Top-25 Poll Big Changes: Notre Dame Jumps to No. 1, Texas, USC Trojans Climb

The No. 4 USC Trojans women's basketball team climbed two spots in the latest release of the AP Top-25 Poll after defeating the previously-ranked No. 1 UCLA Bruins. The Trojans' crosstown rival only fell two spots, meaning the Bruins remain ranked above USC at No. 3.

Over the weekend was an exciting slate of women's college basketball, including multiple top-10 matchups. The LSU Tigers dropped from No. 5 to No. 7 after losing to the No. 3 Texas Longhorns. Additionally, the South Carolina Gamecocks dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 due to their 87-58 loss to the No. 5 UConn Huskies.

Feb 16, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; UConn Huskies guard Kaitlyn Chen (20) drives past South Carolina Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley (12) and forward Joyce Edwards (8) in the second half at Colonial Life Arena. | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

The elite teams of this season have seemingly separated themselves from the rest of the pack. The only three-loss teams inside the top-eight of the rankings are South Carolina, UConn, and Ohio State. The Ohio State Buckeyes currently sit at No. 8 with three losses, but two of them come to No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 USC.

The Bruins are the only one-loss team remaining in the country, but the recent nature of their loss to USC dropped UCLA from the unanimous No. 1 team to No. 3. Only Notre Dame, Texas, and UCLA received first-place votes in this week's edition of the poll.

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Further down the rankings, then-No. 12 North Carolina defeated in-state rival North Carolina State, previously ranked No. 10. As a result, the No. 9 Tar Heels have jumped into the top 10 while North Carolina State falls to No. 13.

Recently, the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee released its top 16 teams in the country, and the rankings are not far off from the AP Poll. The biggest difference? USC was ranked No. 5 by the committee, meaning they would not be in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

However, the Division I Women's Basketball Committee's rankings were released before South Carolina lost to UConn and before Texas beat LSU.

Feb 13, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) and head coach Lindsay Gottlieb during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at Galen Center. | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

USC's win over UCLA received national attention after Trojans guard JuJu Watkins put together a historic performance to ruin the Bruins' chances at an undefeated season. With celebrities like comedian Kevin Hart and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in attendance, Watkins and the Trojans knocked off the No. 1 team in the country.

Still, the Trojans' two losses are enough to keep them behind the Bruins, according to enough voters. USC and UCLA will play each other one more time in the regular season on March 1.

Here is the full AP Top-25 Poll, released on Monday, Feb. 17:

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