Women's college basketball rankings: Projected AP Top 25 after Oklahoma beats Tennessee
We had a very busy day of women's college basketball on Sunday as 18 teams from the current AP Top 25 were in action. With that much basketball being played, there's bound to be some shakeups in the Top 25 this week, especially with four ranked teams losing on Sunday — Ole Miss, Iowa, North Carolina and Tennessee.
What should we expect Monday's AP Top 25 women's college basketball rankings to look like?
Projected AP Top 25 women's college basketball rankings
- UCLA
- South Carolina
- Notre Dame
- USC
- Texas
- LSU
- UConn
- Maryland
- Ohio State
- TCU
- Oklahoma
- Kansas State
- Georgia Tech
- Duke
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- West Virginia
- Alabama
- North Carolina
- Michigan State
- North Carolina State
- California
- Utah
- Florida State
- Iowa
Dropping out: Michigan, Ole Miss
All eyes turn to Paige Bueckers
UConn won its third game in a row on Sunday, defeating Big East foe Villanova by 31 points, the fifth 30-plus point win against a major conference opponent this season for the Huskies.
But that win was marred by injury concerns as star guard Paige Bueckers went down with a knee issue, colliding with Villanova's Jasmine Bascoe while the two were going for a loose ball in the third quarter.
While head coach Geno Auriemma said after the game that Bueckers will be fine, her injury history has to put fans on edge. UConn won't drop any places in the AP poll because of the Bueckers injury, but until she suits up and steps back on the court, things in Storrs are a little rocky.
Oklahoma salvages a .500 week
The Sooners might drop a couple spots after going 1-1 this week, but the team proved it can be competitive against the best of the best, so let's call it an overall success.
While Oklahoma had wins over UNLV, Michigan and Louisville on its resume, the team's status as a contender felt tenuous entering the week, and that status looked even more tenuous after the team started the new year with a loss to Texas.
But that was a hard-fought loss as the Sooners fell by just seven points, making them the first team to keep the margin against Texas to single digits since the Horns suffered their only loss of the season back on Dec. 5.
Then, Oklahoma bounced back in a huge way, defeating Tennessee on Sunday behind a balanced effort, with four players scoring in double-digits. This is a very deep Oklahoma team, as evidenced by the fact that it beat Tenessee on a day when leading scorer Raegan Beers took just seven shots.
Michigan drops out, but it's probably not forever
Michigan, the No. 24 team last week, drops out of the poll this time around thanks to the team losing three of its last four games, all by double digits. However, don't expect the Wolverines to be down for long. This freshman-heavy team just lost to three very good teams (Oklahoma, USC and UCLA), but the schedule eases up from here on out.
This Wolverines team is very talented, with freshman Syla Swords leading the way with 16.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. The defense might not look great on paper, but when adjusting for pace, the team is 27th in opponent points per 100 possessions.
UCLA's undefeated season continues
The Bruins remain No. 1 in the country and have still yet to lose a game. This week, the team defeated a pair of really good teams, taking down Michigan and Indiana.
UCLA hasn't had a game finish with a single-digit margin since the season opener against Louisville. The team has the fifth-best net rating in the country and its win over South Carolina remains the single best win from any team this season.
Iowa just barely stays in the rankings
Early in Iowa's loss to Maryland on Sunday, I was prepared to drop the Hawkeyes out of the Top 25, as Maryland led 48-27 at the half.
But Iowa fought back, winning the third and fourth quarters and losing the game by eight points. That ability to fight back keeps the Hawkeyes in the Top 25, but just barely, and only because Vanderbilt, which had a chance to break into the rankings, was blown out by Kentucky.
Will a mid-major ever make the Top 25?
So far this season, the AP Top 25 has been dominated by major conference teams. Not a single team from outside the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC has been ranked at any point this season.
And it's not like mid-majors don't end up in the rankings sometimes. Laat season, Fairfield, Gonzaga, Princeton and UNLV all found their way into the poll at some point.
Harvard and Portland received votes last week, but the mid-major with the best chance to eventually make its way into the poll appeared to be Buffalo ... until Sunday, when the Bulls suffered their first loss of the season against Kent State.
With Portland losing this week as well, hopes for a ranked mid-major look like they're all on Harvard's shoulder. The Crimson beat Yale on Saturday and have a chance to make a big statement next week against Princeton.