Three Thoughts on Feb. 27 Women’s College Basketball AP Poll
Three Big 12 teams are among the nation’s best as the AP Top 25 Women’s Basketball poll released on Monday after last week’s games.
Here are our three thoughts on the poll from a Big 12 perspective.
What Texas vs. Oklahoma Meant
Texas’ victory over Oklahoma on Saturday meant quite a few things.
For one, it put the Longhorns in the driver’s seat in the Big 12 regular season race. The Longhorns can clinch a share of the title on Monday night if they beat Baylor.
But in the poll, it meant a seven-spot bump for Texas all the way up to No. 12. That’s the highest Texas has been in the poll since early in the season.
For Oklahoma, the loss did not hurt nearly as much. The Sooners dropped three spots to No. 16.
Chances are pretty good that both of these teams will be in the Top 20 when they head to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament next week.
Iowa State Drops Again
Iowa State’s lost to Oklahoma State in the middle of the week seemed to hurt the Cyclones more than their blowout win over TCU on Saturday.
The Cyclones dropped from No. 20 to No. 23. Iowa State faces Kansas and Texas Tech to end the Big 12 season. Win both of those games, and I could see the Cyclones getting a bump into the Top 20 before the Big 12 Tournament.
The final two games are important from a seeding perspective. The Cyclones are back in a third-place tie with Oklahoma State and would love to have the No. 3 seed in Kansas City as opposed to the No. 4 seed.
Oklahoma State Missed Its Shot
After Oklahoma State beat Iowa State last week, I was certain the Cowgirls were finally going to get into the Top 25. For the past two weeks, I have felt that the Cowgirls were playing like a Top 25 team.
All Oklahoma State needed to do was beat Kansas on Sunday. That was something the Cowgirls were unable to do. And it hurt them in the eyes of voters.
The Cowgirls haven’t been ranked all season. And when you haven’t been ranked, it’s difficult to build credibility with voters. You have to keep winning, and a six-game winning streak before the loss to Kansas wasn’t enough.
The Cowgirls receive as many votes this week as they received last week — 18. Being unranked isn’t the end of the world. The Cowgirls are playing for a Top 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and to improve their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
This Week’s AP Top 25 Poll
No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Utah, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Maryland, No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Iowa, No. 8 Virginia Tech, No. 9 UConn, No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 11 Villanova, No. 12 Texas, No. 13 Duke, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 15 Gonzaga, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 17 Michigan, No. 18 North Carolina, No. 19 UCLA, No. 20 Colorado, No. 21 Arizona, No. 22 UNLV, No. 23 Iowa State, No. 24 Middle Tennessee, No. 25 South Florida. Big 12 Teams Receiving Votes: Oklahoma State, 18.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
