This week’s top 25 was more temporary than usual, as two top-15 teams—No. 9 TCU and No. 12 Ohio State—were tipping off at the Coretta Scott King Classic just as the latest AP Top 25 poll was released. And soon thereafter, two more top-10 teams—No. 5 Vanderbilt and No. 7 Michigan—took the court. So as always, things are going to change.
Except for one thing: UConn at No. 1.
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For the second-straight poll, the Huskies claimed every first-place vote, and that trend seems likely to continue. UConn dispatched unranked Notre Dame by nearly 40 points on Sunday, a performance that suggests a perfect regular season is becoming ever more likely for the defending champs. Convoluted questions, rather than any opponent, seem like the only thing that can trip up Sarah Strong and the undefeated Huskies.
Beyond UConn’s permanent No. 1 perch, here’s how the rest of the top 25 shook out, with first-place votes denoted in parentheses, movement from last week’s poll tracked in brackets and teams entering (or re-entering) the poll identified with an asterisk:
And here are three questions about what’s ahead for some of women’s college basketball’s most intriguing teams:
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What’s next for Ohio State and Vandy?
No. 12 Ohio State and No. 5 Vandy, the winners of Monday’s Coretta Scott King Classic games, cannot rest on any laurels, with high-stakes conference contests on their immediate schedules.
While an unranked Indiana team that has lost six games in a row shouldn’t cause too much trouble for the Buckeyes, that Thursday contest will be followed by a trip to No. 10 Iowa on Sunday, with the Hawkeyes, back in the top 10 for the first time in two seasons, potentially riding a seven-game winning streak, as long as they win at No. 15 Maryland on Thursday.
Similar to Ohio State, Vanderbilt has a should-be win on Thursday, with the Commodores playing Auburn in Nashville. Then, however, they face an even more daunting foe than the Buckeyes: No. 2 South Carolina. The Commodores’ undefeated record will be on the line against the Gamecocks. South Carolina should be entering the matchup, which they will host in Columbia, on a 13-game winning streak, presuming they don’t fall victim to an upset at No. 16 Oklahoma on Thursday.
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Are the Blue Devils back?
Winners of 10-straight games, including an 8-0 mark in ACC play, Duke has returned to the rankings, jumping back in at No. 21.
The Blue Devils should continue to creep up the standings, as their ACC schedule remains favorable until early February. That’s when Duke travels to No. 8 Louisville for a test that will determine whether all those early-season disappointments, in fact, helped the Blue Devils develop a winning resiliency.
Louisville, likewise, remains undefeated in ACC play, with a career afternoon from Imari Berry helping the Cardinals escape NC State with an overtime win on Sunday. Before their Feb. 5 game against the Blue Devils, the Cards must survive their first ACC trek to California, as they close out January with road games at Stanford and Cal.
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Can Princeton maintain their mid-major mojo?
The lone mid-major in the top 25, No. 20 Princeton risked losing their spot on Monday afternoon.
The Tigers were taken to overtime by Harvard, needing Ashley Chea to sink a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation to avoid a loss to the Crimson. Princeton then scored the first four points of the extra period, establishing the separation they would maintain to eventually secure the 82-79 victory.
Only having lost to Maryland in their third game of the season, Princeton has now won 14-straight games, and their ranking is the program’s highest since the end of the 2015 season. The rest of the Tigers’ regular-season schedule only features conference games against Ivy League opponents.
