Women's college basketball rankings: Projected AP Top 25 after Ohio State suffers first loss

After a week that saw a number of shakeups in the women's college basketball AP poll, this past week was much quieter. Only one team ranked in the top 12 suffered a loss all week and of the 10 losses by ranked teams, half came against teams ranked in the top 10.

It should mean that there isn't a ton of movement except at the bottom of the Top 25, where a pair of Big 12 teams account for 30 percent of the ranked losses this week and half the losses to unranked foes.

Below is a projection of what Monday's AP Top 25 poll will look like.

Projected AP Top 25 women's college basketball rankings

1. UCLA
2. South Carolina
3. Notre Dame
4. USC
5. LSU
6. UConn
7. Texas
8. Maryland
9. TCU
10. Kansas State
11. Kentucky
12. Ohio State
13. North Carolina
14. Duke
15. Oklahoma
16. Tennessee
17. Georgia Tech
18. Cal
19. West Virginia
20. NC State
21. Alabama
22. Michigan State
23. Michigan
24. Minnesota
25. Creighton

Maybe South Carolina should be No. 1

UCLA will almost certainly remain at No. 1 because the Bruins are undefeated, but it's more than fair to wonder if the Bruins are actually the best team in the country or not.

For my money, I lean toward UCLA being a close second to the real best team, South Carolina.

It was a banner week for the Gamecocks. Not only did head coach Dawn Staley sign a big-money extension, but the team also ha two dominant wins over ranked opponents, beating Alabama and Oklahoma.

The win over Oklahoma was particularly impressive. I don't really think there were any concerns that SC would lose the game or anything like that, but the Sooners offense is always a big test for a defense. South Carolina passed the test easily, holding Oklahoma to 60 points while scoring 101 of their own. It was the fewest points score by Oklahoma since January 2024, when the team scored 60 in a win over Kansas.

Ohio State, undefeated no more

Ohio State's football team plays for a national championship on Monday night, but it's women's basketball team won't have a great Monday as the Buckeyes fall from ninth to 12th.

Sunday's loss to Penn State dropped Ohio State from the list of undefeated teams, which now stands at just two: UCLA and LSU.

It never really felt like the Buckeyes were going to keep the undefeated streak going. They've yet to face a ranked team, though that might change today if Michigan moves into the AP Top 25. A seven-point win against the Wolverines is the highlight so far this season.

Against Penn State on Sunday, the Buckeyes just couldn't get the offense going. Cotie McMahon and Chance Gray combined for 37 of the team's 59 points, but Gray was just 6-for-18 from the field and 4-for-12 from deep.

Goodbye, Oklahoma State

The Cowgirls didn't last long in the AP Top 25. After debuting at No. 24 last week, Oklahoma State will drop out this week after suffering a shocking loss to Houston.

The Cougars are arguably the worst power conference team in the country. The team ranks 221st in the country in net rating, last of all teams in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. It's been a nightmare of a season for the Coogs, but somehow they beat a ranked Oklahoma State team.

It's hard to make sense of what happened there. Houston won the second quarter 21-10 and the third quarter 23-14 to build a huge lead. Oklahoma State clawed back in the fourth quarter but came up just short, losing by three.

One big issue was that the Cowgirls shot just 28.6% from deep. On the season, the team ranks 14th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, but it went cold in this one, which certainly contributed to the shock defeat.

Creighton's in...I guess?

I don't think the voters can justify ranking Utah and Oklahoma State after how this week went, but who takes their place?

Michigan makes sense for one of those spots. The team lost four of five between Dec. 17 and Jan. 8, but all the losses were to ranked teams. Since then, the team has three wins in a row, all by double digits. The ship looks righted.

As for the final spot, there's not really a super strong contender for it, so my guess is enough voters land on Creighton in their final spot. The Bluejays are 15-3 and have won six in a row. After a 1-2 start to the season, the team's only other loss was to No. 1 UCLA, so there's definitely a case here.

But Creighton plays UConn this week, so entering the rankings is sure to be short-lived. Looking ahead, Nebraska might ultimately be the team that emerges as the best of the currently unranked teams. Keep an eye on how the Huskers do when they face Ohio State next Sunday.