South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso celebrates in the fourth quarter against the Utah Utes at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Sunday. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) (Greg Fiume via Getty Images)
The top teams took care of business this week as conference games loom later in the month. Only Penn State, which entered the poll at No. 25 last week, and Washington State, which was ranked No. 21, lost to a team ranked lower than it.
The bottom of the rankings are the most interesting and will likely shake up again with so many teams earning votes in last week’s poll. Seventeen teams were in voters’ individual ballots last week that did not have enough points to earn a ranking in the final collective rankings. There are 19 undefeated teams in Division I and 32 with one loss.
I am an AP voter this season and will share my ballot weekly with team results and reasonings for movement in my rankings. (The full AP poll results are below.)
1. South Carolina (9-0)
The Gamecocks did nothing to lose their spot atop the poll, though they had another close call in a 78-69 win against then-No. 11 Utah. They can adjust their focal point to different weapons and they’ve remained poised in close, late contests. The win over Utah was their second against a team ranked top five in the latest NET rankings. Their résumé is what puts them above UCLA.
2. UCLA (9-0)
The Bruins looked like a clear Final Four team in a 95-78 win over then-No. 20 Florida State at the Women’s Hall of Fame Showcase on Sunday. And head coach…