Preseason AP Poll: UCLA Women's Basketball Opens in Top 25 For Third Consecutive Year
With reinforcements setting up shop in Westwood, people are starting to take notice of the Bruins’ place on the national stage.
UCLA women's basketball earned the No. 20 spot in the preseason edition of the AP Poll on Tuesday. The Bruins got 175 points, comfortably making the top 25 by over 100 points.
This is the third consecutive season in which UCLA has entered the campaign in the AP top 25, now making it five time in six years. The Bruins have also reached at least the Sweet 16 in four of the last five NCAA tournaments.
UCLA was No. 9 in the preseason this time last year, although it was unable to keep up its Sweet 16 streak by year’s end, falling in the Round of 32. Forward Michaela Onyenwere may be gone to the WNBA, but a handful of incoming transfers, experienced veterans and returning opt-outs compose what coach Cori Close has called her most talented team since arriving in Westwood a full decade ago.
Around the Pac-12, reigining NCAA champion Stanford earned the No. 3 spot, while Oregon was the next highest-ranked team at No. 10 with 479 points. Oregon State and Arizona came in at No. 14 and No. 22, respectively.
While the Pac-12 was tied for the most top 25 representatives with five, it was a pretty well-distributed opening for the polls. The Big Ten and ACC each had five teams as well, and the SEC and Big 12 each had four.
Washington State was the only other team in the Pac-12 to receive a vote, and their nine points placed them at No. 33.
Despite ranking fourth among Pac-12 teams according to the AP, the coaches poll at Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Media Day on Oct. 12 placed UCLA in third. The conference title will be hotly contested this year, per usual, as the Pac-12 took on the full national spotlight last March when Stanford and Arizona went head-to-head in the national championship.
Two ranked nonconference opponents lie ahead for the Bruins as well, first with No. 2 UConn on Dec. 11 and then with No. 17 Ohio State a week later on Dec. 19. The matchup with the Huskies will be at a neutral site in Newark, New Jersey, but the game with the Buckeyes will tip off in Pauley Pavilion for the premiere home nonconference matchup of the season.
The full AP poll is as follows, complete with first-place votes:
1. South Carolina (14 first-place votes)
2. UConn (10)
3. Stanford (5)
4. Maryland
5. NC State
6. Louisville
7. Baylor
8. Indiana
9. Iowa
10. Oregon
11. Michigan
12. Iowa State
13. Kentucky
14. Oregon State
15. Tennessee
16. Florida State
17 (Tie). Ohio State
17 (Tie). Georgia Tech
19. West Virginia
20. UCLA
21. South Florida
22. Arizona
23. Texas A&M
24. Virginia Tech
25. Texas
Others receiving votes: Georgia 65, Michigan State 63, Florida Gulf Coast 43, Missouri State 18, South Dakota 13, LSU 10, Arkansas 10, Washington State 9, Oklahoma State 8, Notre Dame 8, DePaul 6, Belmont 5, Oklahoma 3, South Dakota State 1
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