March Madness is officially upon as! As we enter the first week of this mighty month, things get interesting in the week’s top 25 poll.
South Carolina and Stanford continue to lead the way, as both teams finished atop their respective conferences and will be the number one seeds heading into league tournaments this week. NC State escaped Virginia Tech on Sunday night to hang onto the third spot in this week’s poll, and Louisville dominated Notre Dame to remain steady at four. LSU hung on against Tennessee to round out the top five.
Baylor rolled Iowa State Monday night to claim the Big 12 title. Texas seems to be clicking on all cylinders, and climbs to seven, with Iowa State dropping two spots to eight. UConn welcomed Paige Bueckers back and sits at nine heading into March. Maryland rounds out the top 10, and will have a chance to show themselves in the Big Ten tournament, where a title could be a huge resume booster for them.
Arizona could use a deep conference tournament run to help improve its resume and get back on track, as they have dropped three of their last six games, and all to unranked opponents. This puts them at No. 11. Michigan comes in at 12 after finishing third in the Big Ten. Tennessee looked impressive versus Mississippi State, but a slow start against LSU made it difficult for the Lady Vols to complete the comeback. Despite being hit heavy with the injury bug, Tennessee’s effort has still shown, and they sit at 13 entering the SEC Tournament. Ohio State will be the number one seed in the Big tourney, and climb to 14 this week while the red-hot Iowa Hawkeyes come in at 15.
BYU currently sits 16, and Indiana follows at 17. The Hoosiers finished fifth in the Big Ten and are another team that could benefit greatly from a deep conference tournament run. Oklahoma climbs to 18 and UNC moves up to 19. Notre Dame has been blown out by Louisville twice this year, including this past weekend, but they may have a chance at revenge in the conference semifinals if both teams advance. The Fighting Irish round out the top 20.
Georgia finished sixth in the SEC and currently sits at 21. Nebraska rises to 22 as Florida drops to 23. Ole Miss enters the poll after an impressive fight versus South Carolina, and Virginia Tech enters the poll at 25 heading into the ACC Tournament.
Top 25
- South Carolina
- Stanford
- NC State
- Louisville
- LSU
- Baylor
- Texas
- Iowa State
- UConn
- Maryland
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Tennessee
- Ohio State
- Iowa
- BYU
- Indiana
- Oklahoma
- North Carolina
- Notre Dame
- Georgia
- Nebraska
- Florida
- Ole Miss
- Virginia Tech
RV: Oregon, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Tech, UCF, Kansas State