Cal Women Barely Miss Being Ranked, But an ACC Team Is No.1

Cal barely missed returning to the top-25 in the AP women's college basketball rankings released on Monday, but an ACC team became No. 1 for the first time in four years.

Notre Dame rose to the top spot in this week's poll, and it is the first time since 2019 that the Irish are No. 1, and first time any ACC team was ranked No. 1 since Louisville owned the top spot on February 1, 2021.

Last week, Cal fell out of the top 25, dropping to what would be the 26th slot. This past week the Golden Bears won twice, beating Boston College and Syracuse to improve their record to 21-6 overall and 9-5 in the ACC. But again Cal was left just outside the top 25 at the No. 26 position, a mere five voting points behind No. 25 Illinois.

Cal is still in good position to land an NCAA tournament berth. The Golden Bears are a No. 8 seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology released Monday.

Notre Dame has won 17 games in a row to improve to 22-2, and the Irish ascended to the top spot this week after last week's No. 1, UCLA, suffered its first loss of the season when USC defeated the Bruins last week.

The last time Notre Dame was No. 1 was January 21, 2019, when the Irish were 18-1. Notre Dame finished 35-4 that season and lost to Baylor by one point in the NCAA championship game.

Notre Dame is one five ACC teams in the top 25 this week, joining No. 9 North Carolina, No. 11 Duke, No. 13 North Carolina State and No. 20 Georgia Tech. Cal beat North Carolina State this season and has yet to face Georgia Tech. The Bears lost to Notre Dame, Duke and North Carolina.

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