Baylor out of women’s AP Top 25 for 1st time since 2004

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer

Baylor’s 19-year run in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll is over.

The Bears had been ranked for 365 consecutive polls before falling out Monday after losing twice last week. Baylor had been in the AP Top 25 since Jan. 5, 2004, including a 21-week run at No. 1 in 2011-12.

Only Tennessee (565) and UConn (556) have had longer streaks in the 46-year history of the poll. The fifth-ranked Huskies’ run in the poll is still active.

While Baylor is sitting just outside the Top 25, South Carolina continued its stay at No. 1. The Gamecocks, who were the unanimous choice again from a 28-member national media panel, have held the top spot for 30 consecutive weeks. That streak ties UConn for fourth longest all-time.

Ohio State moved up a spot to No. 2 after Stanford lost to Southern Cal on Sunday. The Cardinal fell to fourth. It’s the Buckeyes best ranking since they were second in the final poll of the 2006 season. Ohio State has never been No. 1.

LSU is third for the Tigers’ highest mark since Feb. 27, 2006. The Tigers, who honored all-time great Seimone Augustus with a statue before Sunday’s game, are one of three unbeaten teams left, joining South Carolina and Ohio State.

The Gamecocks and Tigers meet on Feb. 12 in South Carolina.

Indiana was sixth and Notre Dame seventh. Utah, UCLA and Iowa finished off the top 10.

Texas returned to the AP Top 25 at No. 25 after falling out of the poll in late November. The Longhorns started the season at No. 3, but an injury to star guard Rori Harmon sidetracked them early. They had a great week, beating then-No. 23 Kansas and then-No. 15 Iowa State last week.

Colorado also entered the poll this week at No. 24, a year after the team’s last appearance. The Buffaloes beat then-No. 14 Arizona on Friday, a week after handing Utah its first loss of the season. Arizona fell to 19th this week.

Kansas also fell out of the poll.

STREAKING

Maryland now has the second-longest active poll streak, having been ranked for 241 consecutive weeks. South Carolina is third with 198. Stanford and North Carolina State round out the top five, with 94 and 93 weeks, respectively.

FALLING WOLFPACK

N.C. State dropped nine spots to 20th in the poll — its lowest mark since the team was No. 21 in the final poll of 2018. The Wolfpack have lost three of their last four games, including getting swept last week by Florida State and North Carolina.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25