Iowa ends routine season in exact same spot it started in AP ladies's poll

Stanford and Iowa jumped up behind top-ranked South Carolina in The Associated Press Top 25 ladies's basketball survey as the top 10 got a shuffle on the eve of conference competitions and Fairfield broke the rankings for the first time in school history.

Stanford returned as much as No. 2 after a weekend sweep of Oregon State and Oregon. Iowa knocked off then-No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday behind Caitlin Clark, who became the NCAA Division I scoring leader during the video game. The Big Ten champion Buckeyes was up to 4th.

While Iowa has remained in the Top 25 all season and started Week 1 at No. 3, Fairfield made its very first look, coming in at No. 25. The Stags (26-1) have actually won 24 straight video games and are the only group in the nation besides unbeaten South Carolina with one or less losses.

This location is unique," Fairfield coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said. "One of the major reasons I came here is that it was a program on the brink of being on the nationwide phase. We talk a lot about a group delighting in the minute and being in the moment.

The Gamecocks remain in a familiar area atop the poll after completing their routine season unbeaten for the 2nd successive year. Dawn Staley's squad is the top seed in the SEC Tournament today.

Southern California was fifth, its greatest ranking because 1994 when the team was 4th. Texas dropped three areas to sixth.

UCLA, LSU and UConn were next. N.C. State went up 2 places to 10th, passing ACC regular-season champ Virginia Tech, which fell six places to 11th.

MORE ON THE STAGS

Fairfield became the 4th team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to make an area in the Top 25, signing up with Saint Peter's, LaSalle and Marist, whose last ranking remained in 2011.

The Stags, who replaced West Virginia in the poll, have actually already broken the school record for victories in a season and have actually two video games left in the regular season. Fairfield has 14 real road victories which is connected with Saint Joseph's for the most in the nation.

" I believe we understood we 'd be respectable. I use the term a lot, meticulously optimistic. I didn't imagine what we did to this point," Thibault-DuDonis stated. "We have great senior leadership and a healthy balance of seniors and young guys. We kept growing and finding out along the method."

CONFERENCE WATCH

The Pac-12, which has been the most dominant conference so far this season, has 3 of the top 7 teams and 6 ranked in the Top 25 total.

The ACC is next with 5 groups. The Big 12 has four and the Big Ten three. The SEC and Big East each have two. The West Coast and Mountain West sign up with the MAAC with one each. All the Power Five conferences have their competitions today.

RANKINGS - - March 4

1. South Carolina




Stanford




Iowa




Ohio State




USC




Texas




UCLA




LSU




UConn




North Carolina State




Virginia Tech




Indiana




Oregon State




Notre Dame




Gonzaga




Kansas State




Baylor




Colorado




Oklahoma




Syracuse




Creighton




Utah




UNLV




Louisville



2. Fairfield

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

Princeton 24, Michigan St. 12, West Virginia 9, Mississippi 9, Duke 3, Columbia 3, North Carolina 3, Richmond 1, Kansas 1, Toledo 1, Jackson St 1, Iowa St. 1.