The six teams in front of USC didn’t change, with South Carolina leading the way, as it has since the regular season began. The Gamecocks received all 35 votes from a national media panel. South Carolina was tested in both its game last week, rallying to beat Tennessee and Georgia. Coach Dawn Staley’s team trailed at halftime at home against Georgia on Sunday before winning by 14 points.
Ohio State was right behind South Carolina, marking the first time in seven weeks that a No. 2 team held its place for two consecutive polls. No. 3 Stanford, Iowa, Texas and North Carolina State followed the Buckeyes.
Virginia Tech climbed four spots to eighth after beating Duke and Louisville. The Hokies have won nine in a row and sit in first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, a game in front of Syracuse.
Oregon State moved up to ninth despite the loss to USC after beating then-No. 9 UCLA.
Kansas State fell three places to No. 10, while Colorado and UCLA also dropped three places.
GAME OF THE WEEK
With the NCAA career scoring record in the rearview mirror, Caitlin Clark leads Iowa into Indiana for a key Big Ten Conference matchup. Iowa is tied for second, a game behind Ohio State. The Hawkeyes beat the Hoosiers by 27 points at home last month. Expect Thursday’s rematch to be a bit more competitive.
OPENING REVEAL
The NCAA had its first reveal last Thursday of the top 16 teams at that point. South Carolina, Ohio State, Stanford and Colorado were the 1 seeds. The Buffaloes went on to lose after that. The next reveal will be on Feb. 29.
IVY LEAGUE SHOWDOWN
No. 25 Princeton has won 15 straight games and sits a game in front of Columba in the Ivy League standings. The Tigers won the first meeting last month, and the two teams play in New York on Saturday with first place in the conference on the line. They shared the regular-season title last year, the first in Columbia’s history.
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