Carl Adamec has UCONN now at # 10
Carl Adamec's Top 25 Women's Basketball AP Ballot
1. South Carolina (2-0): Did the Gamecocks lose three of the top 10 and five of the top 25 WNBA Draft picks last April — including No. 1 selection Aliyah Boston — and somehow got better? They certainly look it after two games, running Notre Dame and Maryland into submission and putting up triple digits in both wins. They've got size, ballhandlers, shooters (which they didn't really have in the Boston Era), and depth. What can you say about freshman guard Milaysia Fulwiley other than, "Wow!" And she doesn't even start.
Had South Carolina at No. 7 in the preseason. The decision was made to put it on top this week was made by halftime of UConn's game in Raleigh. The Gamecocks were the best team in the country this week and it wasn't close. What does that mean for March/April? Not much, but we'll see.
2. Iowa (3-0): Caitlin Clark is doing Caitlin Clark things with 44 points in a win over Virginia Tech and a triple-double (24 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) in a rout of Northern Iowa. The more she gets her teammates involved, the better for the Hawkeyes.
3. UCLA (3-0): Best news of the week for the Bruins was getting a verbal commitment from Top 5 Class of 2025 recruit Sienna Betts. Her older sister, Lauren, is off to a good start after transferring to UCLA from Stanford over the summer.
4. Utah (2-0): Two cupcakes to open and Utes entertain Baylor Tuesday, their lone test until facing South Carolina at Mohegan Sun Arena Dec. 10.
5. Virginia Tech (1-1): The Hokies put on a good show on a neutral court in Charlotte, N.C. but Iowa, with Caitlin Clark scoring 44 points, was a little better. It was a good game to have on the schedule, regardless of the outcome. Tech doesn't take much of a hit in the poll, if any at all, because of other teams' losses.
6. Colorado (3-0): The Buffs advanced to the 2023 NCAA Sweet 16 in March before losing to Iowa by 10, so perhaps they were a bit undervalued coming into the new season. But their impressive win over LSU allows them to make a quick jump. Guards Jaylyn Sherrod and Frida Formann — not Hailey Van Lith, not Flau'jae Johnson, not Angel Reese — were the best players on the floor in Colorado's 92-78 win.
7. Stanford (2-0): The Cardinal make an impression and leave one with Indiana after their 32-point blowout win at Maples Pavilion. Stanford's Cameron Brink (20 points, 17 rebounds, four blocked shots) dominates in the matchup with fellow All-American Mackenzie Holmes of the Hoosiers.
8. USC (2-0): Freshman JuJu Watkins with 32 and 18 points in first two games. The tough part of Trojans' non-league schedule is done and they should be unbeaten for first showdown with UCLA on Dec. 30. That's also five of the top eight from the Pac-12 here. Nice conference, too bad it's not going to be around much longer.
9. LSU (2-1): Not usually the Kim Mulkey Way to start a season with a ranked opponent and we found out why as Colorado bashed the reigning national champions. But it's back to the usual hyphenated and directional schools for the Tigers now until the Nov. 30 home game with Virginia Tech.
10. UConn (1-1): The question Sunday morning was whether the Huskies would be No. 1 when the AP poll is released Monday. The question Sunday night was whether they'll remain in the Top 10 following the loss at NC State. Other than Paige Bueckers and Qadence Samuels, the others better take a look in the mirror. With Maryland, Kansas, and UCLA coming up in the next two weeks, it's not getting any easier.
11. Florida State (2-0): Got defensive stop it needed to get one-point win at Tennessee.
12. Tennessee (1-1): Rickea Jackson looked like an All-American against Florida State but didn't have enough help.
www.ncaa.com
