Women's college basketball rankings: Maryland is back on the rise, Texas and Vandy stay put after chaotic week

The chaos continued this week in women's college basketball thanks primarily to Vanderbilt's up-and-down play. The Commodores picked up a statement win against Texas on Thursday, but then fell to Georgia on Sunday. Voters balanced those out and kept Vanderbilt at No. 5. The Commodores still have three regular-season games remaining, all against other ranked opponents. 

Texas also kept its No. 4 ranking. Vic Schaefer said his team did not play with heart against Vanderbilt, but he was proud of them bouncing back with a 65-63 victory against the Tennessee Lady Vols -- who were ranked No. 22 at the time and are now No. 21.

The top three also remained untouched, with UConn still the unanimous No. 1, followed by UCLA and South Carolina. The Gamecocks stayed put by surviving a road game against the LSU Tigers, who slipped to No. 7. That was South Carolina's 18th consecutive victory against LSU.

There are no days off in the SEC, but things are just as messy in other conferences, including the Big Ten. Ohio State fell two spots to No. 10 after getting upset by Maryland at home. The Buckeyes had the momentum until giving up a 19-point lead and falling 76-75. The Terrapins spent the first few months of the season in the top 10 but dropped down to No. 22 after a series of injuries and a rough start to conference play. However, after taking down Ohio State to clinch their fourth win in a row, the Terrapins jumped six spots to No. 14.

In the Big 12, TCU rose five spots to No. 12 after beating then-No. 12 Baylor and No. 19 West Virginia in back-to-back games. Texas Tech has been moving up and down the rankings, but this was a down week due to a 75-65 loss to Oklahoma State. The No. 20 Lady Rebels have another tough Big 12 opponent coming up as they host No. 15 Baylor on Wednesday.

As for the ACC, Duke continues to dominate and has entered the top 10 following a 72-68 win over North Carolina. The Blue Devils will put their 16-game winning streak to the test with a home game against NC State on Thursday.

AP Women's Basketball Top 25

Others receiving votes: Rhode Island 41, Washington 22, Princeton 14, Richmond 12, Fairfield 7, N Dakota St 2, Iowa St. 2, Illinois 2, Syracuse 1, Columbia 1.