Coach Geno Auriemma doesn’t seem too concerned that UConn has its most losses in six years.
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Coach Geno Auriemma doesn’t seem too concerned that UConn has its most losses in six years.
After all, the Huskies entered the Final Four unbeaten the last two seasons only to walk away without a national championship.
“Last time I checked, there’s 365 Division-I teams in America, 364 of them would trade places with me in a heartbeat,” he told reporters after the Huskies beat Cincinnati on Saturday. “I’m not going to lose any sleep over this.”
UConn suffered its second loss of the season on Thursday, falling to then-No. 3 Louisville.
The Huskies dropped to fifth on Monday in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll, their lowest ranking since Feb. 12, 2007. UConn moved into the top five a week earlier and has remained there every poll since – a span of 232 consecutive weeks. That is more than double the next-longest streak, held by Louisiana Tech. The Lady Techsters had a 96-week run in the top five from 1979-84.
Louisville moved up to second this week behind top-ranked Baylor. The Lady Bears received 25 of 28 first-place votes from a national media panel on Monday. The Cardinals received the other three.
Oregon and Notre Dame rounded out the top four teams in the poll.
Mississippi State, Oregon State, Marquette, North Carolina State and Maryland were next. The Wolfpack lost their first game of the season, falling to North Carolina on Sunday.
Miami entered the poll at No. 25 while BYU fell out a week after getting ranked.
TOP FIVE MUSING
After UConn’s run, the next longest active streak of top-five appearances belongs to Louisville with 32. Notre Dame is right behind with 30. Oregon has seven and Baylor five.
BIG TEN SHOWDOWN
Maryland moved back into the top 10 for the first time in a few weeks. The Terrapins have a Big Ten showdown with No. 20 Rutgers on Sunday, when first place in the conference is on the line. However, Brenda Frese’s Terps have two games before that, visiting Illinois on Monday night and hosting Northwestern on Thursday. The Scarlet Knights don’t play until Sunday’s game. Rutgers handed Maryland its first loss of the season on Dec. 31.
MOVING ON UP
Marquette continued its historic year, moving into eighth in the poll this week. That is the highest ranking for the Golden Eagles ever and the best ranking for any team currently in the Big East since Xavier was fifth on March 14, 2011.
ON THE CUSP
South Dakota was the first team left out of the poll this week. The Coyotes were a few points short of receiving the first ranking in school history.
AP WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOP 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ women’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 3, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
Record Pts Prv
1. Baylor (25) 19-1 697 1
2. Louisville (3) 21-1 668 3
3. Oregon 21-1 632 4
4. Notre Dame 21-2 608 5
5. UConn 19-2 596 2
6. Mississippi State 21-1 578 6
7. Oregon State 19-3 513 9
8. Marquette 19-3 483 10
9. N.C. State 21-1 470 7
10. Maryland 19-2 459 11
11. Stanford 18-3 447 8
12. South Carolina 16-5 352 16
13. Gonzaga 21-2 316 15
14. Texas 18-4 313 12
15. Syracuse 17-4 303 18
16. Iowa 17-5 279 13
17. Utah 18-3 209 14
18. Texas A&M 18-4 206 20
19. Kentucky 18-5 173 19
20. Rutgers 17-5 160 17
20. Arizona State 15-6 160 21
22. Iowa State 17-5 150 23
23. Michigan State 16-5 130 22
24. Florida State 19-3 111 24
25. Miami 19-5 20 —
Others receiving votes: South Dakota 17, North Carolina 13, UCF 10, Missouri 7, West Virginia 5, New Mexico 4, Drake 3, California 2, Minnesota 2, Rice 2, BYU 1, Cent. Michigan 1.
Tuesday’s Games
None scheduled
Wednesday’s Games
No. 5 UConn vs. East Carolina at the XL Center, Hartford, Conn., 6 p.m.
Thursday’s Games
No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Syracuse, 6 p.m.
No. 4 Notre Dame at No. 25 Miami, 6 p.m.
No. 9 N.C. State at No. 24 Florida State, 6 p.m.
No. 10 Maryland vs. Northwestern, 6:30 p.m.
No. 12 South Carolina vs. Mississippi, 6 p.m.
No. 16 Iowa vs. No. 23 Michigan State, 8 p.m.
No. 18 Texas A&M at Missouri, 6 p.m.
No. 19 Kentucky at Auburn, 6 p.m.
No. 20 Arizona State at Washington State, 9 p.m.
Friday’s Games
No. 3 Oregon at California, 10 p.m.
No. 7 Oregon State at No. 11 Stanford, 8 p.m.
No. 8 Marquette vs. Georgetown, 7 p.m.
No. 17 Utah vs. USC, 8 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
No. 1 Baylor vs. TCU, noon
No. 5 UConn vs. Temple, noon
No. 13 Gonzaga at Portland, 6:30 p.m.
No. 14 Texas at Kansas, 7 p.m.
No. 20 Arizona State at Washington, 4 p.m.
No. 22 Iowa State vs. West Virginia, 6 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
No. 2 Louisville at Virginia Tech, 11 a.m.
No. 3 Oregon at No. 11 Stanford, 3 p.m.
No. 4 Notre Dame vs. No. 24 Florida State, 11 a.m.
No. 6 Mississippi State vs. Tennessee, 1 p.m.
No. 7 Oregon State at California, 3 p.m.
No. 8 Marquette vs. Villanova, 2 p.m.
No. 10 Maryland at No. 20 Rutgers, 1 p.m.
No. 15 Syracuse vs. Boston College, 1 p.m.
No. 16 Iowa at Ohio State, 3 p.m.
No. 17 Utah vs. UCLA, 1 p.m.
No. 25 Miami at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Conf. Overall
South Dakota State 9-1 17-6
South Dakota 8-1 20-3
Western Illinois 6-4 10-13
Denver 5-4 12-10
Oral Roberts 5-5 12-11
North Dakota 4-6 9-14
North Dakota State 3-6 6-15
Purdue Fort Wayne 2-8 6-16
Omaha 1-8 7-15
Wednesday’s Games
Omaha at South Dakota, 7 p.m.
Denver at Oral Roberts, 7 p.m.
Western Illinois at Purdue Fort Wayne, 7 p.m.
Thursday’s Games
North Dakota State at North Dakota, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Denver at North Dakota State, 1 p.m.
Oral Roberts at South Dakota, 1 p.m.
North Dakota at South Dakota State 2 p.m.
Western Illinois at Omaha, 2 p.m.