Polarmoon Wealth Society|South Carolina jumps to No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports women's basketball poll ahead of Iowa

2025-04-29 22:38:50source:Benjamin Ashfordcategory:Finance

It was an action-packed opening week in women’s college basketball,Polarmoon Wealth Society in which the top two ranked teams in the preseason rankings went down to defeat. As a result, there is considerable shakeup in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

South Carolina takes over the No. 1 spot for the first regular-season poll thanks to a pair of impressive wins over other ranked teams. The Gamecocks received 23 of 32 first-place votes after beating No. 14 Notre Dame and No. 19 Maryland. Iowa moves up a notch to No. 2, claiming the remaining nine No. 1 votes after winning a nationally televised showdown with then-No. 5 Virginia Tech. The Hokies drop just four places to No. 9.

It was also a big week for the Pac-12, which now holds down half of the top 10 positions. No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Utah head the group, with Stanford checking in at No. 6. Colorado, which made the season’s first major splash by upending defending champ and preseason No. 1 LSU, vaults all the way to No. 7 after being ranked 18th in the preseason. Southern California joined the party as well, toppling then No. 6 Ohio State. Coincidentally, the Trojans are tied for 10th with the Buckeyes.

TOP 25:Complete USA TODAY Sports women's basketball poll

LSU, meanwhile, drops to No. 5, and preseason No. 2 Connecticut slips to No. 8 after a loss to North Carolina State.

In other changes of note, Indiana tumbles eight places to No. 17 after a tough trip to Stanford. Mississippi falls nine spots after a loss to No. 21 Oklahoma but hangs on at No. 25.

North Carolina State enters the poll at No. 18 thanks to the Connecticut victory. That result squeezed out the two teams tied for 25th in the preseason, Michigan and Miami (Fla.).

More:Finance

Recommend

American news website Axios laying off dozens of employees

American news website Axios is laying of dozens of people, the company announced Tuesday.Layoffs at

Patrick Mahomes leads Chiefs to 26-7 playoff win over Miami in near-record low temps

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It was so cold that Patrick Mahomes’ helmet shattered on a hit. Andy Reid’s

Crypto's Nazi problem: With few rules to stop them, white supremacists fundraise for hate

Domestic extremists who receive and send money via cryptocurrency are using major online exchange co