South Carolina passes No. 1 UCLA in AP women's basketball poll

January 20, 2025 at 12:18 pm EST

South Carolina has weathered a difficult part of the conference schedule so far and earned No. 1 votes in Monday's AP Women's Basketball Top 25 over No. 1 UCLA Some progress has been made at UCLA.

The Gamecocks are in the midst of a five-game stretch against ranked opponents. So far on Sunday they have beaten Texas by 17 points, Alabama by 18 points and Oklahoma State by 41 points. They will face No. 5 LSU on Thursday and No. 17 Tennessee on Jan. 27.

UCLA received 27 first-place votes this week, while No. 3 Notre Dame received the other two. USC remains fourth.

AP Women's Basketball Top 25

First place votes are in brackets.

team	Record
1. University of California, Los Angeles (27)	17-0
2. South Carolina(1)	18-1
3. Notre Dame (2)	16-2
4. University of Southern California	17-1
5. Louisiana State University	20-0
6. University of Connecticut	17-2
7. Texas	17-2
8. Maryland	16-1
9. TCU	19-1
10.Kansas State University	19-1
11.Kentucky	16-1
12. Ohio State University	17-1
13. North Carolina	17-3
14. Duke University	15-4
15. Oklahoma	15-4
16. West Virginia	15-3
17. Tennessee	15-3
18. Georgia Tech	16-3
19.Alabama	17-3
20. North Carolina	14-4
21. Michigan State University	15-3
22. California	17-3
23. Minnesota	17-2
24. Michigan	13-5
25. Baylor	16-3

LSU is followed by UConn, Texas and Maryland — with the Longhorns facing the Terrapins later Monday in the Coretta Scott King Classic — while Texas and Kansas State moved up to ninth and 10th respectively after losses to Ohio State and Oklahoma. The Wildcats are awaiting news on star center Ayoka Lee, who was injured in Sunday's win over Arizona State.

odds and ends

Tennessee lost to Vanderbilt for the first time since 2014.
Penn State beat Ohio State for its first win over a ranked team since February 2021.
Michigan re-enters the poll ranked No. 24.

Meeting details

The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten each have seven teams ranked this week, with the ACC not far behind with six teams. With Utah and Oklahoma State out, the Big 12 is down to four teams and one from the Big East.

bear ranking

Baylor is on the ballot for the first time since the third week of the season. The Bears had won five straight, including a victory over then-No. 23 Utah last week. Nicki Collen's team has had a tough week and will face No. 1 Cal later Monday in the Coretta Scott King Classic University of Los Angeles (UCLA). The Bears then visit No. 9 TCU on Sunday.

Game of the week

LSU was ranked No. 5 and South Carolina was No. 2 on Thursday. The undefeated Tigers will try to defeat the Gamecocks in a matchup of two of the SEC's best teams.

No. 8 Maryland plays No. 12 Ohio State on Thursday. The Buckeyes will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season at home against the Terrapins. Maryland also hosts No. 1 UCLA on Sunday.