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Women's AP Top 25: Ohio State climbs to No. 2, Stanford up to No. 3
Ohio State is up to No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25 women's college basketball poll, matching the best ranking in school history.
The Buckeyes, who were fifth last week, have won 11 straight games and their only losses this season have come to USC, UCLA and Michigan. The Buckeyes started as No. 7 in the preseason poll before falling to 20th on Jan. 1. They were 18th on Jan. 15 and have been on the rise ever since.
South Carolina remained the unanimous No. 1 choice, grabbing all 35 first-place votes again in Monday’s poll after routing Missouri and then-No. 11 UConn. The Gamecocks did it without star center Kamilla Cardoso, who was playing for Brazil in the Olympic qualifying tournament.
Stanford moved up three places to No. 3. Iowa dropped to fourth and Texas climbed to fifth.
It’s the sixth consecutive week that there’s a different No. 2 team in the poll after Iowa blew a double-digit lead to Nebraska on Sunday. Caitlin Clark, who is eight points short of the NCAA record for career scoring, was scoreless in the fourth quarter.
The Hawkeyes weren’t the only top five team to lose last week. North Carolina State dropped three spots to sixth after falling to Virginia Tech. Colorado fell four spots to eighth after a loss at home to Oregon State. Kansas State remained seventh.
UCLA and USC stayed in ninth and 10th.
No. 2 Iowa's Caitlin Clark tallies 31 points and 10 assists against Nebraska
This is the first time since Week 9 of last season that no new team entered the poll.
Oregon State made the biggest leap, moving up six spots to 11th after sweeping Utah and Colorado. The Beavers are currently third in the Pac-12 standings behind Stanford and the Buffaloes. They have won five straight and host UCLA and USC this week.
The six different teams in the No. 2 spot is unusual, though there was a stretch in 2021 when a different team held the spot for seven straight weeks. This season, UCLA and Iowa both held the spot twice before losing. Kansas State had the slot for a week before a loss. It’s Ohio State’s turn. The Buckeyes had a two-week run at No. 2 last year in January before losing. Ohio State hosts Nebraska this week.
No. 18 Louisville finished off a difficult part of its schedule that saw the Cardinals face four consecutive Top 25 teams. They went 2-2 against them after falling to Syracuse on Sunday. Jeff Walz’s team split two games with the Orange sandwiched around a loss to N.C. State and a victory over Notre Dame.
Here's the full top 25:
1. South Carolina
2. Ohio State
3. Stanford
4. Iowa
5. Texas
6. North Carolina State
7. Kansas State
8. Colorado
9. UCLA
10. USC
11. Oregon State
12. Virginia Tech
13. LSU
14. Indiana
15. UConn
16. Notre Dame
17. Gonzaga
18. Louisville
19. Syracuse
20. Creighton
21. Baylor
22. Utah
23. Oklahoma
24. West Virginia
25. Princeton
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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