AP Top 25 women's basketball poll: Looking ahead to start of conference play and how Yahoo Sports voted

The voters in the Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll received an early Christmas gift last week when ranked teams eased into the holiday break with a slate of overmatched opponents. There were only two games between top-25 opponents and the better-ranked team won each by single digits.

Because of the disparities in competition levels and no upsets as there were earlier in the season, my AP ballot remains relatively unchanged for Week 8. No one made major movements, except Washington dropping out. So instead of looking back on each team’s week, I looked forward to this weekend’s conference openers and where some teams might stumble in next week’s rankings.

1. South Carolina (11-0)

The Gamecocks scored at least 90 points in their seventh game this season, upending Bowling Green 93-62. They’ll have another nonconference tune-up against East Carolina (7-3) on Saturday before turning to SEC play next week against Florida (8-3).

2. UCLA (11-0)

The Bruins put another exclamation point on their high ranking and Final Four hopes with a 77-71 win over then-No. 13 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, last week. They’ll have another big status game Saturday when they host USC in a top-10 battle. The Bruins won both matchups by a combined four points in 2022-23.

3. Iowa (12-1)

Caitlin Clark produced her 13th career triple-double with 35 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and 10 assists in a 98-69 win over Loyola Chicago. The Hawkeyes were without Gabbie Marshall, who was absent with an illness.

Iowa already opened Big Ten play earlier in the month against Wisconsin and will host Minnesota (11-1) on Saturday (2 p.m. ET). Clark came one assist from a triple-double in their single meeting last season with 32 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

4. Texas (12-0)

Texas hosts Baylor in a battle of undefeated teams to open Big 12 action Saturday (2 p.m. ET, Fox). They split the matchups last season. In Texas’ 68-55 win on Jan. 22, four of the five starters scored 13 points apiece and they combined for eight blocks to Baylor’s one.

5. NC State (12-0)

The Wolfpack are still without Saniya Rivers, who did not play in the 87-50 win over Old Dominion. They open the season on the road at Virginia (6 p.m. ET Sunday) The sides split their games last season with NC State taking a 25-point win and Virginia (8-3) answering with a 12-point victory. The Wolfpack are a much stronger 3-point shooting and defensive team.

6. USC (10-0)

Freshman sensation JuJu Watkins, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the class, will go up against the top two recruits in the 2022 class, UCLA center Lauren Betts and point guard Kiki Rice, for the first time. Betts, a 6-foot-7 center, will battle with junior 6-4 center Rayah Marshall.

7. Stanford (10-1)

Stanford will ease into the Pac-12 gauntlet by opening on the road at Cal (5 p.m. ET Friday). Stanford is 43-6 in the matchup dating back to 2001-02. Cal’s losses are to Texas A&M 65-51 and then-No. 23 Gonzaga 78-70 in overtime.

There’s a lot of Pac-12 jostling that will happen around the Cardinal in the AP standings because of the other big-time matchups on opening day.

8. LSU (12-1)

Angel Reese scored 26 points in a return to Baltimore when LSU defeated Coppin State 80-48. All five players were in for at least 30 minutes and LSU remains without Hailey Van Lith as she sits out with an injury. The Tigers host Jacksonville on Saturday before beginning SEC play against Missouri (9-4).

9. Utah (10-2)

Utah will travel to play Colorado (3 p.m. ET Saturday) to begin its final Pac-12 conference schedule.

Alissa Pili scored 25 in a 27-point win over Colorado in their first meeting of 2022-23. The Buffaloes held her to 14 in the second meeting a month later and Frida Formann went 4-of-6 from 3-point range in the 10-point win.

10. Baylor (11-0)

Baylor will travel to Texas in a banger of a Big 12 opener. The Bears were better offensively in the second meeting against Texas in 2022-23. They were 43.5% from the field, up from 31% in the loss, and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double. It’s a tough week for the Bears as they host undefeated TCU on Jan. 3.

11. Colorado (10-1)

Colorado will host Utah to open Pac-12 play. The Buffaloes have fouled at a higher rate, which could be costly against Pili, but they also are a threat to get hot from range.

12. Notre Dame (9-1)

Freshman Hannah Hidalgo reached her first collegiate triple-double in a 84-47 win over Western Michigan last week. She had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, plus five steals. She should be part of the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.

She’ll make her ACC debut in Syracuse on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, ACCN) as the conference’s leader in scoring (23.8 ppg) and steals (6.0 spg). Orange (10-1) junior guard Georgia Woolley ranks third in steals (2.4) and fifth-year guard Dyaisha Fair is fifth (2.2). Fair is also fifth in ACC scoring ranks (19 ppg).

13. UConn (9-3)

Aaliyah Edwards enjoyed her homecoming game in Toronto with 26 points in a 111-34 win over the non-NCAA school. The Huskies defeated Butler 88-62 earlier in the week to start Big East play and continue the schedule Sunday (1 p.m. ET) against one of the stiffer competitors. Marquette is undefeated and matches well with UConn on paper, except for it is five points better defensively.

14. Virginia Tech (9-2)

The Hokies host Pitt (5-7) on Sunday in a soft-open to the ACC schedule as the reigning tournament champions. Pitt averages 69.9 ppg (103rd, falling below Tech’s 80.8) and allows on average 66.5 ppg (204th, higher than Tech’s 56.7). Georgia Amoore scored 21 in the Hokies’ slim seven-point win last season.

