For the first time in 21 years, the Texas Longhorns have claimed the No. 1 spot in the The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll. This marks the third different team to hold the top spot in the past three weeks, highlighting the competitive nature of this year's season.
The Longhorns climbed to the top of the poll on Monday after previous No. 1, Notre Dame, suffered a double-overtime loss to North Carolina State. Prior to Notre Dame's brief tenure at No. 1, UCLA had dominated the position for 12 weeks.
"I'm so happy for my kids, they've earned where they are today," expressed Texas coach Vic Schaefer during a phone interview ahead of the team's game against Georgia on Monday.
This is only the fifth instance since 2001 where three different schools have held the No. 1 position in a three-week span. Including South Carolina starting the season in the top spot, there have been four teams leading the rankings this season— a rare occurrence that has only happened six times since the poll's inception in 1976.
"There's so much parity in the game right now," Schaefer noted, reflecting on the current state of women's college basketball.
The last time Texas was ranked No. 1 was on February 16, 2004. The Longhorns received 19 first-place votes from a 31-member national media panel and have spent a total of 48 weeks atop the poll since their first appearance at No. 1 in 1980.
"So much respect and admiration for coach Jody Conradt and the tradition of our program. I certainly understand the standard we hope we can live up to," Schaefer added.
Notre Dame fell to third after their 19-game winning streak ended, while UCLA climbed to second with 11 top votes. USC secured the fourth spot, receiving one first-place ballot, and UConn came in fifth.
Following them, South Carolina, LSU, and North Carolina were next in line. North Carolina State made a significant leap to ninth place after their victory over Notre Dame.
The top 10 was completed by North Carolina and TCU.
Both Florida State and Louisville re-entered the rankings at No. 24 and No. 25, respectively. The Seminoles secured their spot with victories over Pittsburgh and then-No. 20 Georgia Tech. Meanwhile, the Cardinals defeated then-No. 11 Duke before falling to North Carolina. Georgia Tech and Illinois dropped out of the Top 25.
The Southeastern Conference leads with seven ranked teams. The ACC follows with six, while both the Big Ten and Big 12 each boast five. The Big East has two teams in the rankings.
No. 22 Creighton at No. 5 UConn, Thursday: First place in the Big East is on the line as the Bluejays visit the Huskies.
No. 8 North Carolina at No. 16 Duke, Thursday: The ACC rivals meet again, with potential implications for a double-bye into the conference tournament quarterfinals.
No. 10 TCU at No. 17 Baylor, Sunday: First place in the Big 12 Conference could be at stake as the Horned Frogs face the Bears.
