For the second week in a row, the No. 1 team in women’s college basketball took it on the chin.
Two weeks ago, UCLA suffered its first loss of the season, falling to rival USC. On Sunday, Notre Dame, which replaced the Bruins atop the Associated Press rankings, lost a double-overtime thriller to NC State, which snapped the Irish’s 19-game winning streak.
This week is Texas’ turn at No. 1, making the Longhorns the fourth team to carry that mantle this season (Notre Dame, UCLA and South Carolina were the others). That matches the most different No. 1s in a season since the women’s AP poll began in 1976-77. It has happened five previous times: 1987-88 (Iowa, Tennessee, Texas, Auburn), 2003-04 (UConn, Duke, Tennessee, Texas), 2004-05 (LSU, Duke, Tennessee, Stanford), 2019-20 (South Carolina, Oregon, UConn, Stanford) and 2020-21 (Stanford, UConn, Louisville, and South Carolina).
What does it all mean for the AP Top 25? Let’s break down the new rankings.
New this week: Florida State, Louisville
Out: Georgia Tech, Illinois
Stats courtesy of ESPN Research and The Associated Press.
All times Eastern
Previous ranking: 2
2024-25 record: 26-2
Stat to know: Texas is No. 1 for the first time since Feb. 16, 2004, the second of back-to-back weeks at No. 1. Before that, the…
