South Carolina Survives Stiff Test vs. Mississippi to Remain No. 1 in Women’s AP Poll

It was the first time this season that the Gamecocks weren’t a unanimous choice at No. 1 after a stiff test in overtime against Mississippi.

South Carolina survived one of its stiffest tests of the season to remain No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll released Monday.

The Gamecocks (27-0) topped Mississippi in overtime on Sunday to win their 33rd consecutive game and secure the top spot in the poll for a 35th consecutive week. That is the third-longest run atop the poll, with UConn (51 weeks) and Louisiana Tech (36) having had longer streaks at No. 1. The Gamecocks broke a tie with UConn for third place.

South Carolina received 27 of the 28 first-place votes from the national media panel. It was the first time this season that the team wasn’t a unanimous choice at No. 1.

Indiana got the other first place vote and stayed second in the poll. The Hoosiers have won 14 consecutive games and are 9-0 against AP Top 25 teams this season — the most wins against ranked opponents of any team in the country. The Hoosiers clinched at least a share of their first Big Ten title since 1983 with Sunday’s win over Purdue.

Butch Dill/Associated Press

“It’s nothing against South Carolina, but the Big Ten is incredibly strong this season and Indiana has played a tougher conference schedule,” voter Mitchell Northam said. “While the Gamecocks needed OT to get by Ole Miss, the Hoosiers handily beat ranked teams in Ohio State and Michigan this past week. I wanted to reward them for that. Indiana also has five wins against top 10 teams this season, the most in the country, and hasn’t lost since Grace Berger has been healthy.”

Stanford, UConn and LSU round out the top five teams.

Iowa, which hosts Indiana on Sunday, was No. 6. The Hawkeyes were followed by Maryland, Utah, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. The Utes dropped four places after falling to then-No. 18 Arizona. The Wildcats moved up four spots to 14th.

Women’s AP top 25 as of Feb. 20:

1. South Carolina
2. Indiana
3. Stanford
4. UConn
5. LSU
6. Iowa
7. Maryland
8. Utah
9. Virginia Tech
10. Notre Dame
11. Duke
12. Michigan
13. Oklahoma
14. Arizona
15. Villanova
16. Ohio State
17. UCLA
18. Gonzaga
19. Texas
20. Iowa State
21. Colorado
22. North Carolina
23. Florida State
24. UNLV
25. Illinois

Others receiving votes: Middle Tennessee 29, South Florida 25, Oklahoma State 18, Creighton 14, North Carolina State 13, Florida Gulf Coast 7, Louisville 7, Tennessee 7, Marquette 3, Cleveland State 3, South Dakota State 2, Toledo 1, USC 1, Columbia 1, Illinois State 1, UMass 1, Ole Miss 1