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.
Hailey Van Lith is reportedly on her way to TCU, says Talia Goodman of The Next Hoops.
The former Louisville star joined LSU for the 2023-24 season, but a disappointing run in Baton Rouge saw her enter the transfer portal once again at the season’s end. Van Lith opted to use her fifth year of eligibility versus declaring for the WNBA draft.
Van Lith was admittedly less effective as a Tiger. Her field goal percentage decreased from .411 in 2022-23 with Louisville to .388 at LSU. She also went from averaging 19.7 points per game to just 11.6, due in part to a change of position from shooting guard to more of a point guard role.
At an end-of-season banquet last week, LSU coach Kim Mulkey used her speech to wish Van Lith well, calling her "one of the hardest working players that I’ve ever coached."
"Her aspirations were to get drafted this year," Mulkey said, according to NOLA.com. "And she realized, 'I need another year, and I need to go back to a place where I can relax and get back to my normal position.'
"And what do you do? You hug her, and you wish her well."
The decision to commit to TCU may come as a surprise after Van Lith paid a visit to Mississippi State last weekend. The Horned Frogs finished out the 2023-24 season 21-12 overall, coming in 9th in the Big 12 and scoring an average of 69.5 points per game. The program also made headlines in January when they held mid-season open tryouts in response to an onslaught of sidelining injuries.
TCU women’s basketball has canceled their next two games due to a lack of healthy players.
The school announced the cancellation of the games on Wednesday. Point guard Jaden Owens suffered a season-ending torn ACL and meniscus in her right knee on Saturday while forward DaiJa Turner announced Wednesday that she has had season-ending surgery for a left ankle injury.
Senior Sedona Prince is also sidelined indefinitely, leaving the Horned Frogs below the minimum amount of healthy players available required for competition.
TCU will hold open tryouts on Thursday and Friday for full-time students who are interested in walking on for the remainder of the season. The Horned Frogs are currently 14-4 overall and 1-4 in the Big 12.
The team’s next game is scheduled for Jan. 23 at home against UCF.
TCU women’s basketball will hold open tryouts on Thursday and Friday for full-time students interested in walking-on for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
— TCU Women’s Basketball (@tcuwbb) January 17, 2024
Please see the information below or contact Jessie Craig ([email protected]) for additional details. #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/pQV2SvYnBm
Haley Cavinder and her twin sister Hanna retired from basketball after leading Miami to the Elite Eight in 2023. But now Haley is set to return in 2024.
Cavinder entered the transfer portal in October with the intention of playing the 2024-25 season, her agent Jeff Hoffman told ESPN. And on Monday, she posted photos of herself in a TCU uniform. “The last rodeo #committed,” her caption read.
As a starting guard for Miami, Cavinder averaged 12.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season. She earned second-team All-ACC honors and helped the Hurricanes to their first appearance in the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
TCU brought in former Oregon star Sedona Prince for the 2023-24 season. And now the Horned Frogs will bring in Cavinder for her final year of eligibility. Both Prince and Cavinder have an extra year of eligibility available due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
the last rodeo #committed pic.twitter.com/ob1i6H9G8S
— Haley Cavinder (@CavinderHaley) November 13, 2023
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.