Headlining an NCAA basketball weekend rife with upsets, South Carolina lost for the first time since the 2023 Final Four on Sunday. The Gamecocks fell 77-62 to then-No. 5 UCLA, snapping a 43-game winning streak in the largest loss by an AP No. 1 team since 2020.
"I thought our kids fought, but we ran into a buzzsaw today," said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley after the game.
After rocketing to a 43-22 lead at the half, UCLA's defense stepped up to combat the defending champions' second-half surge and secure the victory. The Bruins forced the Gamecocks to commit the same number of turnovers as assists at 13, all while out-rebounding them 41-34.
South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao led all scoring with 18 points, but UCLA put together a true team effort, with five Bruins draining double-digits in their first-ever program win over the Gamecocks.
Notre Dame tips off the NCAA basketball upset party
Underdogs earned wins in both of the weekend's Top-10 matchups, with then-No. 6 Notre Dame defeating then-No. 3 USC 74-61 on Saturday.
Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo put together a game-leading performance of 24 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and five steals. Together with star teammate Olivia Miles, who added 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, the Irish quieted a stacked USC lineup featuring stars JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen.
"Big-time player, big-time stage," said Fighting Irish head coach Nielle Ivey about Hidalgo. "Not at all shocked what she did today."
NCAA upsets shake up AP poll
Fueled by their historic win over 2024 champions South Carolina, UCLA claimed the No. 1 spot in Monday's AP Top 25 for the first time in school history. At the same time, the Gamecocks fell to No. 4 after holding the top position for 61 of the last 62 polls.
"We came here saying we want to be an elite basketball program and to be in that company as the 26th program ever to be a No. 1 team is significant," UCLA coach Cori Close commented after the AP standings were released. "I’m grateful."
Notre Dame and USC fully swapped their rankings after the Irish victory, entering Week 4 of the NCAA season at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.
Elsewhere, stellar defense earned WNBA star Caitlin Clark's alma mater Iowa its AP poll season debut at No. 22 while state rival Iowa State suffered the largest rankings fall, plummeting seven spots to No. 15 after dropping 87-75 to unranked Northern Iowa last week.
While the bulk of college basketball's elite 25 teams saw minor one-spot shifts, No. 2 UConn was one of only four squads to hold steady, with the Huskies recently celebrating their program's sustained dominance behind the now-winningest NCAA basketball coach in history, Geno Auriemma.
No. 2 UCLA basketball remains undefeated this season, in no small part due to Kiki Rice’s contributions against No. 6 UConn.
The sophomore guard dropped 24 points en route to her program’s first-ever win against the Huskies. She also grabbed 11 rebounds and eight assists. She led her squad to its fifth win of the season in its toughest match so far, 78-67.
“We wanted her to come out with an attack mentality,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said to Michael Voepel. “She has put so much work in. She’s just been a rock star for us.”
Charisma Osborne and Lauren Betts also showed out at the Cayman Islands Classic with 18 and 13 points, respectively.
“We really were confident that if we executed the game plan, that we were going to win,” Close said to the Associated Press. “I say that with great respect (for UConn) but I really believe in what this team is building.”
Paige Bueckers had a standout night for the Huskies, leading all scorers with her 31 points — almost half of UConn’s total. But no one else on the team scored more than 11 points. And head coach Geno Auriemma does not believe that is enough to win games.
“You can’t beat a really good team with one player,” Auriemma said. “It was disappointing that we didn’t get more contributions from more people. Our combinations are all screwed up right now, so that’s got to get sorted out.. We struggled, we had our runs, we just didn’t have enough.”