Women's College Basketball Rankings: AP Top 25 gets new look after high-major conference tournaments

Women’s basketball teams played out their respective conference tournaments across the country this past week. Following a stunning slate of results, AP voters released their updated Top 25 rankings.

While some tournaments ultimately led to chalk finishes, others offered shocking results. In fact, the 1-seeds in both the SEC and Big 12 tournaments suffered upsets in their respective championship games.

The Big East is the only Power Five conference that hasn’t finished its conference tournament yet. With so much action to break down, let’s examine the updated women’s college basketball rankings.

1. UConn Huskies

The Huskies continued their historic march through the postseason, winning their first two games of the Big East Tournament by a combined 94 points. On Saturday, UConn rolled to an 84-39 win over Georgetown.

They followed up the spectacular performance by defeating 5-seed Creighton 100-51 the conference tournament semifinals. UConn’s 100 points were a program record in a Big East Tournament game. UConn will look to capture the conference crown today in a showdown against Villanova.

2. UCLA Bruins

UCLA left fans stunned with its 96-45 win over Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game. It was never close between the two powerhouse programs.

The Bruins had six players score double figures. Alas, nobody outshined Gianna Kneepkens, who tallied a team-high 19 points on 4-8 shooting from 3-point range.

3. Texas Longhorns (+1)

Texas made a statement in Greenville, claiming its first SEC Tournament title with a dominant performance. The Longhorns jumped out to a 14-0 run to open the championship game and never looked back, beating South Carolina 78-61.

As usual, junior forward Madison Booker was spectacular, tallying 18 points. She was far from Texas’ only standout. Sophomore forward Justice Carlton notched 14 points and four rebounds.

4. South Carolina Gamecocks (-1)

Raven Johnson posted a career-high 22 points and Ta’Niya Latson added 19 to lift South Carolina past LSU 83-77 in the SEC semifinals. Nonetheless, the Gamecocks couldn’t build on their momentum Sunday, falling short against Texas.

South Carolina’s loss wasn’t due to a lack of effort. The Gamecocks never relented in the loss, but were unable to dig themselves out of the early hole they fell into.

5. LSU Tigers (+1)

LSU had South Carolina on the ropes on Saturday, but failed to deliver the knockout blow. In the loss, MiLaysia Fulwiley was phenomenal, erupting for 24 points on 10-21 shooting from the floor.

Despite Fulwiley’s impressive performance, LSU failed to take care of the ball. South Carolina scored 15 points off LSU’s 14 turnovers in the heated battle. In contrast, LSU only squeezed nine turnovers out of South Carolina.

6. Vanderbilt Commodores (-1)

Vanderbilt’s promising SEC Tournament run was cut short in shocking fashion on Thursday. Ole Miss jumped out to a commanding 25-6 lead after the first quarter against the No. 2-seeded Commodores.

However, Vanderbilt refused to accept defeat. The Commodores charged back into the game, but the Rebels clung onto their lead, escaping with a 89-78 upset victory. Now, the Commodores will have no choice but to regroup ahead of Selection Sunday.

7. Iowa Hawkeyes (+2)

Iowa’s next film session won’t be fun. The Hawkeyes seemingly couldn’t do anything right in their jaw-dropping 51-point loss to UCLA in the Big Ten title game.

In the loss, Iowa shot 28% from the field and an even worse 22% from range. Star center Ava Heiden was the lone bright spot for the Hawkeyes. She finished the game with a team-high 15 points, while shooting 7-11 from the field.

8. Duke Blue Devils (+5)

On Sunday, Duke secured its second consecutive ACC Tournament title, defeating Louisville in hard-fought 70-65 fashion. The game went into overtime after Delaney Thomas scored a layup with four seconds remaining in regulation.

Sophomore guard Riley Nelson also had her moment in the spotlight when she drained a 3 from the corner to ice the game in overtime. Nelson finished the contest with 12 points.

9. Michigan Wolverines (-1)

Michigan showed off its resilience in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The Wolverines pulled off a stunning third-quarter comeback against Iowa, erasing an 11-point deficit to take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.

However, the Hawkeyes outscored the Wolverines 24-9 down the stretch to win 59-42. Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway each finished with 10 points, but Michigan shot just 27% from the field for the game.

10. Oklahoma Sooners (-3)

LSU handed Oklahoma a 112-78 shellacking in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. The Sooners simply couldn’t find an answer to LSU’s pesky pressure in the loss.

Oklahoma committed a whopping 22 turnovers against LSU. The Tigers capitalized on the team’s mistakes, scoring 35 points off the Sooners’ turnovers.

11. Ohio State
12. West Virginia (+3)
13. Louisville (-1)
14. TCU (-4)
15. North Carolina (+1)
16. Kentucky (+1)
17. Maryland (-3)
18. Minnesota (+1)
19. Ole Miss (+5)
20. Michigan State (-2)
21. Baylor (-1)
22. Notre Dame
23. Princeton
24. Georgia (-2)
25. Texas Tech (-4)

Others receiving votes: Alabama 47, Fairfield 45, Villanova 42, Colorado 11, Rhode Island 9, South Dakota State 5, Oregon 5, Illinois 3, Quinnipiac 1