Women's basketball AP Poll: South Carolina holds No. 1 spot after dominant early wins as Michigan, Oklahoma climb

We're a week into the women's college basketball season, and South Carolina already has a pair of convincing ranked wins under its belt.

The Gamecocks remained at No. 1 in the first true Associated Press poll of the season on Monday, thanks to an opening win against Maryland and then a 45-point blowout over North Carolina to open the new season.

South Carolina held on late to beat Maryland in its opener in Paris, and then returned to the United States for a dominant outing against the Tar Heels. Chloe Kitts had a double-double in that second contest, which was essentially over at halftime.

North Carolina, now with two losses on the year, fell 11 spots to No. 23 in this week's poll. Oklahoma beat the Tar Heels by double digits on opening night in Paris, too. The Sooners, after backing it up with a 57-point win over Morgan State, climbed seven spots to No. 14 this week.

Michigan jumped to No. 2 with its 11-point win over UConn. Te'Yala Delfosse dropped a career-high 22 points in that outing, which ended UConn's regular-season win streak. The Huskies had won 39 games in a row dating back to Feb. 6, 2025.

UConn bounced back after that, however, and beat Iowa behind a 39-point outing from Sarah Strong on Sunday. The Hawkeyes remained at No. 10, and share that spot with UConn this week.

USC, now with JuJu Watkins back, remained at No. 3 in the poll. Duke rounded out the top five.

The Huskies have a big week ahead of them, with a matchup against No. 17 Ohio State on Thursday and then against No. 7 Louisville on Sunday. All eyes this week, though, will be on Watkins' matchup against South Carolina on Sunday afternoon. The Trojans will travel across the country to take on the top team in the country in what is sure to be a thrilling contest now that Watkins is back from her ACL tear. A win there for USC would almost certainly vault them into the No. 1 spot next Monday.

All times ET | * Denotes neutral site game

No. 2 UConn at No. 17 Ohio State | 6:30 p.m. | FS1 Arizona at No. 10 UCLA | 10:30 p.m. | BTN

No. 3 USC at No. 1 South Carolina | 1 p.m. | ABC No. 8 Vanderbilt vs. No. 10 Iowa | 1 p.m. | FS1 * No. 2 UConn at No. 7 Louisville | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN

The full Associated Press women's basketball poll from Nov. 9, 2026.

1. South Carolina (2-0) 2. Michigan (2-0) 3. USC (2-0) 4. UConn (2-1) 5. Duke (2-0) 6. Texas (2-0) 7. Louisville (2-0) 8. Vanderbilt (2-0) 9. LSU (2-0) T10. UCLA (2-0) T10. Iowa (2-1) 12. Kentucky (3-0) 13. Notre Dame (2-0) 14. Oklahoma (2-0) 15. TCU (3-0) 16. Washington (2-0) 17. Ohio State (3-0) 18. Minnesota (2-0) T19. Oklahoma State (2-0) T19. Maryland (1-1) 21. Ole Miss (2-0) 22. Illinois (2-0) 23. North Carolina (0-2) 24. West Virginia (3-0) 25. Nebraska (2-0)

Others receiving votes: Baylor 39, NC State 35, Arizona State 20, Virginia 18, Kansas 8, Florida 4, Michigan State 3, Fairfield 2, Colorado 2, Tennessee 1, Princeton 1