UConn Stays Unanimous No. 1 in AP Women’s Basketball Poll at 29-0


Geno Auriemma’s 655th AP Top 25 appearance moves him past Tara VanDerveer.

DOUG FEINBERG | Associated Press

Geno Auriemma broke a tie with Tara VanDerveer for most appearances by a coach in The Associated Press women’s basketball Top 25 on Monday when UConn was again a unanimous No. 1.

Auriemma has the Huskies ranked for the 655th time. UConn was atop all 31 ballots from the national media panel. The Huskies (29-0) are the last unbeaten team in Division I basketball and have won 45 consecutive games dating to last season.

The top five teams remained unchanged in the rankings this week with UCLA, South Carolina, Texas and Vanderbilt following the Huskies.

The rest of the top 10 changed as Michigan, Louisville, Duke and Ohio State all lost games last week.

LSU moved up one spot to sixth with Oklahoma jumping up four places to seventh. Michigan dropped two spots to eighth and Iowa was ninth. The Hawkeyes moved up four places after beating the Wolverines on Sunday. Louisville was 10th.

Duke, which ended its 17-game winning streak Sunday in a loss to Clemson, dropped to 12th, and Ohio State was 13th

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma looks on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Marquette, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Falling Lady Vols

Tennessee dropped out of the poll for the first time this season after losing last week to Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. The Lady Vols have dropped seven of nine games for the first time in school history. Tennessee had been ranked for the past 31 polls.

“We’ve had an incredibly tough stretch,” coach Kim Caldwell said after Sunday’s loss to Oklahoma. “You just (have to) be honest with your team, and they can handle it or they cannot. And sometimes the honesty is not good and sometimes the honesty is good.”

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Lady Vols with regular season games left against LSU and Vanderbilt.

Welcome back

Princeton re-entered the poll this week at No. 25. The Tigers (21-3) fell out last week after losing to Columbia on Feb. 13. The Lions have beaten the Tigers twice this season, and Princeton’s other loss came to No. 14 Maryland.

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 Atlantic Coast Conference has three and the Ivy League and Big East each have one.

Games of the week

No. 8 Michigan at No. 13 Ohio State, Wednesday. The two rivals meet with Big Ten Conference seeding on the line. The Wolverines lost their last game, falling at then-No. 13 Iowa on Sunday. The Buckeyes have dropped two of their last three games.

No. 12 Duke at No. 21 North Carolina, Sunday. The Blue Devils beat the Tar Heels in the first meeting earlier this month and will look to wrap up the ACC regular season crown with another victory.

Through Games FEB. 22, 2026

RANKSCHOOLRECORDPOINTS (1ST VOTES)PREVIOUS
1UConn29-0775 (31)1
2UCLA27-17442
3South Carolina27-27133
4Texas26-36654
5Vanderbilt25-36605
6LSU24-46247
7Oklahoma21-654311
8Michigan22-55316
9Iowa22-552213
10Louisville24-54728
11TCU25-446312
12Duke20-74499
13Ohio State23-541510
14Maryland22-638214
15Michigan State22-631918
16Kentucky20-828616
17West Virginia22-626419
18Baylor23-622415
19Ole Miss21-821917
20Texas Tech24-520620
21North Carolina23-617722
22Minnesota21-716123
23Georgia20-76824
24Alabama21-75525
25Princeton21-330NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Colorado 23, Fairfield 18, Tennessee 12, Columbia 10, Rhode Island 7, N Dakota St 7, Virginia 6, Villanova 6, Southern Cal 5, Rice 4, Iowa St. 3, Syracuse 2, Illinois 2, Notre Dame 1, Washington 1, NC State 1.