Duke climbed up to No. 11 in the Associated Press women’s basketball Top 25 poll Monday thanks to a 15-game winning streak.
The Blue Devils took over sole possession of first-place in the ACC last week with a one-point victory over then-No. 6 Louisville. Duke, which jumped six places this week, hasn’t lost since a 16-point defeat to LSU on Dec. 4 that left the team 3-6.
UConn remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the poll as the Huskies continue to steamroll through the regular season. They received all 31 first-place votes from a national media panel after routing DePaul by 46 points and Butler by 32 last week. UConn has won 20 consecutive games by at least 25 points — the longest such streak by a Division I team in more than 25 years.
UCLA, South Carolina and Texas followed the Huskies. The Bruins edged then-No. 8 Michigan by three points Sunday to remain in first and undefeated in the Big Ten. The Longhorns beat LSU, which dropped one spot to sixth. Vanderbilt moved back up to fifth.
Michigan, Ohio State, Louisville and Oklahoma round out the top 10 this week.
Falling just short
Three of Michigan’s four losses this season have come by three points to No. 1 UConn, No. 2 UCLA and No. 5 Vanderbilt. The Wolverines have shown they can consistently play with the best teams in the country.
Conference supremacy
The SEC remained the top conference with nine teams in the poll. The Big Ten is next with seven. The Big 12 has four teams, the ACC has three and the Big East and Ivy League each have one.
Games of the week
No. 17 TCU at No. 12 Baylor, Thursday: First place in the Big 12 will be on the line as the Bears have a one-game lead in the standings on the Horned Frogs, who also host third-place West Virginia on Sunday.
No. 24 Princeton at Columbia, Friday: The top spot in the Ivy League will be on the line as the Tigers visit the Lions. Princeton holds a one-game lead in the standings over Columbia and Harvard. The Lions handed the Tigers their lone loss in conference play when they met two weeks ago.
