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An early-February AP Top 25 poll that saw some shifting and shaking could quickly experience more disruption due to two top-20 SEC matchups scheduled for Monday night.
After confirming their top-five status with a home win over now-No. 6 LSU on Thursday, No. 4 Texas hosts No. 18 Kentucky (7:30 p.m. ET, SECN). The Wildcats are clinging to their top-20 ranking after their most-recent loss to now-No. 5 Vanderbilt was their fourth in their last five games. The Commodores also are in action on Monday night, welcoming the other Big 12-turned-SEC foe in No. 10 Oklahoma (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The Sooners, back in the top 10, have been off since losing the Red River Rivalry game to Texas over one week ago.
Ahead of potential SEC shakeups, here’s how the latest top 25 settled, with first-place votes denoted in parentheses, movement from last week’s poll tracked in brackets and teams entering (or re-entering) the poll identified with an asterisk:
And here’s a look at how three teams bounced back from midweek losses, followed by more on how No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 South Carolina proved that they’re the best of the Big Ten and SEC.
LSU, Louisville and MSU score bounceback wins
Three top-15 teams with aspirations of a long NCAA Tournament run—No. 6 LSU, No. 9 Louisville and No. 13 Michigan State—all staunched a potential slide down the standings by successfully bouncing back from mid-week losses with wins over underwhelming opponents.
The teams, in short, did what good teams must do in conference play: Take care of business. (As Zack Ward stressed in his account of No. 20 Maryland’s latest performances, losing the games you’re supposed to win hurts!)
As LSU prepares for possibly their most-anticipated game of the season on Saturday, a Valentine’s Day date with South Carolina in Baton Rouge, the Tigers did not overlook Auburn, permitting only six first-quarter points and 13 first-half points as they sprinted to a 77-44 win. ZaKiyah Johnson’s 16 points led LSU, with Amiya Johnson posting a 10-point and 10-rebound double-double from off the bench.
Unable to complete the comeback against now-No. 11 Duke on Thursday, Louisville immediately resumed their winning ways on Sunday, with their visit to Syracuse ending with a 84-65 victory behind 22 points from Laura Ziegler and a pair of 15-point efforts from Mackenly Randolph and Imari Berry. To have a chance of overtaking Duke to win the ACC regular-season title, the Cards must similarly avoid an upset the rest of the way, as none of their five remaining ACC opponents are ranked.
On Saturday, Michigan State snapped their two-game slide, which began with an overtime loss to higher-ranked Michigan and continued with one to lower-ranked Maryland, by eventually putting away Penn State. Down by 15 points at the end of the first, the Spartans chiseled their way back to the 81-70 win. They now face possibly the toughest week of any team in the nation, with visit from UCLA on Wednesday followed by a in-state rivalry rematch at No. 7 Michigan on Sunday.
Kennedy Blair and the Spartans will need every ounce of energy, intensity and more to survive the Big Ten’s very best.
Bruins burnish their best in the B1G bona fides
Speaking of UCLA and Michigan, the top-two teams in the Big Ten met on Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor, where a signature late charge by the Wolverines was not enough to knock off the Bruins. UCLA’s first game in the state of Michigan ended with a 69-66 win, as Syla Swords’ last-chance 3-pointer missed the mark for Michigan.
The win keeps the Bruins perfect in Big Ten play, extending their winning streak to 17 games. The victory over the Wolverines also gives UCLA a nation-leading nine wins over top 25-ranked teams. And it keeps them on track to achieve their highest ambition: a national championship.
Lauren Betts made the impact expected of an experienced 6-foot-7 force, with 16 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks. Betts also successfully leveraged the defensive attention she attracts into a team-high five assists. Kiki Rice led the Bruins with 20 points, while starters Gabriela Jacquez and Gianna Kneepkens added 13 and 12 points, respectively; the two also were responsible for all three of the Bruins’ 3-pointers.
As referenced above, UCLA takes on Michigan State next. With a win in East Lasing, an undefeated Big Ten season becomes very likely for the Bruins.
South Carolina looks ready for LSU
The Sunday before last, No. 1 UConn beat Tennessee by 30 points, rejecting any notion of a rivalry with a dominant second half. This most-recent Sunday, South Carolina certified that the SEC now belongs to them by sending the Lady Vols to a 43-point loss—the worst defeat in program history.
On the Tennessee side, the result inspired more honest-yet-unencouraging comments from head coach Kim Caldwell. For South Carolina, the win was their fifth-straight since their overtime loss at Oklahoma, all of which have been by at least 15 points.
In more good news for the Gamecocks, Ta’Niya Latson turned in one of her sharpest games of the season, seemingly unbothered by the knee issue that kept her sidelined for the prior two games. Laston led South Carolina with 21 points, plus four steals.
A Latson who has the off-the-dribble juice to break the paint and get to the rim will be necessary for South Carolina in their coming Saturday showdown against LSU. So will another efficient output from Joyce Edwards. After reaching 1,000 points for her career in South Carolina’s Thursday victory over Mississippi State, becoming the fifth-fastest Gamecock to achieve the milestone, Edwards put up a tidy 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting on Sunday, adding in eight boards, four assists and two steals.
