UConn women’s basketball stays No. 1, loses first-place votes in AP Top 25 entering Selection Sunday

For the first time since Jan. 5, the UConn women’s basketball team is not unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 this week.

The Huskies remained in the top spot that they’ve held since preseason, but No. 2 UCLA picked up three first-place votes to end UConn’s seven-week streak as the unanimous No. 1 team. The Bruins had a dominant run through the Big Ten Tournament, headlined by a 96-45 rout of No. 7 Iowa in the championship game Sunday.

UConn plays for the Big East Tournament championship Monday night, but most conference tournaments concluded Sunday to cause some shakeups in the top 10. Vanderbilt, coached by former Huskies star Shea Ralph, dropped to No. 6 after getting upset by No. 19 Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC Tournament, and TCU fell out of the top 10 to No. 14 with a loss to No. 12 West Virginia in the Big 12 championship. Duke joined the top 10 for the first time since Week 15, climbing five spots to No. 8 after beating No. 13 Louisville to win the ACC title.

When the NCAA Tournament begins next week, the Huskies will hold five regular-season wins over ranked teams. UConn’s best win is its Dec. 20 rout of Big Ten runner-up Iowa, and it also beat No. 9 Michigan, No. 11 Ohio State and No. 13 Louisville back in November. Notre Dame, who the Huskies dominated 85-47 on Jan. 19, rejoined the top 25 for the first time since Week 10 at No. 22.

Ahead of the Big East championship, Villanova was the third team out of the poll receiving 42 votes. The Huskies face the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Monday at Mohegan Sun Arena looking to win their 12th consecutive conference tournament title.

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AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll: Week 18

1. UConn
2. UCLA
3. Texas
4. South Carolina
5. LSU
6. Vanderbilt
7. Iowa
8. Duke
9. Michigan
10. Oklahoma
11. Ohio State
12. West Virginia
13. Louisville
14. TCU
15. North Carolina
16. Kentucky
17. Maryland
18. Minnesota
19. Ole Miss
20. Michigan State
21. Baylor
22. Notre Dame
23. Princeton
24. Georgia
25. Texas Tech

How UConn reporter Emily Adams voted in AP poll

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