Another milestone reached and a familiar face remains atop the rankings in what was a historic week for women’s college basketball. UConn head coach Geno Auriemma tied the record for most appearances with one school in the AP Top 25 poll, while the UCLA Bruins maintained their stranglehold on the No. 1 spot.
Auriemma’s Huskies stayed put at No. 7 in this week’s poll, marking his 627th appearance leading UConn in the rankings. That ties him with former Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer for the most appearances with a single program. VanDerveer had previously held the record outright with her legendary tenure at Stanford.
Auriemma passed VanDerveer’s NCAA record career win total earlier in the season and has 1,224 victories now after his team routed Providence on Sunday.
UCLA Leads Static Top 3
The top of the poll remained unchanged, with UCLA earning 30 of 32 first-place votes to stay at No. 1. South Carolina and Notre Dame each received one first-place vote to hold at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively. The Bruins, Gamecocks and Irish were all dominant in their single games this week, winning by an average of nearly 41 points.
- The top 18 teams remained the same as last week
- USC, Texas and LSU round out the top six
After UCLA, South Carolina and Notre Dame, USC held steady at No. 4, followed by Texas and LSU. Maryland checked in at No. 8 after finally putting away Michigan State 72-66 on Sunday to preserve its unbeaten record.
Risers, Fallers and Conference Breakdown
Michigan State fell two spots to No. 21 following the loss to Maryland, allowing Alabama and California to each move up one position. Michigan also dropped one place to No. 24 after losing at USC, while Iowa climbed to No. 23.
The SEC continues to dominate the rankings, boasting eight ranked teams for the second straight week. The Big Ten checks in with seven, followed by six for the ACC, three in the Big 12 and one from the Big East.
South Carolina’s Home Streak Reaches 65
With a win over Wofford on Sunday, South Carolina pushed its home winning streak to 65 games, the fifth-longest in Division I history. They’re now just four wins shy of matching the 69-game home streaks recorded by Baylor, UConn and Tennessee. The Huskies hold the top two spots, with runs of 99 and 98 straight home wins.
The opening week of 2025 brings some marquee matchups that could shake up next week’s rankings. Most notably, Oklahoma hits the road for games against rival Texas and No. 15 Tennessee – their first SEC road test of the season in what promises to be a high-scoring affair. We’ll see if the Sooners can boost their resume against ranked opponents and continue their climb up the poll.
