Connecticut stayed No. 1 in women's basketball Monday while a week full of upsets reshuffled the rest of the Top 25.
The Huskies enjoyed two blowout victories but were no longer a unanimous choice in the rankings by The Associated Press. North Carolina picked up a first-place vote, moving into the second spot after edging Oklahoma 80-79 Sunday in the championship game of the Preseason WNIT.
"At this point, North Carolina winning on Oklahoma's floor is more impressive than anything Connecticut has done," voter Rob Keys of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette said. "If the roles are reversed in the coming weeks, I won't hesitate to move Connecticut back to the top spot."
California climbed four spots to No. 3 for its highest ranking. Cal routed then-No. 3 Rutgers on Friday night. The Sooners fell two places to fourth. They have a game against Marist on Wednesday before visiting UConn on Sunday.
Stanford moved into fifth, Baylor sixth and Louisville seventh, the Cardinals' best ranking. Texas A&M advanced four places to eighth.
Tennessee fell four spots to No. 9, its lowest ranking since Jan. 3, 2005 when the Lady Vols were 10th. The Lady Vols have been out of the top 10 only once since opening the season at No. 3 in 1986 -- on March 3, 1997 -- and have been among the first 10 for 209 straight weeks. The next closest team is North Carolina with 67 straight weeks.
Maryland moved back into the top 10, and Texas climbed three places to 11th. Duke fell six spots to No. 12 after losing to Hartford in DePaul's tournament.
Sports
Rutgers plummeted 10 places to 13th after getting routed on the West Coast by California and Stanford. Notre Dame climbed one spot to 14th and Auburn jumped five to No. 15 after beating Ohio State in overtime Sunday.
Virginia was the only team besides Connecticut to keep its same position in the poll this week, remaining 16th. Vanderbilt fell four places to 17th after losing at Michigan on Sunday. Oklahoma State was No. 18, Purdue improved two places to 19th and Ohio State fell three to 20th.
Arizona State was followed by TCU, Old Dominion and Michigan State, which entered the poll for the first time this season. Iowa State and Xavier were tied for the final spot. The Cyclones were last in the poll at the end of the 2007 season.
Florida State was the lone team to fall out after losing to rival Florida.
