Six Big Ten Teams Featured in Associated Press Women's Top 25

The Nebraska women will not have a top 25 matchup in their final three games of the regular season.

Feb 13, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans center Clarice Akunwafo (34) grabs a rebound over UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) and guard Kiki Rice (1) during the fourth quarter at Galen Center. | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The Big Ten Conference included six programs in this week's Associated Press top 25 women's basketball rankings. The total is the second highest in the NCAA behind the SEC.

The Big Ten was led by No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 USC despite the Trojans taking down the previously top-rated Bruins on Thursday. UCLA still received six first-place votes in this week's poll. No. 8 Ohio State pushed up one spot, furthering the gap between the Big Ten's top 10 teams and No. 21 Maryland, who dropped four spots after falling at home to Nebraska on Thursday. No. 22 Michigan State and No. 25 Illinois remained in the top 25.

The Big Ten Conference had one program in the receiving votes category, as Michigan was the lone team to be outside the top 25.

Ohio State Buckeyes forward Cotie McMahon (32) celebrates in overtime against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Value City Arena on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 in Columbus, OH. | Columbus Dispatch-Imagn Images

The Southeastern Conference led the way for another week with seven teams in the top 25 including No. 2 Texas up one spot after receiving eight first-place votes. No. 6 South Carolina and No. 7 LSU dropped two positions to give the SEC three top 10 teams. No. 14 Kentucky fell out of the top 10 after dropping six spots from the last rankings.

No. 15 Tennessee, No. 16 Oklahoma, and No. 18 Alabama remained in the middle pack of the Associated Press rankings. Ole Miss and Vanderbilt each received votes in this week's rankings.

The Big 12 Conference only included one top team as No. 10 TCU rose one spot into the upper tier of the rankings. The four other Big 12 teams ranked included No. 12 Kansas State, No. 17 West Virginia, No. 19 Baylor, and No. 24 Oklahoma State. The Bears rose up six positions while the Cowgirls dropped down four spots.

Iowa State Cyclones' forward Addy Brown (24), guard Arianna Jackson (2) and guard Emily Ryan (11) defend as TCU Horned Frogs guard Hailey Van Lith (10) tries to shoot during the first quarter in the Big-12 women’s basketball showdown at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Atlantic Coast Conference featured five teams in the top 25 including No. 1 Notre Dame. The top-rated Fighting Irish received 16 first-place votes to push ahead of Texas and UCLA. No. 9 North Carolina moved up three spots into the top 10, while No. 11 Duke was up two positions just outside the top teams. No. 13 North Carolina State fell three spots, while No. 20 Georgia Tech dropped one spot. The ACC had the most teams outside the top 25 receiving votes, including California, Louisville, and Florida State.

The Big East Conference remained with two teams in the top 25 including No. 5 UConn after their upset against South Carolina. Nebraska's in-state foe Creighton bumped up to No. 23 up one spot.

The teams receiving votes in this week's rankings include California, Utah, Louisville, South Dakota State, Florida State, Richmond, Michigan, Mississippi, James Madison, Vanderbilt, and Harvard.

Dec 20, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Creighton Bluejays guard Lauren Jensen (15) dribbles against UCLA Bruins guard Londynn Jones (3) during the third quarter at Chase Center. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Nebraska will have three remaining games in their regular season slate prior to the Big Ten Tournament. Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, and Northwestern are outside of the top 25 rankings. The Huskers are now 0-9 this season against teams receiving votes or ranked inside of the top 25.

The Big Red welcome Oregon on Wednesday to Pinnacle Bank Arena. The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. CST.

Associated Press Top 25

1. Notre Dame
2. Texas
3. UCLA
4. USC
5. UConn
6. South Carolina
7. LSU
8. Ohio State
9. North Carolina
10. TCU
11. Duke
12. Kansas State
13. North Carolina State
14. Kentucky
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. West Virginia
18. Alabama
19. Baylor
20. Georgia Tech
21. Maryland
22. Michigan State
23. Creighton
24. Oklahoma State
25. Illinois

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