South Carolina climbs in the latest AP poll, thanks to fast-rising rival Tennessee
South Carolina women’s basketball has rejoined the nation’s top four teams, according to the latest Associated Press poll, but the Gamecocks have company in the form of two SEC rivals right behind them.
Dawn Staley’s squad moved back into the top tier of the poll after No. 2 Texas fell to Tennessee on Sunday, 82-75. The Lady Volunteers are now 10-0 on the season and climbed from No. 11 to No. 7 in the new poll. USC and the Vols face off twice this season, including the final game of the regular season, which now looks like it could be for the SEC championship.
Congrats @LadyVol_Hoops on the win! Way to rep @SEC!!
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) December 10, 2017
In between the two, Mississippi State continues to tail right behind South Carolina, moving to No. 5 while maintaining a perfect 9-0 record. South Carolina and Mississippi State have just one regular season matchup scheduled, in Starkville on Feb. 5.
The only team to beat South Carolina this season, Notre Dame, rose to No. 2 in the latest poll, while Connecticut remains the unanimous No. 1. The Huskies and the Gamecocks face off Dec. 1.
Other teams on South Carolina’s schedule who made the poll include No. 14 Duke, No. 15 Maryland, No. 17 Missouri and No. 19 Texas A&M. Kentucky, who had previously been ranked No. 20, dropped from the rankings.
With eight ranked opponents, South Carolina trails only UConn and Notre Dame for the most in the country.
The Associated Press also releases the individual ballots of each voter in the poll. Two media members had South Carolina at No. 3, the highest votes the Gamecocks reached, while one voter had USC as low as No. 8.
While South Carolina has a quiet week ahead, only facing Savannah State this Sunday, the team could still see its position change in next week’s poll, as No. 3 Louisville faces Kentucky on Sunday and Mississippi State faces No. 9 Oregon on Thursday.
This story was originally published December 11, 2017 at 2:35 PM with the headline "South Carolina climbs in the latest AP poll, thanks to fast-rising rival Tennessee."