LSU still No. 1, Gonzaga slips into Top 25
The Zags are on the move again – and this time, it’s the women. Gonzaga joined The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time Monday, riding a 20-game winning streak, the nation’s longest, into the No. 25 spot. The Bulldogs (24-2) haven’t lost since Dec. 4 and already have clinched the West Coast Conference championship.
“I’ve talked about how many countless people ask me “What about the rankings? When are you going to get ranked?’ I always told them it didn’t matter,” Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves said. “Then when I got the call today, I was pretty excited, so I’d have to say it’s a pretty big deal.”
LSU remained No. 1, the fourth straight week the Lady Tigers have led the poll and the 10th time this season. They were unanimous for the third consecutive week.
Duke moved back to the No. 2 spot, Stanford climbed to third and Ohio State fell two spots to fourth after its 14-game winning streak was broken at Michigan State. Wisconsin-Green Bay dropped out after its winning streak was snapped at 16.
At Gonzaga, the men have gained a national profile because of some NCAA tournament upsets and they were ranked 12th on Monday. The women’s program, however, has lagged behind – until now.
In Graves’ first season, 2000-01, the Bulldogs finished 5-23 and were winless in the conference. Two years later, they improved to 18-12, their first winning season since 1994. The women have never played in the NCAA tournament and before this season, their only WCC championship had been in 1988.
Yes, things are looking up in Spokane.
“It’s just been such a long journey, for this group of seniors especially,” said Graves, who left a successful program at WCC rival Saint Mary’s to take the Gonzaga job.
“There really had been no tradition here. We just kind of came in and said, “Listen, this is how it can be, this is what we’re striving for, this is the kind of program we want.’ They did it on a promise. It’s nice to see their labors and their hard work has paid off.”
Gonzaga’s early December loss was at Arizona State. Its only other defeat came at New Mexico on Nov. 27.
LSU (25-1) received all 45 first-place votes from a national media panel after remaining unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference with victories over Kentucky and Auburn. The Lady Tigers need just one victory in their last two games to clinch at least a tie for their first SEC regular-season championship.
They had 1,125 points in the voting – 75 more than Duke (25-2), which moved up from third. Duke spent three weeks at No. 1 in January and was ranked second for two weeks before that.
Stanford (25-2) clinched a record-tying fifth straight Pac-10 title with a victory at Southern Cal on Friday night. The Cardinal had 1,042 points in the voting, just eight behind Duke.
Ohio State’s 66-64 loss at Michigan State before a record crowd at the Breslin Center knocked the Buckeyes out of first place in the Big Ten. Tennessee moved up one place to fifth, and Michigan State jumped three spots into a tie for sixth with Baylor.
That matched the highest ranking in school history for the Spartans, who were sixth the week of Jan. 3.
North Carolina was eighth, Rutgers ninth and Notre Dame 10th. The Irish dropped five places after losing at Rutgers.
Connecticut remained 11th and DePaul held at No. 12, the highest ranking in program history for the Blue Demons. Then it was Texas, Texas Tech and Minnesota, followed by Temple, Kansas State, Georgia, North Carolina State and Vanderbilt.
Iowa State, Penn State, Maryland, Boston College and Gonzaga completed the Top 25.
Wisconsin-Green Bay, which had been 23rd, lost to Youngstown State 60-56 after beating Cleveland State earlier in the week. The Phoenix had been ranked for two weeks.
Michigan State’s climb to sixth was the biggest jump within the poll, while Notre Dame had the biggest drop. Maryland fell three places to 23rd after losing to Virginia.
Gonzaga became just the third WCC team to make the women’s poll and the first since Santa Clara in December 1998. San Francisco was ranked 13 times in 1980 and 1981.