Women's college basketball Power Rankings: Iowa, OSU crack top 10 - ESPN

Nearly two years after Caitlin Clark graduated from Iowa, the Hawkeyes have returned to the top 10 in the AP Top 25 poll. Staying there is going to be a challenge.

Iowa and Ohio State have also climbed into the top 10 of this week's ESPN's women's college basketball Power Rankings, which spotlight the race at the top of the Big Ten. UCLA is the league favorite and a projected No. 1 seed. But for now the Bruins and Hawkeyes are tied atop the conference standings at 7-0. Next are Ohio State and Michigan at 6-1. Michigan State is 6-2, and Maryland and Illinois 5-3.

A month ago, Iowa was coming off losses to Iowa State and UConn. But coach Jan Jensen was upbeat then about what the Hawkeyes were learning from tough games, and now we see why. They have won six in a row since falling to the Huskies on Dec. 20, including victories over ranked Nebraska on Jan. 1 and Michigan State on Sunday.

Still, Iowa has a lot on its plate going forward. This week the Hawkeyes travel to Maryland on Thursday and host Ohio State on Sunday. The following week is the California road trip as they face USC and UCLA.

As for the Buckeyes, they've also won six in a row since their last loss, which was to UCLA on Dec. 28.

Though the Bruins — who have won 11 in a row — are still likely to win the regular-season title with their talent and depth, the rest of the Big Ten won't hand them anything. We'll see in the next couple of weeks who might emerge as the biggest threat to UCLA.

Previous ranking: 1

Next seven days: @ Georgetown (Jan. 22), @ Seton Hall (Jan. 25)

What might have been a challenging week for UConn wasn't that at all. The Huskies flattened the second-place team in the Big East, Villanova, 99-50 last Thursday. Then they avenged one of their