In a first, women’s AP Top 25 has no teams from Texas

For the first time in the 47-year history of The AssociatedPress women’s basketball poll no team from Texas is in the Top25.

The Texas Longhorns fell out of Monday’s poll, ending a 835-weekrun that had at least one team from the Lone Star state in therankings. From Wayland Baptist, Stephen F. Austin and Baylorappearing in the first poll in 1976 to Texas’ No. 25 ranking lastweek, there has always been at least one team from the state in thepoll until now.

“Texas is the oil state and also has certainly been rich inwomen’s basketball as well,” said Mel Greenberg, who started thepoll in the 1976-77 season while with the Philadelphia Inquirer.“When I started, the state had some of the best teams with Waylandand Stephen F. Austin. Then Jody (Conradt) at Texas and eventuallyKim (Mulkey) at Baylor continued the tradition.”

Middle Tennessee entered the rankings for the first time in nineyears at No. 23. The Blue Raiders (16-2) have won 14 consecutivegames, including a victory over Louisville, which is thefourth-longest winning streak in the country behind the last threeunbeaten teams.

That group is topped by No. 1 South Carolina (20-0), which has26 consecutive victories dating to its run to the NCAA championshiplast season. The Gamecocks, who were again a unanimous choice fromthe 28-member national media panel, have been ranked atop the pollfor 31 consecutive weeks — the fourth-longest streak ever. OnlyUConn (51 and 34 weeks) and Louisiana Tech (36) have had longerruns at No. 1.

Ohio State (19-0) remained No. 2 behind the Gamecocks going intoa week that includes games against No. 11 Iowa and sixth-rankedIndiana.

Stanford flipped places with LSU for No. 3 after beating then-No. 8 Utah and No. 25 Colorado, which dropped a spot after theloss. LSU (19-0) is fourth and UConn fifth.

Notre Dame, UCLA, Utah followed the sixth-ranked Hoosiers.Maryland and Iowa were tied for 10th.

The Blue Raiders are making their first appearance in the A( Top25 since the final rankings in 2014 when coach Rick Insell’s teamwas 22nd.

“We’ve got a special group,” Insell said. “This year, we wereable to beat (Louisville) which was a big win that showed we had apretty good basketball team.”

Insell credits his team’s run to the WNIT semifinals last yearfor being a springboard to this season’s success.

“It’s big to be able to take your team in there,” he said. “I’mfortunate I had a young team, give them that type of competition.You’ll have good crowds and it’s an atmosphere you can build on.That’s what we’ve done with that. That’s why we’re at where weare.”

Florida State entered the poll at No. 24, its first rankingsince 2021. Oregon fell out.

LONE STAR STRUGGLES

Baylor and Texas have been carrying the state flag over the pasttwo decades in the women’s Top 25; at least one had been rankedevery week since Dec. 4, 2000. Teams from the state have won sixNCAA titles (Baylor has three while Texas Tech, Texas A&M andTexas each have one). At one point over the last 47 years, at leastone of these teams had been ranked until the current poll: Baylor,Houston, Lamar, Rice, Stephen F. Austin, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M,Texas Tech, UTEP and Wayland Baptist.

STREAKING

With Texas’ run over, Connecticut now owns the longest activerun for a state thanks to the Huskies, who have appeared in 557consecutive polls. California has the longest run for a state withmore than one different team being ranked: 412 consecutive weeks,with Stanford, California and UCLA all spending time in the Top 25over that stretch dating to the preseason poll in 2001.