Fueled by Friday's victory over then-No. 3 Notre Dame, TCU made program history on Monday by securing the updated AP poll's No. 9 spot — their first-ever Top 10 ranking. With their rise, the Horned Frogs are now the only Big 12 team in the top tier of the poll.
Joining TCU in entering this week's Top 10 is No. 8 Duke, whose recent wins over then-No. 8 Kansas State and then-No. 9 Oklahoma propelled the Blue Devils to their best standing in 10 years.
Last week's mini-tournament chaos caused movement through most of the Top 10. The lone team to fall was Notre Dame, who crashed seven spots to No. 10.
On the other hand, both South Carolina and Texas climbed one spot to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, after victories over then-No. 15 Iowa State and then-No. 12 West Virginia. Meanwhile, LSU cracked into the Top 5 by following up a narrow 68-67 victory over Washington with a poll-ousting 82-65 win over then-No. 20 NC State and a 131-44 beatdown of NC Central.
The final Top 10 riser was Maryland, whose three-spot leap to No. 7 came courtesy of consistent play.
After securing their first-ever No. 1 ranking last week, UCLA held steady at the top, with UConn staying strong just behind the Bruins at No. 2. The only other Top 10 team to maintain their poll position on Monday was No. 6 USC, who put together a pair of dominant wins against decidedly overmatched opponents last week.
It's still early days in the 2024/25 NCAA basketball season, and while teams enjoy their view from the top, this week's ranked games — highlighted by Thursday's No. 4 Texas vs. No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 8 Duke vs. No. 3 South Carolina battles — are guaranteed to shake things up.
The AP Top 10 college basketball poll
1. UCLA (8-0, Big Ten)
2. UConn (6-0, Big East)
3. South Carolina (7-1, SEC)
4. Texas (7-0, SEC)
5. LSU (9-0, SEC)
6. USC (6-1, Big Ten)
7. Maryland (8-0, Big Ten)
8. Duke (8-1, ACC)
9. TCU (8-0, Big 12)
10. Notre Dame (5-2, ACC)
NCAA basketball teams traveled to off-campus mini-tournaments during last week's Thanksgiving break, with results showing that some teams feasted while others fought over leftovers.
Reigning national champions South Carolina went on a redemption tour at the Fort Myers Tip-Off, while Notre Dame struggled at the Cayman Islands Classic.
Notre Dame drops two NCAA basketball games in a row
Following last week's huge win against title contender No. 6 USC, then-No. 3 Notre Dame hit an unexpected skid over the weekend, falling first 76-68 to then-No. 17 TCU on Friday before further stumbling 78-67 against unranked Utah on Saturday.
Star guard Hannah Hidalgo's 27 points weren't enough to topple the Horned Frogs, who saw center Sedona Prince and guards Hailey Van Lith and Madison Connor put up a combined average of almost 20 points in the Friday battle.
Similarly, though Notre Dame junior guard Sonia Citron's 22 points made her the only player on either team to sink more than 16 points on Saturday, the Utes' team effort won the day. Seven Utah athletes drained at least five points, with four notching double-digits.
"I just thought today our depth hurt us with our foul trouble, and consecutive games back-to-back against two really good teams," head coach Niele Ivey said of the Irish's first successive losses since 2021.
South Carolina bounces back in style
On the other hand, then-No. 4 South Carolina bounced back big time from their first regular-season loss since 2022 on Thursday, defeating then-No. 15 Iowa State 76-36 to right the ship after last weekend's UCLA upset.
The Gamecocks' defense controlled the floor throughout the first half, allowing just nine points from the Cyclones while nine different South Carolina players scored.
Only four Iowa State players put up points in the matchup, with sophomore star Audi Crooks shooting far below her season average at just 13 points.
"Obviously, there were some lapses in the UCLA game that weren't characteristic of us," commented South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. "That is our nemesis — to be able to lock in on both sides of the ball and not have as many lapses or put them on the free-throw line as much as we did."
South Carolina continued making a statement on Saturday, when 11 Gamecocks — including seven double-digit scorers — combined to handily defeat Purdue 99-51.
Early season losses shake up NCAA basketball rankings
With five teams from last week's AP Top 10 already racking up early non-conference losses, Monday's Top 25 reflected the chaos.
Notre Dame plummeted seven spots to No. 7 thanks to their stalled weekend offense, while South Carolina leveled up to No. 3 with their weekend wins. After suffering the 40-point blowout loss to the Gamecocks, Iowa State took the week's second-biggest tumble, dropping five spots to No. 20.
