Where AP voters ranked South Carolina women’s basketball after another top 10 victory

On Monday, the updated AP top 25 came out. Following a top-10 win over LSU (the Gamecocks’ 18th in a row in the series), South Carolina women’s basketball held to the No. 3 spot in the rankings behind the UConn Huskies and UCLA Bruins.

South Carolina did not earn a first-place vote because UConn holds the top spot unanimously.

In fact, the three top spots are all unanimous. UConn was first on all 31 ballots, UCLA was second on all 31 ballots, and, of course, South Carolina was third on all 31 ballots.

Last week, the Gamecocks were No. 3 on 26 ballots but No. 4 on five others. Similarly, USC was the highest-ranked SEC team on 26 ballots a week ago but is the unanimous top dog in the conference this week.

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In an incredible statistical and voting oddity, 2025-2026 has been the first season since 2018-2019 that South Carolina has not yet made it to No. 1. USC has not been outside the top seven since the preseason poll ahead of the 2019-2020 season.

South Carolina has two ranked opponents on the schedule this week.

First, on Thursday, February 19th, the Gamecocks will be in Tuscaloosa for a matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide at 8:30 p.m. (Eastern). SEC Network will broadcast the conference showdown, while the ESPN app makes the contest available via streaming. Alabama fell to No. 25 in the rankings this week following a pair of losses. The Gamecocks have won 24 in a row over the Tide.

Then, on Sunday, February 22nd, South Carolina will return home to Colonial Life Arena, as the Ole Miss Rebels will be in town for a noon tip. College GameDay will be in Columbia, with the pregame show starting at 11:00 a.m. ESPN will broadcast GameDay, while either ESPN or ESPN2 will handle the actual basketball. The ESPN app will make both the pregame show and the on-court action available for streaming. Ole Miss is also No. 17 in the new AP top 25. USC has won the last 20 over Mississippi.