It was an action-packed opening week in women’s college basketball, in which the top two ranked teams in the preseason rankings went down to defeat. As a result, there is considerable shakeup in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
South Carolina takes over the No. 1 spot for the first regular-season poll thanks to a pair of impressive wins over other ranked teams. The Gamecocks received 23 of 32 first-place votes after beating No. 14 Notre Dame and No. 19 Maryland. Iowa moves up a notch to No. 2, claiming the remaining nine No. 1 votes after winning a nationally televised showdown with then-No. 5 Virginia Tech. The Hokies drop just four places to No. 9.
It was also a big week for the Pac-12, which now holds down half of the top 10 positions. No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Utah head the group, with Stanford checking in at No. 6. Colorado, which made the season’s first major splash by upending defending champ and preseason No. 1 LSU, vaults all the way to No. 7 after being ranked 18th in the preseason. Southern California joined the party as well, toppling then No. 6 Ohio State. Coincidentally, the Trojans are tied for 10th with the Buckeyes.
LSU, meanwhile, drops to No. 5, and preseason No. 2 Connecticut slips to No. 8 after a loss to North Carolina State.
In other changes of note, Indiana tumbles eight places to No. 17 after a tough trip to Stanford. Mississippi falls nine spots after a loss to No. 21 Oklahoma but hangs on at No. 25.
North Carolina State enters the poll at No. 18 thanks to the Connecticut victory. That result squeezed out the two teams tied for 25th in the preseason, Michigan and Miami (Fla.).