UCLA Women's Basketball: Holding Strong at No. 3 in the Nation!
That's right, the UCLA Bruins women's basketball team is still a force to be reckoned with, maintaining their impressive No. 3 spot in the latest AP Top 25 poll! Despite some shuffling among the top teams, UCLA has solidified its position as a top-five contender.
Last week was a showcase of their dominance. They kicked off a two-game conference road trip with a convincing 76-58 victory against Minnesota, then returned home to crush then-No. 12 Maryland with a resounding 97-67 win. The Bruins nearly hit the century mark, and they did it while trouncing another top-25 opponent by a whopping 30 points!
And this is the part most people miss... the win over Maryland marked the eighth time this season that the Bruins have defeated a ranked team and the ninth time they've conquered a Quad 1 opponent – both leading the nation! Talk about a winning streak!
Looking ahead, UCLA is wrapping up its homestand this week with a Wednesday game against Purdue before hitting the road again for a Sunday matchup at Illinois. The Big Ten conference is well-represented in the rankings, with a total of eight teams making the cut this week, including:
- UCLA (No. 3)
- Michigan (No. 7)
- Iowa (No. 10)
- Ohio State (No. 12)
- Michigan State (No. 13)
- Maryland (No. 15)
- Nebraska (No. 24)
- Washington (No. 25)
Here's the complete AP Poll Top 25 for Week 12:
- 1 UConn (18-0) – 750 points
- 2 South Carolina (19-1) – 715 points
- 3 UCLA (17-1) – 692 points
- 4 Texas (19-2) – 645 points
- 5 Vanderbilt (18-0) – 638 points
- 6 LSU (17-2) – 596 points
- 7 Michigan (15-2) – 556 points
- 8 Louisville (18-3) – 537 points
- 9 TCU (18-1) – 503 points
- 10 Iowa (16-2) – 463 points
- 11 Kentucky (17-3) – 430 points
- 12 Ohio State (16-2) – 428 points
- 13 Michigan State (17-2) – 358 points
- 14 Baylor (17-3) – 346 points
- 15 Maryland (17-3) – 345 points
- 16 Oklahoma (14-4) – 297 points
- 17 Tennessee (13-3) – 279 points
- 18 Ole Miss (16-4) – 231 points
- 19 Texas Tech (19-1) – 219 points
- 20 Princeton (15-1) – 176 points
- 21 Duke (13-6) – 122 points
- 22 West Virginia (15-4) – 59 points
- 23 Alabama (17-3) – 49 points
- 24 Nebraska (14-4) – 48 points
- 25 Washington (14-4) – 43 points
Others receiving votes: West Virginia 41, Duke 41, North Carolina 21, Minnesota 12, Washington 11, Stanford 10, Utah 8, Southern Cal 4, Rode Island 4, Georgia 3, Oregon 2, NC State 2.
What do you think? Are you impressed by UCLA's performance? Do you think they have what it takes to climb even higher in the rankings? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
