Whalen, Gophers move up to No. 23 in AP Top 25 poll

Published Nov. 19, 2018 1:26 p.m. ET

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For a second straight week, head coach Lindsay Whalen and her Minnesota Gophers find themselves in the AP Top 25 poll.

The Gophers moved up two spots from No. 25 to No. 23 after wins over Xavier and San Diego this week.



The top six teams in the poll remained unchanged with Notre Dame a unanimous No. 1 pick. The Irish were followed by UConn, Oregon, Baylor, Louisville and Mississippi State.

Stanford, Oregon State and Texas round out the first 10 teams in the poll.

West Virginia entered at No. 25 as Georgia fell out after dropping games to UCLA and Georgia Tech.

RISING HAWKEYES: Iowa moved up to 12th in the poll this week, its best ranking since being 11th on Nov. 17, 1997. The Hawkeyes face West Virginia in the Junkanoo Jam on Friday night.

THANSKGIVING FEAST: There are a number of holiday tournaments this week, none have a better slate of teams then the new one in Vancouver. Notre Dame, Oregon State and South Carolina are all playing in Canada this week in an eight-team field. The Gamecocks and Beavers could square off in the second round with Notre Dame potentially waiting in the final for the winner of that game.

"This is an incredible field in which to christen college basketball to Vancouver, and without question, the best early season tournament in the sport," said ESPN analyst Debbie Antonelli, who is also the women's tournament director. "It features three teams that finished in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight with Notre Dame, South Carolina and Oregon State, and three other teams that won their respective conference tournaments — Western Kentucky, Drake and Gonzaga. It will strongly resemble an NCAA Tournament regional weekend in Vancouver."

 

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