Michigan women’s basketball has attained its highest ranking in program history, jumping three spots to No. 2 in the updated Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday.
The Wolverines — who previously had a program-high ranking of fourth in February 2022 — took UConn’s spot in the rankings behind No. 1 South Carolina after beating the Huskies 77-66 on Thursday.
Michigan’s surge speaks to the Big Ten’s surge as a conference this week. The Big Ten has 10 teams ranked in this poll, tying the record set last season by the Southeastern Conference.
UConn fell two spots to No. 4, behind No. 3 Southern California, with Duke rounding out the top five.
South Carolina received 32 of the 33 first-place votes, with USC getting the only other first-place vote. Those two teams will face off Sunday in Columbia, S.C.
Texas, Louisville, Vanderbilt and LSU remain Nos. 6-9, while UCLA and Iowa are now tied for 10th after Iowa was 10th and UCLA 11th in the preseason poll.
Oklahoma was the biggest riser in this update, jumping up seven spots to 14th after its 91-79 win over then-No. 12 North Carolina. The Tar Heels, conversely, were the biggest faller, dropping 11 spots to No. 23 after an 0-2 week which also included an 84-39 loss to South Carolina.
North Carolina State, which started the season at No. 25 and had a 2-1 opening week which it capped off with a 93-78 loss against then-No. 14 Kentucky, was the only team to fall out of the poll this week. The Wolfpack were replaced by Nebraska, which was the first team out of the preseason poll and went 2-0 in the opening week.
AP Top 25 Preseason Women’s Poll
1. South Carolina (2-0)
2. Michigan (2-0)
3. USC (2-0)
4. UConn (2-1)
5. Duke (2-0)
6. Texas (2-0)
7. Louisville (3-0)
8. Vanderbilt (2-0)
9. LSU (2-0)
T10. UCLA (2-0)
T10. Iowa (2-1)
12. Kentucky (3-0)
13. Notre Dame (2-0)
14. Oklahoma (2-0)
15. TCU (3-0)
16. Washington (2-0)
17. Ohio State (3-0)
18. Minnesota (2-0)
T19. Oklahoma State (2-0)
T19. Maryland (1-1)
21. Ole Miss (2-0)
22. Illinois (2-0)
23. North Carolina (0-2)
24. West Virginia (3-0)
25. Nebraska (2-0)
–Field Level Media
