Still-undefeated Gophers move up to No. 14 in latest women's basketball poll

NEW YORK — Beating No. 12 Syracuse on Thursday and Air Force on Sunday has resulted in the Gophers women's basketball team moving up to No. 14 in the latest Associated Press women's basketball poll.

It's the highest they have been ranked since Feb. 6, 2006, when they were 11th in the nation.

Minnesota was 20th in last week's poll.

UConn is back in a familiar place — No. 1 in the poll after beating the previous No. 1, defending national champion Notre Dame, 79-61 on Sunday. The Huskies are the unanimous choice from the 31-member national media panel Monday.

The Gophers are No. 18 in the NCAA's RPI rankings, which measures a number of factors. Oddly, they are not ranked in the Top 25 voted on by the nation's college coaches.

Syracuse dropped to 15 after losing 72-68 to the Gophers.

After playing Incarnate Word on Wednesday afternoon at Williams Arena, the Gophers will get tested on Sunday when they play at Boston College, which is 7-1 and has lost only to Providence this season after starting with six victories in a row.

Auriemma did think that it was something his players could be proud of because they beat the former No. 1 team instead of just being handed a ranking.

"I think it makes our players feel that we're No. 1 and because we did earn it," he said.

The Irish fell to second and were followed by Oregon, Baylor and Louisville.

Mississippi State and Maryland stayed at No. 6 and 7 as Oregon State, Tennessee and North Carolina State rounded out the top 10 teams in the poll after Stanford and Texas both lost Sunday.

The Wolfpack matched their highest ranking since 2014.

The Zags moved into the poll for the first time since 2016 after beating Stanford on Sunday. The Zags held a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter before the Cardinal pulled to within three.

"If we play the right way, we can compete with anyone," said Jill Townsend, who had 15 points in the 79-73 victory. "It's a huge win."

The Cardinal fell to 11th.

1 VS. 2: UConn has been involved in the last eight games involving the top two teams in the poll. The Huskies are 8-0, beating the Irish four times during that stretch.

STATE BRAGGING RIGHTS: While Iowa State fell out of the poll Monday after entering last week, the Cyclones can most likely get back in with a victory over No. 16 Iowa on Wednesday. Of course Drake is also in the mix as far as who is the best team in the state. The Bulldogs moved up to No. 21 in the poll this week.