Notre Dame to No. 2 in women’s AP Top 25; South Carolina 4th

Notre Dame moved up to No. 2 in The Associated Press women’s basketball Top 25 on Monday for the Irish’s best ranking since 2019.

The Fighting Irish replaced South Carolina in the second spot behind UCLA after the Gamecocks lost 66-62 to Texas over the weekend. It is Notre Dame’s best ranking since the team was No. 1 on Jan. 21, 2019.

The Bruins remained the unanimous No. 1 choice of the 31-member media panel.

The Longhorns climbed to third with their victory. South Carolina dropped to fourth after seeing its 57-game conference winning streak in the regular season come to an end.

No. 5 LSU and No. 6 USC followed the Gamecocks, each moving up one spot after UConn lost at then-No. 19 Tennessee last week. The Huskies fell two places to seventh. Tennessee, which lost to LSU on Sunday, moved up four spots to 15th.

Kentucky moved up to eighth, giving the Wildcats their best ranking since Dec. 8, 2015, when they were seventh. Ohio State was ninth and NC State jumped up four places to 10th. The Wolfpack had wins over then-No. 10 Duke and 22nd-ranked Florida State last week.

WHO’S IN; WHO’S OUT

Creighton and Baylor came into the poll at No. 24 and 25 while Vanderbilt and California dropped out. The Bluejays were ranked in the preseason Top 25 before falling out. Baylor has been in and out of the poll a few times this season.

MILESTONE

The appearance this week was UConn’s 600th straight in the poll. It’s the longest streak ever and dates back to the preseason poll in 1993. South Carolina has the next longest active streak with 242 consecutive weeks in the Top 25.

RECOGNITION

Grand Canyon received its first vote in the poll as the Lopes were ranked 25th on a ballot. The program underwent the transition to Division I in 2013, joining the Western Athletic Conference that season. They are 22-2 this season and have won 20 consecutive games after losses to Middle Tennessee and Oregon.

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN

The Southeastern Conference still reigns with seven ranked teams. The ACC has six, the Big Ten and Big 12 each have five, and the Big East has two.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

No. 1 UCLA at No. 6 USC (Thursday): First place will be on the line when the Bruins visit the Trojans in the first of two meetings over the next few weeks.

No. 7 UConn at No. 4 South Carolina (Sunday): The Huskies will have their last chance to get a victory against a top opponent before the NCAA tournament.

No. 5 LSU at No. 3 Texas (Sunday): Two of the three teams atop the SEC face off in a key conference showdown.