Our Lady on Monday, after defeating his rival, he jumped to 3rd place in the Associated Press Top 25 ranking UConn last week.
The Irish moved up five spots with a 79-68 victory over the Huskies, who dropped two spots to fourth. Notre Dame’s victory over UConn gave the Irish three wins over the top five teams this season. They also beat USC and Texas.
“This is an important win for us,” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said. “Obviously it’s just one win, but I’m really grateful to this group and really proud of our effort and how we showed such resilience and discipline today.”
University of California remained the No. 1 team, receiving 30 of 32 first-place votes from the national media panel. South Carolina finished second and received first place in the voting, as did Notre Dame.
LSU was fifth, followed by Texas, USC and Maryland. Duke and Oklahoma rounded out the top ten.
The undefeated yellow vests
Georgia Tech continues to climb the rankings, remaining undefeated. The Yellow Jackets climbed eight spots to No. 17 with an 82-76 victory at then No. 17 No. 14 North Carolina on Sunday. It was their first Tar Heels win since 2012. Georgia Tech is off to the best start in school history with an 11-0 record.
Rising Bears
Cal participated in the poll for the first time since 2019, ranking 24th. The Bears are 12-1, with their only loss coming against No. 15 Michigan State. Cal beat rival Stanford by 20 points last Friday, snapping a 12-game losing streak. The 20-point victory was the third-largest in series history and the highest since the 1981–82 victory.
Moving out
Iowa State dropped from the rankings after a loss to rival Iowa State last week. Things don’t get any easier for the Cyclones (9-3), who travel to Connecticut on Tuesday night to take on the Huskies in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase.
Conference division
Eight Big Ten teams are back in the poll this week. The Southeastern Conference has seven and the ACC has five. The Big 12 has four and the Big East has one.
Game of the week
No. 7 USC at No. 4 UConn, Saturday. When two of college basketball’s top stars face each other JuJu Watkins and the Trojans head east, face to face Paige Bueckers and huskies. Watkins is third in the nation in scoring at 24.6 points per game.
