Kentucky up to No. 20 in AP poll to open Battle of the Bluegrass week
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- Kentucky rises to No. 20 after 5-0 start and wins over USC Upstate and Marshall
- Clara Strack posts fourth double-double; Tonie Morgan leads nation with 9.8 assists
- Tough upcoming tests include Purdue, No. 21 Louisville, and Maryland in Puerto Rico
Kenny Brooks and the Kentucky Wildcats (5-0) jumped three spots to improve to No. 20 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 women’s college basketball poll.
The Wildcats notched two more wins this week, a 90-30 victory over USC Upstate at Memorial Coliseum and a 76-44 defeat of Juli Fulks’ Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia.
This week brings the team’s first power-conference opportunities; a Tuesday matchup with Purdue (2-1) at home and a road trip to No. 21 Louisville on Saturday. Both games will likely provide important insight ahead of the team’s Thanksgiving week battle against No. 9 Maryland in Puerto Rico.
Despite the Thundering Herd’s game plan to make star center Clara Strack’s life difficult — she turned the ball over five times and was called for three fouls in 26 minutes on the floor — Strack earned her third straight double-double, the fourth of her junior campaign, with 15 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.
The Wildcats continue to receive production — and style points — from senior forwards Amelia Hassett and Jordan Obi. Point guard Tonie Morgan leads the nation in assists per game, averaging 9.8; Morgan dished a program-record-tying 16 assists against USC Upstate and 11 against Marshall.
Louisville (3-1) enters this week on a three-game win streak, including a pair of wins against power-conference competition. The Cardinals beat Colorado 74-68 and Clemson 65-54.
Once again, eight SEC teams are featured in this week’s rankings.
No. 2 South Carolina (4-0), No. 4 Texas (4-0), No. 5 LSU (4-0) and No. 13 Ole Miss (3-0) remained where they sat last week, while No. 8 Oklahoma (4-1) dropped two spots after a loss to No. 3 UCLA (5-0). No. 15 Tennessee (3-1) fell three places despite winning its sole game of the week, a 68-58 victory over Belmont. No. 17 Vanderbilt (3-0) improved two spots following a 75-65 win at Austin Peay.
This week’s biggest winners are No. 6 Michigan (3-0), which jumped up eight spots after defeating then-No. 18 Notre Dame 93-54, and No. 10 TCU (4-0), which picked up a 69-59 win over then-No. 10 North Carolina State (2-2) and beat Tennessee State. 122-39.
West Virginia (4-0) enters this season’s poll for the first time at No. 23 after beating Temple 89-61 and winning a must-see contest over then-No. 15 Duke 57-49; Duke’s (3-2) 23-week run in the AP top 25 came to an end.
Caroline Makauskas’ AP Top 25 Ballot
The Huskies’ train keeps on rolling, and this week, former top-overall prospect in the class of 2024 Sarah Strong leveled up in front of power-conference competition.
After steamrolling Loyola Chicago 85-31, UConn trounced Ohio State 100-68. Against the Buckeyes, Strong recorded 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field, including 2 -of-4 from 3-point range. The sophomore made each of her three free-throw attempts, grabbed 13 rebounds and five steals, and blocked three shots. Strong didn’t turn the ball over once in her 29 minutes on the floor.
While everybody has high expectations for Strong, what she did against Ohio State — a roster which includes No. 2 overall recruit in the 2024 class, Jaloni Cambridge — was something to behold. Even the Huskies’ GOAT of the decade, Paige Bueckers, shared her disbelief over social media, posting “Sarah Strong… no words,” which was pretty true to how I was feeling watching her performance.
It was also nice to see freshman forward Blanca Quiñonez make her collegiate debut this week for UConn; she tallied 18 points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block versus Ohio State after playing fewer than 15 minutes against the Ramblers.
Will my teams ranked 2-4 continue to flip-flop throughout nonconference play? Maybe!
Last week, I wrote about how I wasn’t sure UCLA’s defense had what it takes to defeat high-level opponents like Oklahoma or North Carolina, especially back to back. And yet, the Bruins had no trouble putting away the Sooners — who UCLA beat 73-59 — or the Tar Heels — who UCLA beat 78-60 — or NCAA Tournament regular South Florida, which UCLA beat 94-61.
Though the Bruins definitely still have room for improvement, it’s a pretty good sign that — despite the mass exodus of former top-30 recruits out of Westwood this offseason — UCLA is emphatically handling its business. Cori Close even put in two-time softball All-American Megan Grant, borrowed from UCLA softball for the season, at the end of the North Carolina game. The Bruins went nuts when she scored her first points in garbage time. Talk about something that wasn’t on my bingo card.
South Carolina is in an interesting place following the announced suspension of sophomore guard Maddy McDaniel.
Last week, I wrote of the Gamecocks’ depth, even without impact forwards Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins. But, with McDaniel’s suspension, South Carolina’s depth further thins. There is no expected timeline on McDaniel’s return to the team; when asked if the reserve would come back this season, Dawn Staley said “That’s on her. She’s evaluated every day.”
That said, South Carolina still earned one of the biggest wins of the week with a 69-52 win over Southern California — a game heralded as the battle for “The Real SC,’” which is very fun and I would love to see continue for years to come.
The Gamecocks also beat Clemson 65-37, and sophomore forward Joyce Edwards — who now leads South Carolina in points (18.0) and blocks (2.2) per contest — is looking better and better. Floor general Raven Johnson continues her reign as the team’s fearless guide, averaging a team-leading 6.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game while also adding 9.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. Transfer center Madina Okot is averaging a 10.8-point, 10.5-rebound double-double.
Yes, Madison Booker is very talented. And sure, Rori Harmon is one of the more reliable point guards in college basketball.
But the biggest story out of Austin this fall is the impact of true freshman guard Aaliyah Crump, who’s averaging 14.8 points on 51.1% shooting from the field, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks in 22.5 minutes per game. Like center Kyla Oldacre — whom coach Vic Schaefer compared to “a bull in a china shop,” after the Longhorns’ defeat of Kentucky last season — Crump isn’t playing all game; she simply does not need to in order to get hers.
Nine of the 11 players to take the court for Texas this season average at least 7.0 points per game, and the Longhorns are beating opponents by an average margin of 57.2 points per game. This week, Texas tackles James Madison before the competition ramps up to the extreme; the Longhorns play UCLA Nov. 26.
While we’re on the topic of impressive score differentials, allow me to present LSU’s nasty 62-point average win margin.
This week, the Tigers play their first power conference opponent with a road trip to Tulane on Nov. 17, and have a meaningful matchup at Duke slated for Dec. 4. Until then, the new-look LSU will continue to build its chemistry, and, more than likely, dominate the competition. A win is a win is a win, after all.
Eight Tigers average at least 8.3 points per contest, and a whopping six of them average at least 11.0, including Kentuckian ZaKiyah Johnson, who continues to impress at the next level with 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.0 block and just 1.0 turnover per game — in 20.8 minutes per contest.
The rest of Caroline Makauskas’ Top 25 ballot: No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 Baylor, No. 8 Maryland, No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 Southern California, No. 11 TCU, No. 12 Iowa State, No. 13 North Carolina, No. 14 Vanderbilt, No. 15 North Carolina State, No. 16 Tennessee, No. 17 Oklahoma State, No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 20 Washington, No. 21 Kentucky, No. 22 Louisville, No. 23 Notre Dame, No. 24 Princeton, No. 25 West Virginia.
This story was originally published November 17, 2025 at 1:37 PM.
