No. 2 Southern Cal has best ranking in 39 years

Field Level Media|published: Mon 3rd March, 13:02 2025

Feb 13, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) and head coach Lindsay Gottlieb during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Southern California climbed to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll Monday, its highest ranking in 39 years.

Star guard JuJu Watkins and the Trojans (26-2) climbed two spots after defeating then-No. 2 UCLA to win the Big Ten regular-season title on Saturday. USC received six first-place votes and reached its loftiest perch since it was No. 2 on Jan. 5, 1986.

Texas (29-2) received the other 25 votes to remain at No. 1 and UConn (28-3) rose two places to No. 3. The Bruins (27-2) slipped to No. 4, with South Carolina (27-3) rounding out the top five.

No. 6 Notre Dame (25-4) fell three places after a loss to Florida State, followed by North Carolina State (24-5), TCU (28-3), LSU (27-4) and Oklahoma (23-6).

The rest of the Top 25:

11. Duke (23-7)

12. Kentucky (22-6)

13. Ohio State (24-5)

14. North Carolina (25-6)

15. Maryland (23-6)

16. West Virginia (23-6)

17. Baylor (25-6)

18. Tennessee (21-8)

19. Alabama (23-7)

20. Kansas State (25-6)

21. Oklahoma State (24-5)