UCLA and UConn have been taking care of business this women's college basketball season, but South Carolina deserves a special shoutout this week. If it hadn't been for the Gamecocks' loss to the Bruins in November, Dawn Staley's team could probably be ranked No. 1 in the CBS Sports Power Rankings right now.
They still have room to grow, but since UCLA snapped their 43-game winning streak, the Gamecocks have learned how to be more patient offensively. Their defense continues to be a strength, as TCU -- one of the top offensive teams in the nation -- got to experience first hand on Sunday.
The Horned Frogs are in an interesting spot, as their 85-52 loss to South Carolina showed they clearly still have a lot to work to do to make any kind of noise in March. That being said, TCU deserves credit for how it's surpassed expectations so far, and perhaps this blowout loss will serve as motivation.
Tennessee enters the rankings this week after the Lady Volunteers pulled off a 78-68 win over Iowa by forcing 30 turnovers. That was the Hawkeyes' first big test of the season, but Jan Jensen's squad will get a chance to clean up some mistakes with another big game Wednesday against Iowa State.
At the end of the rankings, Illinois and Louisville are fighting to hang on.
Illinois suffered a 83-74 loss to Ohio State -- our No. 11 team -- on Sunday. A nine-point loss to a team in the upper half of the rankings is nothing to be ashamed off. The Fighting Illini's 23-point loss to Kentucky on Nov. 27 is a little worse, but Kentucky is also ranked within our top 25.
As for Louisville, the loss to Oklahoma -- 10th in our power rankings -- came by just six points. The 33-point loss to No. 2 UConn was uglier, but it's also fair to point out the Huskies have the 10th-best scoring margin in the country at 30.9. That being said, there are a lot of talented teams like Michigan State and Georgia Tech knocking on the door, so there is no more room for error.
Here are the official CBS Sports women's college basketball Power Rankings:
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First five out: Alabama, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Cal
