In the AP, Caitlin Clark and Iowa go back up to No. 2. Women’s poll top 25, with South Carolina unanimity at the top.
In Monday’s Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll, Caitlin Clark and Iowa moved back up to No. 2, with the star guard getting closer to breaking the NCAA lifetime scoring record.
The Hawkeyes are second in the poll for the second time in a few weeks—a position that hasn’t been kind to teams in the last month. Since January 8, UCLA, Iowa, and Kansas State have alternated in second place, although none of the teams was able to maintain that position for longer than a week at a time.
South Carolina, which is once again the unanimous choice of a 35-member national media panel, has maintained a firm hold atop the poll, despite the fact that No. 2 has been shifting about recently.
The Gamecocks (21-0) will host Missouri and No. 11 UConn this week. Dawn Staley’s squad will play those games without star center Kamilla Cardoso, who left for a week to play with the Brazilian national team at an Olympic qualifying tournament.
Iowa has held the No. 2 spot twice before this season, including the week of Jan. 15 when the Hawkeyes lost to Ohio State.
Clark, who is only 66 points away from becoming the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball history, will try and make it a longer stay this time around. She will lead the Hawkeyes against Penn State and Nebraska this week with Kelsey Plum’s record in view.
No. 3 North Carolina State, No. 4 Colorado and No. 5 Ohio State followed Iowa. It’s the Buckeyes’ best ranking this season.
Stanford fell two spots to sixth after losing to JuJu Watkins and USC. The phenomenal freshman scored 51 points in that game.
Following their victories over Baylor and then-No. 2 Kansas State last week, Texas shot up five spots to sixth place. After losing to Oklahoma, who came in at No. 24 in the poll, the Wildcats dropped to seventh place. USC rose five spots to tenth place, while UCLA came in ninth.
Only Stanford in 2009–10 was the No. 2 team for the whole season in the previous 15 years. Lately, it has become a volatile place. The No. 2 spot changed the most—ten times—during the 2018–19 season. This season, there have already been seven No. 2 teams.
Coach Geno Auriemma of UConn is one win away from being just the third Division I coach with 1,200 victories, after Tara VanDerveer (1,206) and Mike Krzyzewski (1,202). Auriemma’s initial opportunity to reach that milestone is Wednesday when the Huskies host Seton Hall.
Despite narrow defeats to Virginia Tech and N.C. State this week, North Carolina dropped out of the rankings. Currently ranked teams (South Carolina, Kansas State, UConn, Virginia Tech, and N.C. State) have suffered five of the Tar Heels’ eight losses this season. Those Top 25 defeats have all come within 12 points of one another. Moreover, they have triumphed over four of the current Top 25 teams (Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Oklahoma).
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