A lot of movement took place in this week's women's basketball AP Top 25 poll, but South Carolina is once again the unanimous No. 1 team. Meanwhile, UCLA is back at No. 2 after Iowa shockingly fell to Ohio State.
Despite a 45-point performance from Caitlin Clark on Sunday, the Hawkeyes suffered a 100-92 overtime loss to the Buckeyes and dropped three spots in the rankings. Clark also collided with a fan who stormed the court after the game, but the Iowa star appears to be unharmed. Cotie McMahon lifted Ohio State to victory with a career-high 33 points and 12 rebounds in front of a sold-out crowd at the Schottenstein Center. The upset win helped Ohio State climb six spots to No. 12.
The Pac-12 conference is taking USC on a roller coaster ride this month. The Trojans were responsible for UCLA's first loss of the season on Jan. 14, but since then they have suffered back-to-back losses to Utah and Colorado. Lindsay Gottlieb's team is down to No. 11, while Utah sits at No. 16 and Colorado remains at No. 3.
Despite having to play without star center Ayoka Lee while she recovers from an ankle injury, Kansas State claimed a win against in-state rival Kansas and moved up to No. 4 for their best ranking in 21 years.
The team that fell the furthest was Florida State, which ranked No. 15 last week after pulling off back-to-back wins against ranked opponents. However, the Seminoles took an unexpected 91-87 loss to Virginia on Sunday and found themselves down to No. 23.
Kim Mulkey and LSU are currently No. 9, and the defending national champions will have a big opportunity to prove themselves Thursday as they host South Carolina.
AP Women's Basketball Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' women's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina | 17-0 | 875 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 15-1 | 833 | 5 |
| 3 | Colorado | 16-2 | 763 | 3 |
| 4 | Kansas State | 18-1 | 753 | 7 |
| 5 | Iowa | 18-2 | 729 | 2 |
| 6 | Stanford | 17-2 | 695 | 8 |
| 7 | NC State | 16-2 | 646 | 4 |
| 8 | UConn | 16-3 | 635 | 9 |
| 9 | LSU | 18-2 | 575 | 10 |
| 10 | Texas | 18-2 | 553 | 11 |
| 11 | USC | 13-3 | 515 | 6 |
| 12 | Ohio State | 15-3 | 493 | 18 |
| 13 | Baylor | 15-2 | 480 | 12 |
| 14 | Indiana | 16-2 | 396 | 16 |
| 15 | Notre Dame | 14-3 | 331 | 19 |
| 16 | Utah | 13-5 | 328 | 20 |
| 17 | Gonzaga | 18-2 | 320 | 17 |
| 18 | Louisville | 16-3 | 315 | 13 |
| 19 | Virginia Tech | 14-4 | 272 | 14 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 14-5 | 243 | 23 |
| 21 | Creighton | 14-3 | 169 | 21 |
| 22 | Syracuse | 16-2 | 131 | NR |
| 23 | Florida State | 14-6 | 104 | 15 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 16-2 | 78 | NR |
| 25 | Oregon State | 15-3 | 43 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Marquette 37, Princeton 21, Iowa St. 14, UNLV 12, Fairfield 8, Washington St 3, Miami 2, Green Bay 1, Richmond 1, Virginia 1.