The 2025/26 Big Ten basketball regular-season title race is heating up, as Sunday's top-ranked clash sees No. 2 UCLA hosting a No. 8 Iowa team reeling from an 81-69 upset loss to unranked USC on Thursday.
While still unbeaten in conference play, the Bruins are coming off a close call of their own, defeating a tough Illinois side 80-67 on Wednesday — UCLA's tightest margin of victory against an unranked opponent so far this season.
"If [Illinois] can stick together… fight the urge to choose themselves or to look elsewhere… they can be in a really special place," UCLA head coach Cori Close said afterwards.
Despite entering the AP Poll's Top 10 for the first time since the Caitlin Clark era, Iowa suffered its first Big Ten loss of the 2025/26 season this week.
The Hawkeyes slipped quickly into foul trouble, as star USC freshman Jazzy Davidson notched 21 points with Iowa forced to rotate their front court.
"We were out of sync to start," Iowa assistant coach LaSondra Barrett said on the postgame broadcast. "Foul trouble was a big thing with Hannah [Stuelke] picking up those two early."
How to watch Iowa vs. UCLA this weekend
The No. 8 Hawkeyes visit the No. 2 Bruins on Sunday, with the pair tipping off live at 5 PM ET on FOX.
NCAA upsets rocked the AP Poll again this week, with significant Top 10 movement as women's basketball underdogs muscle their way up the 2025/26 table.
LSU's Sunday victory over once-unbeaten Texas saw the Longhorns fall two spots to No. 4, while the Tigers returned to the Top 10 to claim No. 6 in a six-spot jump.
No. 7 Kentucky fell one spot after a loss to No. 21 Alabama and a Top-10 win over then-No. 5 Oklahoma, with the Sooners exiting the single-digits in an eight-spot plummet to No. 13 after two losses of their own.
Meanwhile, No. 1 UConn earned unanimous first-place votes after Texas's defeat, with the Huskies joined in the Top 5 by the also-undefeated Vanderbilt Commodores.
Three teams left the AP Poll entirely, as Washington, USC, and North Carolina continue to struggle — with the Trojans snapping a 51-week ranked streak as they strive to find their footing without injured star JuJu Watkins.
No. 19 Iowa State also saw a precipitous eight-rank drop, losing three games in a row as injured starter Addy Brown watched from the bench.
On the flip side, Alabama, No. 23 Notre Dame, and No. 25 Illinois broke back into the Top 25 with Monday's rankings drop.
How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball this week
Though ranked matchups will resume on Thursday, Tuesday night puts one of the three remaining undefeated Division I seasons to the test when No. 17 Texas Tech takes the court against unranked Houston.
The clash tips off live at 7 PM ET on ESPN+.
2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 10
1. UConn (17-0, Big East)
2. South Carolina (17-1, SEC)
3. UCLA (15-1, Big Ten)
4. Texas (18-1, SEC)
5. Vanderbilt (17-0, SEC)
6. LSU (16-2, SEC)
7. Kentucky (16-2, SEC)
8. Michigan (14-2, Big Ten)
9. Louisville (16-3, ACC)
10. TCU (16-1, Big 12)
11. Iowa (14-2, Big Ten)
12. Maryland (16-2, Big Ten)
13. Oklahoma (14-3, SEC)
14. Ohio State (15-2, Big Ten)
15. Michigan State (16-1, Big Ten)
16. Ole Miss (16-3, SEC)
17. Texas Tech (18-0, Big 12)
18. Baylor (15-3, Big 12)
19. Iowa State (14-3, Big 12)
20. Tennessee (12-3, SEC)
21. Alabama (17-1, SEC)
22. Princeton (14-1, Ivy)
23. Notre Dame (12-4, ACC)
24. Nebraska (14-3, Big Ten)
25. Illinois (14-3, Big Ten)