Minnesota is off to its best start in 17 games and earned its first ranking since 2019 on Monday, entering The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll at No. 24.
The Golden Gophers have won 16 of their first 17 contests, with the loss coming against Nebraska last month. They are ranked for the first time since Dec. 30, 2019. Next up is a matchup at No. 8 Maryland on Tuesday.
UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame and USC kept rolling, holding the top four spots again in the AP Top 25. The Bruins received 29 of the 31 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Fighting Irish, who were missing All-America guard Hannah Hidalgo in their last game because of a foot injury, got the other two top votes.
Undefeated LSU moved up one spot to fifth. The Tigers, along with the Bruins and No. 9 Ohio State, are the only three unbeaten teams left in Division I women’s basketball.
UConn was sixth, with Texas falling two places to seventh after a 67-50 loss at South Carolina on Sunday.
TCU moved up one spot to 10th.
Juju Watkins’ 35 points helps USC defeat PSU | FOX College Women’s Hoops
Iowa and Michigan fell out of the poll this week. The two Big Ten schools suffered losses last week. The Wolverines have had a difficult stretch over the past few weeks, with games against No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 USC and No. 9 Ohio State that were all losses. Michigan did beat Purdue on Saturday. Iowa lost to Illinois and Indiana last week.
No. 24 Oklahoma State entered the poll for the first time since 2018 after knocking off then-No. 17 West Virginia on Saturday. The Cowgirls have gone 14-2 this season and are on the road at Houston and UCF this week before hosting No. 10 TCU on Jan. 22.
Cal moved up six spots to No. 18 after beating No. 21 North Carolina State and Florida State last week. The Bears have their highest ranking since they were 18th on Dec. 31, 2018.
The SEC has seven teams ranked this week, with the Big Ten and ACC right behind with six each. The Big 12 has five and the Big East one.
No. 23 Utah at No. 10 TCU, Friday. The Utes stumbled in their first game this season as a ranked team, getting routed by then-No. 12 Kansas State. Now Utah will face another tall task, this one against Sedona Prince and the Horned Frogs.
No. 13 Oklahoma at No. 2 South Carolina, Sunday. The Gamecocks continue their stretch of facing five ranked opponents in a row with a game at No. 19 Alabama on Thursday before hosting the Sooners this weekend.
Here’s the full AP Top 25:
1. UCLA
2. South Carolina
3. Notre Dame
4. USC
5. LSU
6. UConn
7. Texas
8. Maryland
9. Ohio State
10. TCU
11. Kansas State
12. Kentucky
13. Oklahoma
14. North Carolina
15. Tennessee
16. Duke
17. Georgia Tech
18. Cal
19. Alabama
20. West Virginia
21. North Carolina State
22. Michigan State
23. Utah
T-24. Minnesota
T-24. Oklahoma State
Reporting by The Associated Press.
[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]
Women’s College Basketball
Get more from Women’s College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
