USC women up to 6th for best AP poll ranking in 29 years; South Carolina No. 1

Stellar freshman Juju Watkins has helped USC climb the AP Top 25 to the team's best ranking in 29 years.

The Trojans moved up to sixth in The Associated Press women's basketball poll on Monday, its highest mark since the 1994 season when they reached No. 4. Watkins has been a huge reason why, already with three 30-point-plus games this season to match the school record for freshmen held by Trojan greats Lisa Leslie and Paula McGee.

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"We had a challenging schedule early and we met those challenges," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "Obviously, Juju is so phenomenal, to see her adapt to the college game and adapt as quickly is so impressive."

South Carolina remained the unanimous choice at No. 1 from the 36-member national media panel. The Gamecocks cruised to two easy wins over the Thanksgiving holiday.

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UCLA, Stanford, Iowa and N.C. State round out the top five.

UCLA, Stanford and Iowa all had successful runs in holiday tournaments last week. The Bruins beat UConn for the first time in school history, topping the Huskies in the inaugural Cayman Islands Classic.

The Wolfpack knocked off another top-five opponent, routing then-No. 3 Colorado in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Coach Wes Moore's squad has gone from being unranked in the preseason poll to fifth.

"We were picked to finish eighth in the ACC, and we weren't ranked two weeks ago," Moore said. "It's what I've been telling them: ‘Stay hungry, stay hungry and keep doing what you've been doing.' Right now, they're putting the team first, and not caring who gets the credit."

Colorado fell into a tie for seventh with LSU. The Buffaloes knocked off the then-No. 1 Tigers to start the season.

Virginia Tech is ninth and Texas 10th. The Longhorns host UConn on Sunday in the Jimmy V Classic. The Huskies, who are once again beset by injuries, dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since Jan. 3, 2022.

Princeton entered the Top 25 for the second consecutive year. The Tigers, who were ranked in the preseason last year before falling out, topped Oklahoma before falling to Indiana. Princeton's only other loss this season was a three-point defeat at UCLA.

It is the third straight season that the Tigers have been ranked for at least one week.

Marquette jumped into the poll at No. 23 after wins over Boston College and Arkansas. The ranking comes nearly a year to the date of the Golden Eagles last appearance in the Top 25 after they had a successful run at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Washington State and Oklahoma fell out of the rankings.

The inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge will take place this week with some marquee matchups that include No. 18 Notre Dame against No. 20 Tennessee; No. 9 Virginia Tech against No. 7 LSU; and No. 24 North Carolina playing top-ranked South Carolina.

Here's the full top 25:

1. South Carolina
2. UCLA
3. Stanford
4. Iowa
5. NC State
6. USC
7. LSU
7. Colorado
9. Virginia Tech
10. Texas
11. UConn
12. Utah
13. Baylor
14. Kansas State
15. Florida State
16. Ohio State
17. Indiana
18. Notre Dame
19. Ole Miss
20. Tennessee
21. Mississippi State
22. Louisville
23. Marquette
24. North Carolina
25. Princeton

Reporting by The Associated Press.