South Carolina women’s basketball back to No. 1 in AP Top 25 poll after Week 1 of 2023-24

COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball spent exactly one week outside of the top 5 in the AP Top 25 poll, jumping from No. 6 back to No. 1 after dominating ranked opponents in its first two games of 2023-24.

The Gamecocks (2-0) received 23 of a possible 36 first-place votes, usurping SEC rival LSU which was the nearly unanimous No. 1 team preseason. The Tigers fell to No. 7 after they were upset by Colorado in their season opener, while the Buffaloes skyrocketed from No. 20 preseason to No. 5 in the Week 1 poll. UConn, which received the lone non-LSU No. 1 vote, also suffered an upset to then-unranked NC State, now No. 14.

South Carolina shocked the women’s basketball world with back-to-back routs of previously top-15 teams Notre Dame and Maryland. The Gamecocks beat the No. 16 Irish 100-71 in their season opener in Paris, then took down No. 20 Maryland 114-76 on Sunday. It was the largest margin of victory and most points scored against a ranked opponent in program history.

South Carolina’s next ranked matchup will be against No. 17 North Carolina on Nov. 30 in Chapel Hill, and it also faces No. 4 Utah on Dec. 10 before beginning SEC play. Four SEC teams were ranked in the Week 1 poll with No. 15 Tennessee and No. 23 Ole Miss joining the Gamecocks and LSU.

South Carolina returned to No. 1 comes after the preseason poll snapped its 37-week streak in the top spot dating back to the start of the 2021-22 season.

BETTER THAN EVER: South Carolina women’s basketball lost 5 starters from Final Four team — and got even better

In 2022-23, the Gamecocks completed the first undefeated regular season in program history and swept the SEC regular season and tournament championships. The team reached a third consecutive Final Four before suffering its lone loss of the season to 2-seed Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the semifinals. The Hawkeyes rank No. 2 and received the other 13 first-place votes after Week 1 thanks to a win over No. 9 Virginia Tech.

Follow South Carolina football beat reporter Emily Adams on X @eaadams6 and subscribe to The Greenville News for exclusive Gamecocks content: https://subscribe.greenvilleonline.com/offers.

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