a signature win on Sunday.
For South Carolina (22-2, 10-1 SEC), down two spots to No. 4, the loss snapped a 17-game winning streak. The 66-62 loss to Texas was South Carolina’s first regular season loss in conference play in 57 games.
While the rest of South Carolina’s schedule is manageable with only two ranked opponents remaining, this team must shoot better (36.8% on Sunday) and get off to a better start. In each of its two losses this season, South Carolina has not led at any point during those games.
UConn falls after losing to longtime rivals
Although the Huskies (22-3, 13-0 Big East), down two spots to No. 7, closed out the week with a 77-40 rout of Providence on Sunday, it was an 80-76 setback to then-No. 19 Tennessee on Thursday that tripped them up.
In that loss, UConn shockingly allowed a season-high 42 points in the paint and shot 26.7% from outside the paint. Although it seems likely that UConn can finish out Big East play undefeated, its three losses to non-conference opponents show there is still work to be done.
With No. 4 South Carolina looming on Sunday, the Huskies must find a way to limit production in the paint, or it may be much of the same going forward for UConn.
NC State continues climb up rankings after dominant road win
Following its 97-74 road win over then-No. 22 Florida State on Sunday, NC State (19-4, 11-1 ACC) has won eight straight games, including back-to-back over ranked opponents. The Wolfpack move up four spots to No. 10.
The 23-point blowout was the program’s largest road win over a ranked team since a 90-65 win over No. 15 South Carolina during the 1989-90 season. Per NCAA.com, Florida State is the highest-scoring team in the country (92.1 PPG), making NC State’s performance stand out even more.
Having scored at least 80 points in six of their eight games during the winning streak, the Wolfpack are showing they can win on both sides of the ball.
Tennessee moves up four spots despite mixed results
Although the Lady Vols took down previously-No. 5 UConn on Thursday, they fell to then-No. 6 LSU in an 82-77 thriller on Sunday. The loss was Tennessee’s second to LSU this season — both by a combined seven points.
Despite the narrow loss on Sunday, Tennessee (17-6, 4-6 SEC) still moves up four spots to No. 15 in the poll. That is largely due to its margin of defeat in each of those conference losses, which have all been by seven points or less.
If Tennessee keeps dominating in the paint like it did in both games last week, this could be a dangerous team in March that has proven it can hang with anyone.
Creighton the highest newcomer to the poll
After starting the season 1-2, Creighton (20-4, 12-1 Big East), ranked No. 24, enters the poll having won 19 of its last 21 games.
With its only losses coming to top-ranked UCLA and a top-10 UConn team, the Bluejays continue to impress. If senior guards Lauren Jensen (18 PPG) and Morgan Maly (17.5 PPG) maintain their production, this team has the potential to make some noise.
