Women's college basketball Power Rankings: Notre Dame surges into top 20 ahead of the Big Dance
Elsewhere, UConn and UCLA remained in the top two spots and Duke and Ohio State reentered the top 10
While UConn is no longer a unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25, the Huskies stayed put as the top team in the CBS Sports women's basketball power rankings ahead of the NCAA Tournament. UCLA, Texas, South Carolina and LSU round out the top five.
Prior to this week, our most recent power rankings came out before conference tournaments tipped off. The movement you will see below reflects the past three weeks. While most of the top teams probably don't need much of an explanation, Ohio State moving into the top 10 despite losing to UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals is worth discussing.
The Buckeyes only lost to the Bruins 72-62, which is pretty respectable considering the opponent. UCLA has been one of the strongest programs all season and averages a 28.1 scoring margin. That is the same team that beat No. 7 Iowa by 51 points in the conference championship game. The Buckeyes only falling to UCLA by 10 points could be a warning about how they won't be an easy out in the NCAA Tournament.
One of the teams entering the Big Dance with the most momentum might be West Virginia after winning the Big 12 Tournament over now-No. 14 TCU. The Mountaineers were not even ranked in January, but now they are comfortably sitting at No. 12.
Notre Dame could be another exciting team to watch in the coming weeks. It is no secret the Fighting Irish have struggled during this rebuilding year, but a win over Louisville in their season finale put them back on the map. Notre Dame was not ranked in February but Niele Ivey's team will enter the Big Dance as our No. 20.
Here are the latest CBS Sports women's college basketball Power Rankings.
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First five out: Texas Tech, Colorado, Fairfield, Illinois, Iowa State
