Undefeated UCLA remained No. 1 and USC jumped to No. 4 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll on Monday.
The Trojans moved up three spots in the AP Top 25 after beating the then-No. 4 UConn 72-70 on Saturday night in a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight game that UConn won.
“It feels great to get the dub always,” USC star JuJu Watkins said after the victory. “I think it hit a little different knowing the history of last year and how they sent us home.”
This was the Trojans’ first win ever over UConn.
“This is a really significant win, and it’s a really significant win because of the stature of UConn’s program and what Geno Auriemma has done for our sport,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “It doesn’t matter to me that they haven’t won a championship in a couple years. There’s still a way that they prepare, a way that they play, that makes you better, and it made us better.”
Ranked between the Bruins and Trojans are South Carolina and Notre Dame. UCLA received 30 of the 32 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Gamecocks and the Fighting Irish each got one first-place vote.
UConn fell to seventh behind Texas and LSU.
Maryland, Oklahoma and Ohio State rounded out the top 10 teams.
MEN’S POLL
Tennessee and Auburn remained Nos. 1-2 atop The AP men’s poll. It’s a fitting spot for a pair of Southeastern Conference teams considering the league put 10 teams into Monday’s AP Top 25.
The Volunteers (11-0) and Tigers (11-1) spent a third straight week in the same position, and it marked a fourth consecutive week for Auburn sitting at No. 2.
They were part of a top 10 that featured the same top-10 programs, though slightly reshuffled with Kentucky tumbling six spots to No. 10 after a loss to Ohio State.
Iowa State was third, followed by Duke and Alabama to round out the top five.
San Diego State had the biggest jump among last week’s ranked teams, rising three spots to No. 20, while No. 22 UCLA also slid multiple spots to No. 22 after blowing a 16-point lead and falling by two against an unranked North Carolina team that opened the year at No. 9.
HIGHLIGHTS
NO. 3 IOWA STATE 99, MORGAN STATE 72: Tamin Lipsey scored a season-high 20 points and the Cyclones (10-1) extended their winning streak to seven games with the win Sunday.
NO. 6 ALABAMA 81, KENT ST. 54: The Mark Sears had 16 points for the Crimson Tide (10-2) on Sunday night.
LONG BEACH STATE 83, LA SIERRA 57: Kam Martin had 18 points for the host Beach against the NAIA-member Golden Eagles on Sunday night. Noel Camejo finished with 14 points and four assists for the Golden Eagles.
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