The Big Ten matched The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball record with nine ranked teams as Nebraska entered at No. 24 on Monday.
The conference set the mark last year on Dec. 2 and this week has three teams in the top 10 alone.
UConn still is No. 1, receiving 23 first-place votes from a national media panel. Texas garnered the other nine votes to remain second.
The top 10 was unchanged this week. South Carolina and UCLA stayed third and fourth with LSU and Michigan next. Maryland was seventh after rallying to beat Minnesota in double overtime Sunday.
TCU, Oklahoma and Iowa State rounded out the first 10. The Cyclones play in-state rival No. 11 Iowa on Wednesday.
Other Big Ten teams in the poll include No. 16 USC, No. 20 Washington, No. 21 Ohio State and No. 25 Michigan State. The Cornhuskers are ranked for the second consecutive season after starting 9-0.
“I’ve been honored to be a part of this league for the last 13 seasons, working on year 14, where I’ve watched the league just get better and better,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “And then when you have that type of improvement, and then add the four West Coast teams that are tremendous as well, I just think it added another top four teams to an already great league.”
Tennessee’s milestone ranking
The 18th-ranked Lady Vols appeared in the poll for the 800th time in the 50-year history of the rankings. Tennessee had a stretch of being in the Top 25 for 565 straight weeks, a record later surpassed by UConn.
Conference supremacy
The Big Ten took over the top spot with nine teams, while the Southeastern Conference was next with eight. The Big 12 has four and the Atlantic Coast Conference has three. The Big East has one.
Struggling ACC
The ACC had a rough week, going 3-13 against the SEC in the conference challenge. The ACC saw its run of having at least one top 10 team in every poll end earlier this season after 453 consecutive weeks.
Notre Dame fell one spot to No. 19 after blowing a 19-point lead in Thursday’s 69-62 loss to Mississippi — the largest in program history. The Irish rebounded with a 93-58 win in their ACC opener against Florida State on Sunday.
Games of the week
No. 1 UConn at No. 16 Southern California, Saturday
The Huskies head across the country for one of the few ranked games left on their schedule. The two teams have met a few times over the last couple of seasons, including in the NCAA Tournament regional final in 2024 and 2025. UConn won both of those matchups while the Trojans were victorious in Connecticut during a regular-season game.
No. 2 Texas vs No. 13 Baylor, Sunday
The two former Big 12 rivals will tip off in the Sprouts Farmers Market espnW Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas. The game will be played at the site of one of the two regionals for the NCAA Tournament.
