Women’s College Basketball Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 updated after exciting week

The Women’s AP Poll has been updated after an exciting second week of action in the sport. It included several upsets that led to a shakeup in the Top 25.

It’s still early in the season. However, there is already a group of teams that are proving to be at the top of the sport. At the same time, there is plenty of time for things to change, especially as non-conference play continues.

With that, here’s a look at how it updates Women’s AP Poll after the second week’s action:

South Carolina remains at the top of the AP Poll. It’s not much of a surprise as they have continued to dominate. That included beating ECU by 51 points on Sunday and Coppin State earlier in the week.

Next week, South Carolina will have to keep its foot on the gas against the improved competition. That includes against rival Clemson. Next, South Carolina prepares for a showdown with UCLA.

UConn had just one game since the last AP poll dropped. But they certainly made it count by beating a ranked North Carolina team by 11. Not surprisingly, Paige Buecker was the stand out in that game and scored 29 points.

The level of competition should calm down next week. UConn has a game against Fairleigh Dickinson in which they will be a heavy favorite. So it looks like the Huskies will be at the top of the poll for a while.

The USC Trojans picked up a pair of wins this past week. Both were against non-conference opponents that the Trojans outclassed, and neither game was particularly close. The win over Cal State Northridge was by 85 points.

Next week, USC only has one game, and it’s not until next Saturday. It’s a massive game, though, with the Trojans taking on another AP Top-10 team in Notre Dame.

Texas continued to roll with a pair of 30-point wins. With that, it’s not a surprise that the Longhorns are ranked so highly in the AP Poll. This is a talented team that has been balanced in terms of its offensive scoring output.

Next week, Texas is scheduled to continue non-conference play with two more games. They will be heavy favorites in each of these games. So, barring any upsets, Texas will remain at the top of the rankings.

The UCLA Bruins are coming off a dominant week, beating both Pepperdine and Arkansas. Neither of those games were particularly close, and thus the Bruins look like they could beat anyone in the country.

Next week, UCLA will have that chance as the Bruins prepare for a massive game next week against South Carolina. If the Bruins can pull off an upset in that game, they would be able to force a massive shakeup in the top 5 of the AP poll for next week.

To this point, Notre Dame has had one of the best offenses in the country. The Irish have scored at least 91 points in every game this season. That includes in both of their non-conference wins last week.

However, the Irish will have a test next week. Notre Dame gets ready to play USC. That game is better known as a rivalry in football, but with two of the best teams in the country facing off, it should be a thriller.

The LSU Tigers kept winning last week, grabbing a pair of non-conference wins. While none of their wins to this point have come against a Power Conference opponent, they have all been impressive wins for the Tigers.

The non-conference slate will continue for the Tigers with another pair of games against the mid-majors. First, LSU will take on Troy. After that, the Tigers will get ready to host Tulane.

Heading into the season, Iowa State looked set to make some noise in the Big 12 and potentially even win the conference. Especially with Texas and Oklahoma leaving, the path seems wide open for the Cyclones. So far, the Cyclones haven’t done anything to make it seem like they can’t either.

Iowa State will put their undefeated record and ranking in the AP Poll on the line. It starts with a game against Northern Iowa on Wednesday against a team that would love to upset the Cyclones.

The Oklahoma Sooners are still ranked in the top 10 in the AP Poll after convincingly winning another game. That included beating Western Carolina by 66 points last Wednesday. It came on the back of a performance of 27 points from Raegan beer.

This week, Oklahoma will play two more games against non-conference opponents. First up is going to be against Wichita State on Tuesday. Along the way, the Sooners can expect everyone’s best shot.

Like Iowa State, Kansas State is in a position where the Wildcats believe they can make a deep run in the Big 12. That starts with playing well in the non-conference slate that Kansas State has so far.

Kansas State will play a pair of mid-major teams in their non-conference slate this week. That’s before Kansas State plays Duke in a week. That game will likely be their biggest test of the early season.

The rest of the AP Top 25 poll

11. Maryland
12. Ohio State
13. West Virginia
14. Duke
15. Kentucky
16. North Carolina
17. Miss Ole
18. Baylor
19. TCU
20. NC state
21. Nebraska
22. Illinois
23. Oregon
24. Alabama
25. Louisville