01/25/2010
Connecticut keeps piling up victories and records.
UConn is No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the 36th
straight week, matching Louisiana Tech (1980-82) for the longest run atop the
Top 25. The Huskies again were the unanimous choice as the top team, receiving
40 first-place votes from a national media panel Monday.
The Huskies won their 58th straight game Saturday, routing Villanova. UConn
(19-0) hosts Rutgers on Tuesday before traveling to Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Connecticut has the second-longest streak in women’s basketball history, and
this run trails only the NCAA- and school-record 70 straight victories it set
from 2001-03.
Stanford remained No. 2 while Notre Dame moved back up to third. Ohio State
and Tennessee rounded out the first five.
The Buckeyes were joined in the rankings by Penn State, which is in second
place in the Big Ten. The 23rd-ranked Nittany Lions (15-4) are 7-2 in the
conference and have already surpassed their win total from last season. Penn
State, making its first appearance in the Top 25 since 2004-05, will host Purdue
on Thursday.
Nebraska moved up one spot to sixth, flipping places with Duke. The
Cornhuskers (17-0) and UConn are the nation’s only unbeaten teams.
Texas A&M and Georgia flopped eighth and ninth, while Xavier moved back into
10th.
Oklahoma, North Carolina and Florida State were the next three. Baylor
dropped four places to 14th. The Bears have dropped three of their last four
games. Oklahoma State was 15th.
West Virginia’s 16-game winning streak ended Sunday with a loss to Notre
Dame, but the Mountaineers remained in 16th. They were followed by Georgetown,
LSU, Texas and TCU.
Virginia, Iowa State, Penn State, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Georgia Tech round
out the poll. Iowa State entered the poll for the first time this season at No.
22 after beating Texas.
One week after entering the poll for the first time in 17 years, Vermont
dropped out. The Catamounts lost their first game as a ranked team, falling to
Boston University last Monday. Vanderbilt also fell out of the Top 25 after
losing to Mississippi State.