Ole Miss enters AP women's basketball poll for 1st time in 15 years; face No. 1 South Carolina next

Unbeaten on the road this season, Ole Miss entered The Associated Press women's basketball poll for the first time in 15 years on Monday, coming in at No. 24.

The Rebels (17-2) have won their first seven games away from home, including a victory over then-No. 23 Kentucky on Sunday. The last Top 25 ranking for Ole Miss was January 2007.

«Fifteen years is crazy,» Mississippi coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. «I told them before the Kentucky game that I had been downplaying the whole ranking deal and I apologized to them for that. I didn't think it was fair of me. I said if you want to get ranked, go ahead and beat Kentucky and be ranked.»

That unblemished mark will be put to the test Thursday when the Rebels visit No. 1 South Carolina in a rescheduled game. The Gamecocks received 29 of the 30 first-place votes from a national media panel to remain the top team in the poll.

McPhee-McCuin was excited to see where her team stacks up against the best in the country and knows a win would put the Rebels one step closer to their goal of making the NCAA tournament.

«If you're serious about basketball and competition, how are you not pumped up to play the No. 1 team in the country?» she said. «We were pretty bummed when COVID took that away from us early.»

Stanford, NC State, Tennessee and Louisville round out the top five. The Wolfpack rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Cardinals last Thursday and take command of the ACC.

Indiana remained sixth and was followed by Michigan, Arizona, Texas and UConn. The Longhorns jumped up six spots after beating then-No. 7 Iowa State on Sunday. The Cyclones fell to 13th.

The Huskies were supposed to play South Carolina on Thursday, but Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley says her team needs to