The UConn women’s basketball team maintained its No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 for a ninth consecutive poll, entering Week 9 as one of just four undefeated programs left in Division I.
The first week of 2026 was the most chaotic of this season to date with six upsets of teams previously ranked in the top 10 plus an additional three upsets of top 20 teams. The top four — UConn, Texas, South Carolina and UCLA — remained the same with the Huskies receiving 28 of a possible 32 first place votes and the No. 2 Longhorns receiving the other four.
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LSU plummeted from No. 5 down to No. 12 after dropping its first two games of SEC play. The Tigers were first upset by Kentucky at home on Thursday, vaulting the Wildcats from No. 11 into the top 10 at No. 6. UConn alum Shea Ralph then led Vanderbilt to its first upset of a top-5 team since 2009 when it beat LSU at home Sunday, and the Commodores earned their first top 10 ranking since 2007 at No. 7.
TCU dropped out of the top 10 from No. 8 to No. 13 after getting upset by Utah, and Iowa State moved down a spot to No. 11 following a loss to No. 16 Baylor — a six-place increase for the Bears.
Several of UConn’s past and future opponents also saw major movement. Most notably, Notre Dame dropped out of the top 25 for the first time in 85 consecutive weeks, ending the third-longest active streak in the poll. If that holds until their meeting with the Huskies at Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 19, it will be the first unranked matchup in the rivalry series since 2019.
Michigan fell three places to No. 9 following a loss to No. 23 Washington on Thursday, but UConn picked up a retroactive top 10 win from their season opener with Louisville moving up to No. 10. USC, who the Huskies routed 79-51 on Dec. 13, dropped four place to No. 21 after getting blown out by No. 3 UCLA on Saturday. Tennessee jumped three spots to No. 20 with a matchup against UConn coming up on Feb. 1. Iowa and Ohio State held steady at No. 14 and No. 19 respectively.
The Huskies continue Big East play on Wednesday against St. John’s at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford.