UCLA maintained their grip on No. 1 after complementing last week's upset over reigning champs South Carolina with three additional wins, with No. 2 UConn holding steady just behind the Bruins.
The week's biggest riser was TCU, whose victory over the Irish launched them eight spots to No. 9 — the program's first-ever Top 10 ranking.
Boosting the Big Ten to a league-leading nine ranked teams this week is poll season debutants and state rivals No. 23 Michigan and No. 24 Michigan State, who make their first AP appearances since 2023 and 2021, respectively.
How to watch NCAA women's basketball this week
Monday's rankings raised the stakes in this week's matchups, with two Top 10 games emerging on Thursday's docket.
First, No. 4 Texas will put their undefeated season on the line against the skidding No. 10 Notre Dame at 7 PM ET. Live coverage will air on ESPN.
Then, No. 3 South Carolina will host new-No. 8 Duke, who'll take aim at the Gamecocks' win-streak recovery at 9 PM ET, also airing on ESPN.
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.
At least two of the nation's best NCAA basketball teams will see their undefeated 2024/25 campaigns end this weekend, when a pair of cutthroat college clashes tests the limits of four championship contenders.
First, No. 6 Notre Dame will visit No. 3 USC on Saturday, before No. 1 South Carolina takes on the Trojans’ crosstown rival No. 5 UCLA on Sunday.
Saturday's NCAA showdown features superstar sophomores
All eyes will be on preseason All-American sophomore guards JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo when the Irish contend with their season's first ranked opponent on Saturday.
Already a phenom, Watkins became the fastest Trojan to 1,000 career points last Friday — and she did it by a mile. The previous record-holder, legend Cheryl Miller, needed 48 games to hit the same mark.
As for Hidalgo, she's already hit the century mark across Notre Dame’s four matchups to average 25 points per game — the fifth-best offensive rate in the country.
The Irish's other secret weapon, guard Olivia Miles, is also back, returning from her February 2023 ACL tear with a vengeance in the Irish's season opener. Already averaging 18.3 points per game, Miles has also banked 27 assists over Notre Dame's four games — more than twice that of any of her teammates.
Between Hildago and Miles, plus ND's admittedly lopsided matchups so far, the South Bend squad has blasted their opponents by a 42.5-point average scoring margin this season.
It's a similar story for USC, who have been on a tear since their narrow 68-66 season-opening win over then-No. 20 Ole Miss. The Trojans thrashed their next three opponents by outscoring them by a gobsmacking average of 57 points.
The Trojans will need all that offense, plus the stylings of Watkins and All-American forward Kiki Iriafen, to handle the Irish on Saturday. Notre Dame holds the 8-2 all-time series advantage between the two teams, though they haven't squared off since 2011. Should USC emerge victorious, it will be their first win over the Irish since 2006.
Sunday puts powerhouses in the paint
The subsequent Sunday battle between UCLA and South Carolina — who set a program-record 43-game win streak on Wednesday — will likely be decided in the paint, where both team's superstars thrive.
The Gamecocks' depth keeps their stat sheet fairly balanced, making junior forward Chloe Kitts’s team-leading rates in scoring and rebounding that much more impressive.
That said, her UCLA counterpart, junior center Lauren Betts, has been dominant. By averaging a double-double across the Bruins' four tilts with 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, Betts is already sparking National Player of the Year commentary.
Both squads began their 2024/25 campaigns with tight wins, but while UCLA's came over then-No. 17 Louisville, South Carolina was nearly shocked by unranked Michigan. On the other hand, the Gamecocks are the only team to have handled a Top-10 opponent so far this season, confidently downing then-No. 9 NC State just six days after their near-disaster with the Wolverines.
Sunday's showdown kicks off a gauntlet of four ranked matchups in five games for South Carolina. Even though UCLA haven't defeated the Gamecocks this century, the Bruins are the biggest challenge to the reigning champions' undefeated streak on their 2024 docket.
Depending on which version of South Carolina shows up, a combination of the bigs and each team's overall consistency will likely determine Sunday's victor.
How to watch this weekend's Top-6 NCAA basketball games
Notre Dame and USC will tip off the weekend's matchups at 4 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on NBC.
On Sunday, FS1 will broadcast South Carolina vs. UCLA at 4 PM ET on Sunday.