Kentucky slips to No. 17 in AP top 25 following tight loss to South Carolina
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky’s slump during Key’s absence has them projected as a No. 5 seed.
- Kentucky enters SEC Tournament as the No. 9 seed; first plays Arkansas.
- Michigan’s Olson and Swords drove wins that likely cement a No. 2 seed.
After another tight loss to top-five competition, Kentucky’s chances at a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament — and the hosting privileges that distinction awards — are probably gone, and the Cats fell one spot in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 women’s college basketball poll.
In its final week of regular season play, Kentucky posted yet another split week, defeating Auburn 63-56 on the road and falling to No. 3 South Carolina 60-56 at home Sunday afternoon. UK will enter this week’s SEC Tournament with an 8-8 record in league play as the No. 9 seed in the league and now the No. 17 team in the AP Top 25.
The Cats are now projected to be a No. 5 seed by ESPN’s Women’s Bracketology months after achieving a season-best No. 2 seed projection in January prior to the elbow injury sustained by Teonni Key. During her six-contest absence, the team lost four games, including three straight (Mississippi State, Tennessee, Georgia) that the team should not have needed her to win.
Besides the 1982 title an odds-defying 2022 championship run, the conference tournament hasn’t exactly been paradise for Kentucky. Since 2022, the Cats have only won three SEC Tournament games, all under former head coach Kyra Elzy and all before the quarterfinals. Brooks’ first taste of the event came last season in a quarterfinal loss to Oklahoma, which sent No. 4 seed UK packing immediately.
However, Kentucky’s chances of playing just one game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena this year are slim, as the No. 9 seed means a date with Arkansas (12-19, 1-15 SEC), the league’s last-place team, on the first day of SEC Tournament action. If they beat the Razorbacks Wednesday, the Cats will face No. 8 seed Georgia for a chance at revenge and a quarterfinal date with South Carolina Friday.
Barring any potential Champ Week upsets, the SEC should expect five teams in the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee’s top-16 overall seeds, meaning that South Carolina, Texas, Vanderbilt, LSU and Oklahoma would earn hosting privileges in the opening rounds of the Big Dance.
This week’s AP Top 25 saw no movement for any of those teams; No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 6 LSU and No. 7 Oklahoma each maintained their position after posting two-win weeks.
No. 22 Georgia improved one spot behind double-digit wins over Auburn and Florida and a 29-point loss to Texas, while No. 23 Ole Miss fell a week-worst five spots after losses to Florida and Texas A&M.
Alabama and Tennessee each received top 25 votes.
Caroline Makauskas’ Team of the Week
Michigan
Though it would be unfair to say there are truly any easy stretches in Big Ten women’s basketball, the Michigan Wolverines faced a dreadful stretch heading into last week.
Following an 18-point loss at then-No. 13 Iowa on Feb. 22, Michigan had a road trip to then-No. 13 Ohio State before hosting then-No. 14 Maryland.
What very well could’ve ended in a three-game losing streak instead resulted in a pair of confidence-building victories and likely cemented Kim Barnes Arico’s squad as a No. 2 seed come Selection Sunday.
What is it about Michigan, which found a way to win at its rival’s home gym in overtime Wednesday night, despite trailing by as many as 14 in the first quarter, surrendering 20 total turnovers and seeing three starters — Mila Holloway, Ashley Sofilkanich and Brooke Quarles Daniels — foul out before the final buzzer sounded?
All year, Yaxel Lendeborg has dominated headlines for the Michigan men, but the deadly duo of Olivia Olson and Syla Swords has demanded attention at the Crisler Center since their arrival in Ann Arbor last season. Olson and Swords have been instrumental in the continued upwards trajectory that Michigan women’s basketball has been riding for years, and now the Wolverines are approaching (and often reaching) elite status.
Olson leads the team in both points (19.6) and rebounds (6.2) and adds 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while Swords averages 14.6 points, 4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. In the team’s 88-86 win at Ohio State, Olson delivered a career-high 31 points on 50% shooting (including the game-winning basket), 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.
Swords — older sister of Kentucky signee Savvy Swords — contributed 22 points, including the 3-point dagger to force overtime, seven rebounds and four assists. They’re the only Wolverines to play at least 40 minutes in the game, and two of four players — joining Ohio State guards Jaloni Cambridge and Chance Gray — to do so in what was one of my picks for the best game of the year.
Michigan, now 24-5 (15-3 Big Ten), has actually played in a few candidates for my game of the year, its first entry coming in a one-possession loss Nov. 21 at UConn. Another was its its 72-69 loss to Vanderbilt in the Coretta Scott King Classic on Jan. 19; a third was an overtime rivalry win at Michigan State to open February.
In each of those games, Olson and Swords played crucial parts. The spotlight typically brings out the best in Swords, who became the youngest player to ever represent Canada as an 18-year-old in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Ontario native dropped 29 points in the loss to Connecticut; 15 points in the Feb. 1 victory over the Spartans; 24 points in the Feb. 15 rematch against Michigan State; and 17 points in the team’s 87-69 win over Maryland on Saturday.
As I texted my father during Wednesday’s Michigan-Ohio State game, “Look, there has to be something to playing on the Olympic Team. No moment too big.”
In both contests between the Wolverines and the Buckeyes during the Olson-Swords era, the energy of the rivalry feels as potent as it does on the football field and bests the rivalry’s recent history in men’s basketball.
“It runs team through the men’s team, the football team,” Swords said. “Every team that plays Ohio State is a big matchup. And it’s just really nice to come out with a win like this on their home court. Just a testament to our growth and maturity as players in being able to pull through with that.”
The Ohio State win also marked what was possibly one of the best performances of reserve guard Macy Brown’s career. Brown, a product of East Grand Rapids, Mich., stepped up when her name was called and delivered eight points, including a pair of momentum-building 3-pointers in overtime. The junior guard averages just 11.9 minutes per contest but clocked 24 minutes against the Buckeyes.
“If you don’t know Macy, she’s one of the most positive people you’re gonna meet,” Swords said. “Whether she’s playing 25 or zero minutes a game, she’s gonna show up in practice every single day and make sure that we’re getting better. So it’s just really exciting to see her have those moments, to see her have that success, and obviously we want the ball in her hands. Which says a lot about Macy.” Brown also recorded three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in 24 minutes against the Buckeyes.
Against the Terrapins on Senior Day, Michigan had four players finish in double-figure scoring. Olson had 28, Swords 17; Holloway 12 and Te’Yala Defosse 14 off the bench. Brown added seven off the bench, as Barnes Arico managed to give 12 different Wolverines playing time.
Michigan ended its regular-season play with five wins against AP Top 25 teams and closed out its slate with four straight top-15 contests, dropping only the game to Iowa.
“We want that,” Brown said of the difficult stretch. “That’s the positive part about being in the Big Ten is we’re battle-tested when we go into March. And so, we’ve seen, at least what we think, every possible situation that we could be in.”
The team may not be national championship-ready this season, but there are few teams in the country for which the future is as bright as the Wolverines’. They’ll begin Big Ten Tournament play Friday in the quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed.
Caroline Makauskas’ Top 25 ballot: No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 6 LSU, No. 7 Iowa, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 10 TCU, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 12 Duke, No. 13 Maryland, No. 14 Louisville, No. 15 Michigan State, No. 16 Kentucky, No. 17 North Carolina, No. 18 West Virginia, No. 19 Minnesota, No. 20 Baylor, No. 21 Texas Tech, No. 22 Georgia, No. 23 Princeton, No. 24 Fairfield, No. 25 Alabama.
