One week into the 2024/25 season and the Big Ten is already leading the college basketball charge, with multiple teams tallying upsets to boost their spots in Monday's AP Top 25 update.
The biggest leap belonged to Maryland, who climbed seven spots to No. 11 after defeating now-No. 16 Duke 85-80 on Sunday. With four double-digit scorers, the Terrapins' team effort was led by junior guard Kaylene Smikle's 23 points.
Maryland's Big Ten compatriots, No. 23 Illinois and No. 25 Oregon, broke into Monday's standings after respective wins against then-No. 19 Florida State on Thursday and then-No. 12 Baylor on Sunday.
Led by former UNC standout Deja Kelly's 20 points, the Ducks staved off a late Baylor surge to secure the 76-74 win, snapping a 13-game losing streak to ranked opponents in the process.
Outside the Big Ten, Stanford also made their 2024/25 poll debut, coming in at No. 24. The Cardinal took their omission from the preseason poll — the first in 25 years with Stanford — as a challenge, defeating their first three season opponents last week by an average of 41 points.
South Carolina maintains stranglehold on No. 1
The preseason top eight teams held their ground this week behind defending champs No. 1 South Carolina, who extended their division-record active unbeaten streak to 40 games with Sunday's 71-57 win over now-No. 13 NC State.
With junior forward Chloe Kitts, who led the Gamecocks with a double-double in their season opener, ruled out due to an academic issue, South Carolina guards Te-Hina Paopao and MiLaysia Fulwiley stepped up in a big way, sinking 23 and 18 points, respectively.
SEC is still NCAA's top basketball conference
While still early days, it does appear that conference realignment and a robust transfer portal has once again emboldened the NCAA's biggest players.
New Big Ten members No. 3 USC, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 24 Oregon join veterans No. 11 Maryland, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 21 Nebraska, and No. 23 Illinois in this week's rankings, tying the SEC with the most teams in the poll at seven.
Even so, the SEC remains the conference to beat, with not just No. 1 South Carolina setting the sport's standard, but three other Top-10 teams. Conference veteran No. 7 LSU and last season's Big 12 stalwarts No. 4 Texas and No. 9 Oklahoma round out the SEC's grip on the top of the rankings, with No. 19 Ole Miss, No. 20 Kentucky, and No. 22 Alabama also featuring in the poll.
AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll
1. South Carolina
2. UConn
3. Southern California
4. Texas
5. UCLA
6. Notre Dame
7. LSU
8. Iowa State
9. Oklahoma
10. Kansas State
11. Maryland
12. Ohio State
13. North Carolina State
14. North Carolina
15. West Virginia
16. Duke
17. Baylor
18. Louisville
19. Ole Miss
20. Kentucky
21. Nebraska
22. Alabama
23. Illinois
24. Stanford
25. Oregon
Deja Kelly has landed on her final destination, with the former North Carolina star announcing her commitment to Oregon on Monday.
A three-time All-ACC guard, Kelly averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in her four years in Chapel Hill. She led the team in scoring in each of the last three seasons, but opted to transfer elsewhere for her fifth and final year of NCAA eligibility.
The 5-foot-8 Texas native finishes her UNC career eighth on the team’s scoring list, having helped carry the Tar Heels to a Sweet 16 in 2022.
Kelly is the seventh new addition for Oregon Ducks coach Kelly Graves this offseason, as the program faced a number of big name departures at the close of the 2023 NCAA tournament. She will join Texas' Amina Muhammad, Arizona's Salimatou Kourouma, Washington's Ari Long, BYU's Nani Falatea, UC Santa Barbara's Alexis Whitfield, and Siena's Elisa Mevius in Eugene this fall.
Kelly wasn't the only noteworthy transfer shaking up women's college hoops this week, with Marquette's Liza Karlen and Pitt's Liatu King both announcing their commitments to Notre Dame within a span of roughly 18 hours.
Sedona Prince just wants to have fun playing basketball again.
The former Oregon star sat out last season with a torn ligament in her elbow, and she wasn’t planning on playing an additional year of college sports. But in April, she withdrew from the WNBA Draft and announced her transfer to TCU.
And this year, she’s redefining what a successful game of basketball looks like for her.
“I know it sounds corny, but it’s if I have fun,” she told The Cut. “That’s my biggest goal in basketball, and it has been my focus for about the last year: just having fun with the game again, because I feel like so many people lose that and it’s such an easy thing to lose, but it’s the main reason why we play our sport. My biggest definition of success is that I was proud of myself and I gave it my all.”
While Prince has catapulted to TikTok fame, with more than 2.7 million followers, she tries to remain grounded.
“I love inspiring kids that you can be gay, you can be loud and proud, and go through the ups and downs of dating as a young adult,” she said. “But it’s also hard because I need to protect my own being.”
Even with her social media fame and her recent injury history, Prince still has an eye toward a future in the WNBA. Her draft prospects could depend on a monster season with the Horned Frogs after she averaged 9.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in her last collegiate season, but she’s hoping to get the full-circle moment of playing professionally alongside some of her former teammates.
And if she had her pick of which coach to play for?
“Becky Hammon is the easiest answer because she’s the GOAT,” she said.