There is no surer thing in college basketball: The UConn women are No. 1.
The Huskies remained a unanimous top choice in The Associated Press basketball poll after two more easy victories. They received all 32 votes Monday from the national media panel that selects the Top 25 each week.
UConn won its two games by an average of 43.5 points and then rallied to beat No. 20 South Florida on Monday night. UConn starts American Athletic Conference tournament play this weekend.
If the Huskies can capture the AAC tournament, they would surely be the top team in the poll for the entire season. It would mark the sixth time they've done that.
Notre Dame, South Carolina and Baylor followed the Huskies in the Top 25. The Lady Bears routed No. 6 Texas on Monday night. The Irish and Gamecocks begin their conference tournaments this week as well.
Maryland is fifth, with Louisville jumping three spots to seventh. Oregon State, Ohio State and Arizona State round out the first 10.
West Virginia and Florida rejoined the Top 25 while Oklahoma State and Missouri dropped out.
MOVING ON UP: Buoyed by a nine-game winning streak, Syracuse has climbed to No. 17 in the poll. Last week, when they were 18th, the Orange exceeded the previous top ranking in school history.
STAY AWHILE: Colorado State made it through its first week as a ranked team in 14 years with a one-point win at New Mexico and an 18-point victory over Nevada. The Rams moved up to No. 23.
WILD SWINGS: Louisville was ranked No. 8 in the preseason before falling out three weeks later. Re-entering the Top 25 in week 10, the Cardinals have steadily climbed back up, rising to seventh this week.
''I think the kids at the beginning of the year weren't aware of what it takes to be a top-10 program,'' Louisville coach Jeff Walz said.
''I think it was a great honor to start off there, but was more about what we've done in the past. We had a rough November going 1-4 and dropped out of the poll. We had the talent, but had to put the work in, count on each other. We worked our way back into it.''
WIN OR GO HOME: With most major conference tournaments set to begin this week, there could be a lot of intriguing games between double-ranked teams. The Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference both have five teams in the Top 25. The Pac-12 has four, ranked between eighth and 12th.
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