USC Trojans Fall After Iowa Hawkeyes Upset

After suffering an upset loss on the road to the unranked Iowa Hawkeyes, the USC Trojans women’s basketball team is now ranked No. 7, down from No. 4.

The biggest movers of the poll were USC and Michigan State. The Spartans moved down four spots to No. 20. Other teams like No. 14 North Carolina State, No. 17 Georgia Tech, No. 18 West Virginia, and No. 22 Florida State all moved up three spots in the latest rankings, released on Monday.

The loss to Iowa was USC’s second loss of the season, keeping them near the top of the rankings. It was a rowdy environment in Iowa as the Hawkeyes were also celebrating the jersey retirement of Iowa legend and women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark.

“I’m really impressed with the atmosphere here, the love for women’s basketball, the appreciation for what Caitlin’s done, and coach [Lisa] Bluder,” said USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb after the loss to Iowa.

Clark was in attendance among the sold-out crowd that saw Iowa beat USC and star guard JuJu Watkins. Despite the loss, USC remains one of the top teams in the country and is expected to receive a high seed in the NCAA Tournament in March.

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The current top four teams in the AP Top-25 Poll consist of No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 South Carolina, No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 4 Texas.

The Longhorns, No. 5 LSU, and No. 6 UConn all moved up a spot, ahead of USC after the upset loss to Iowa.

Behind the Trojans is No. 8 Ohio State, and USC will have a chance to prove themselves against the Buckeyes on Saturday, Feb. 8. Before facing Ohio State at home, USC has a road game against the Wisconsin Badgers on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

Before losing to the Hawkeyes, the Trojans had only lost to Notre Dame and had one the most impressive resumes in the country. USC has yet to play their cross town rival, the UCLA Bruins, giving the Trojans two chances to knock off the highest-ranked team in the country.

First, USC will host UCLA in the Galen Center on Feb. 13 before the Trojans go on the road and play the Bruins in the regular season finale.

Here is the full AP-Top 25 Women’s Basketball Poll:

1 UCLA

2 South Carolina

3 Notre Dame

4 Texas

5 UConn

6 LSU

7 USC

8 Ohio State

9 TCU

10 Duke

11 Kentucky

12 Kansas State

13 North Carolina

14 North Carolina State

15 Oklahoma

16 Maryland

17 Georgia Tech

18 West Virginia

19 Tennessee

20 Michigan State

21 California

22 Florida State

23 Alabama

24 Vanderbilt

25 Oklahoma State