The newest AP Top 25 poll arrived Monday, and once again South Carolina women’s basketball held steady at No. 2. The Gamecocks have remained in that spot since the preseason rankings, consistently trailing only the UConn Huskies, the same team that defeated them in last season’s national championship. USC’s first-place vote count, however, continues to shift — this week, they hold one.
Every one of the 31 AP voters placed Dawn Staley’s squad inside their top four. Thirty voters slotted South Carolina inside their top three, and only ten left USC outside the top two. One voter ranked the Gamecocks behind Texas, indicating a belief that South Carolina trails the Longhorns in SEC standing.
A total of 20 voters listed USC at No. 2 — with all but one of those ballots placing UConn at No. 1.
One unique ballot had UCLA at No. 1 but still positioned South Carolina at No. 2, ahead of UConn.
Only one AP voter placed the Gamecocks atop their ballot, with UConn listed second.
Nine voters ranked USC No. 3, each of them positioning UConn at No. 1. Another voter dropped the Gamecocks to No. 4, with UConn at the top, Texas at No. 2, and UCLA at No. 3.
Below is the breakdown of the 11 voters who ranked South Carolina anywhere other than No. 2:
Ranked USC No. 1
- Joe Vozzelli (News-Gazette; Champaign, Illinois)
Ranked USC No. 3
- Alexa Philippou (ESPN; Bristol, Connecticut)
- Ben Pickman (The Athletic; New York City, New York)
- Carl Adamec (The Journal Inquirer; Manchester, Connecticut)
- Caroline Makauskas (Lexington Herald-Leader; Lexington, Kentucky)
- Eden Laase (HoopsHQ; Los Angeles, California)
- Jeff Linder (Cedar Rapids-Gazette; Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
- Percy Allen (Seattle Times; Seattle, Washington)
- Sabreena Merchant (The Athletic; New York City, New York)
- Sam McKewon (Omaha World-Herald; Omaha, Nebraska)
Ranked USC No. 4
- Robert Cessna (Bryan-College Station Eagle; College Station, Texas)
South Carolina held firm at No. 2 this week but did lose two first-place votes compared to the previous poll. Interestingly, this marks the first time since the 2018–2019 season that the Gamecocks have yet to reach No. 1 at any point.
Before the next rankings are released, Dawn Staley’s team will get two major tests in Las Vegas at the Players Era Championship.
On Wednesday, USC faces Duke at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET, following the UCLA–Texas matchup. The game will be broadcast on TruTV and stream on HBO Max.
On Thanksgiving night, the Gamecocks will take the floor again. The winner of USC–Duke will battle the winner of UCLA–Texas, while the two losing teams will meet in the consolation game. The championship is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET, with the third-place game tipping off around 10:30 p.m. ET. Both games will air on TruTV and HBO Max.