15. Kansas State (12-1)

Kansas State cracked the century mark for the second time on the season in a 102-59 win over Oral Roberts last week. The Wildcats open conference play at Cincinnati (2 p.m. ET Saturday), which will play its first Big 12 game after moving over from the AAC. The two sides have not played each other since at least 2001-02. The Bearcats (8-3) are led by first-year head coach Katrina Merriweather, who took the job at her alma mater from Memphis.

16. Ohio State (10-2)

The Buckeyes were one of the few to move in my poll, dropping a spot under Kansas State. Ohio State’s press couldn’t keep UCLA down, their offense was stuck, and their rebounding paled in comparison in the loss to the Bruins last week.

They opened Big Ten play with a tight 94-84 overtime win over Penn State, and travel to Michigan for another nationally televised game (noon ET Saturday, Fox). Ohio State won all three games against the Nittany Lions last season, which included a conference tournament matchup, by an average of six points.

17. Indiana (10-1)

Indiana will host Illinois (12:30 p.m. ET Sunday) to open Big Ten play after defeating them twice last season, but only by margins of four and 11. The Fighting Illini (6-5, 0-1) surprised Big Ten teams early and could make more noise in Shauna Green’s second year as head coach.

18. Marquette (12-0)

The Golden Eagles defeated Creighton 76-70 earlier in the month to start Big East play and could take a big step toward the conference crown by upsetting UConn. They defeated the Huskies by seven during the regular season last season and lost by a mere 13, but were crushed in the Big East tourney 81-52.

19. Louisville (11-2)

The Cardinals defeated then-No. 23 Washington 59-51 by outrebounding 40-26 in a team effort on the boards. Two players were in double figures and eight of nine scored at least a bucket. Elif Istanbulluoglu didn’t score on her one attempt, but did have four rebounds.

Louisville will face Miami (Florida) on the road in the ACC opener Sunday (4 p.m. ET). The two are evenly matched and Miami was previously ranked, opening the possibility a Miami (9-1) win could flip the two’s standing to each other. Louisville won the only meeting last season 71-57 but each side has lost key stars and contributors.

20. Creighton (9-2)

The Bluejays host St. John’s (7-6, 1-0) to continue conference play Saturday (5 p.m. ET, FloHoops). The Red Storm upset them last season in December with a four-point win and have some of the better 3-point performances Creighton has allowed. The Bluejays won the rematch by shooting 54.2% from beyond the arc. They defeated Villanova 51-46 in their Big East opener.

21. Gonzaga (12-2)

Every result matters for the mid-major and the Zags took care of business against Arizona 81-69 and New Mexico 67-56 last week. Yvonne Ejim scored 27 and 22 points, respectively. They are off for the week and open the WCC schedule against Portland on Jan. 4.

22. Florida State (9-3)

The Seminoles crushed Alabama State 110-45 last week and host Georgia Tech (2 p.m. ET Friday) to open ACC play. The winning margins last year were 41 and 14 points against the Yellowjackets (9-3).

23. West Virginia (11-0)

The Mountaineers open Big 12 play at Kansas (1 p.m. ET Saturday), a team they split contests with last season, but that could ruin their early ranking. The Jayhawks have played a stronger schedule than West Virginia, according to Her Hoop Stats, and could play spoiler to one of the conference’s undefeated squads. They’ve taken losses to UConn (by eight), Virginia Tech (one), Penn State (six) and Texas A&M (11) with a win over Nebraska (by 17).

24. North Carolina (8-4)

The Tar Heels defeated Oklahoma 61-52 last week. The Sooners (6-5) were previously ranked in the poll and had received votes up until Week 6.

North Carolina is second in ACC defense (55.3 ppg allowed) and hosts Clemson in the opener (noon ET Sunday, CW). The Tigers already defeated Duke in their ACC opener and could be a team that surprises the top half of the conference.

25. Syracuse (10-1)

The Orange entered my ballot after Washington’s loss to Louisville — which wasn’t a bad loss, per se. But there are other teams in that bubble at the end of the top 25 that could move up into a spot after a loss. Syracuse and TCU were on my bubble last week and did nothing to lose status.

Syracuse’s best win is 79-73 against Alabama (simple RPI 45) and the Orange came within a bucket of Maryland (simple RPI 10), another team higher than TCU’s best win, per Her Hoop Stats ratings. TCU’s is a seven-point win over Nebraska (simple RPI 66). Washington’s best opponent was Louisville, and its second-best was the upset win over Washington State (simple RPI 23), per Her Hoop Stats.

The Orange host Notre Dame to open ACC play. TCU begins the Big 12 conference play at home against BYU, one of the four newbies in the conference, and will face its largest test when it travels to currently undefeated Baylor on Jan. 3. Washington is off before traveling to Cal for a Jan. 5 Pac-12 meeting.

AP Top 25 poll (as of Dec. 25)

1. South Carolina (11-0)
2. UCLA (11-0)
3. NC State (12-0)
4. Iowa (12-1)
5. Texas (12-0)
6. USC (10-0)
7. LSU (12-1)
8. Colorado (10-1)
9. Stanford (10-1)
10. Baylor (11-0)
11. Kansas State (12-1)
12. Utah (10-2)
13. Notre Dame (9-1)
14. Virginia Tech (9-2)
15. UConn (9-3)
16. Indiana (10-1)
17. Ohio State (10-2)
18. Marquette (12-0)
19. Louisville (11-2)
20. Gonzaga (13-2)
21. Creighton (9-2)
22. Florida State (9-3)
23. TCU (13-0)
24. North Carolina (8-4)
25. West Virginia (11-0)