Minnesota in 1st women's AP Top 25 since 2019; UCLA still tops - ESPN

Minnesota is off to its best start in 17 games and earned its first ranking since 2019 on Monday, entering the Associated Press women's basketball poll at No. 24.

The Golden Gophers have won 16 of their first 17 contests, with the loss coming against Nebraska last month. They are ranked for the first time since Dec. 30, 2019. Next up is a matchup at No. 8 Maryland on Tuesday.

UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame and the USC Trojans kept rolling, holding the top four spots again in the AP Top 25. The Bruins received 29 of the 31 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Fighting Irish, who were missing All-America guard Hannah Hidalgo in their most recent game because of a foot injury, got the other two top votes.

First-place votes in parentheses

Undefeated LSU moved up one spot to fifth. The Tigers, along with the Bruins and No. 9 Ohio State, are the only three unbeaten teams left in Division I women's basketball.

UConn was sixth, with Texas falling two places to seventh after a 67-50 loss at South Carolina on Sunday.

TCU moved up one spot to 10th.

Dropping out

Iowa and Michigan fell out of the poll this week. The two Big Ten schools suffered losses last week. The Wolverines had a difficult stretch over the past few weeks, with games against No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 USC and No. 9 Ohio State that were all losses. Michigan did beat Purdue on Saturday. Iowa lost to Illinois and Indiana last week.

Ranked Cowgirls

No. 24 Oklahoma State entered the poll for the first time since 2018 after knocking off then-No. 17 West Virginia on Saturday. The Cowgirls have gone 14-2 this season and are on the road at Houston and UCF this week before hosting the No. 10 TCU Horned Frogs on Jan. 22.

Rising Bears

California moved up six spots to