Women's College Basketball Rankings: AP Top 25 gets new look ahead of NCAA Tournament

Time has expired for teams to improve their résumé. The women’s NCAA Tournament bracket is set and, in turn, AP voters released their penultimate Top 25 women’s college basketball rankings of the season.

Voters didn’t have much to consider with so little action this past week. All of the Power Five conferences, except the Big East, had concluded their conference tournaments before the last AP Poll. There were no surprises in the Big East either, with UConn cruising to a comfortable win.

Nonetheless, it was still a seismic week for other conferences around the country as they produced their automatic bids. With the NCAA Tournament only days away, let’s dive into the updated women’s college basketball rankings.

1. UConn Huskies

UConn hardly broke a sweat in the Big East championship game, defeating Villanova 90-51. With the triumph, the Huskies enter the NCAA Tournament with a perfect 34-0 record.

Four players scored double figures for the Huskies against the Wildcats. As expected, Azzi Fudd was exceptional, recording a team-high 19 points. UConn will have a target on its back in the NCAA Tournament.

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

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

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 Tournament semifinals. Nonetheless, the Gamecocks couldn’t build on their momentum, 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. They’ll have a chip on their shoulder in the NCAA Tournament.

5. LSU Tigers

LSU had South Carolina on the ropes in the SEC Tournament semifinals, 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. With plenty of postseason experience, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey will be determined to lead her team deep into March Madness.

6. Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt’s promising SEC Tournament run was cut short in shocking fashion. 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. As a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament, Vanderbilt will have an excellent opportunity to bounce back from the upset loss.

7. Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa’s film sessions this past week were undoubtedly painful. 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

Last weekend, 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

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. The Wolverines will look to play their best ball in the Big Dance.

10. Oklahoma Sooners

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. West Virginia
12. Ohio State
13. Louisville
14. TCU
15. North Carolina
16. Kentucky
17. Maryland
18. Minnesota
19. Ole Miss
20. Michigan State
21. Baylor
22. Notre Dame
23. Princeton
24. Georgia
25. Texas Tech

Others receiving votes: Alabama 44, Fairfield 41, Villanova 27, Colorado 11, Rhode Island 11, South Dakota State 6, Oregon 6, Illinois 3, North Dakota State 1