Kim Barnes Arico and Michigan used the biggest regular-season win in program history to move up to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll on Monday.
It's the Wolverines' best ranking ever and came after a 77-66 victory over then-No. 2 UConn last week. Michigan, which was ranked fifth in the preseason poll, surpassed its previous high of fourth on Feb. 7, 2022.
“To be in position today to beat Connecticut and be the No. 2 ranked
team in the country, it’s just a credit to our players and credit to our staff,” Barnes Arico said in a phone interview. “To have an opportunity to be in the top five and beat the best program of all time this week was really special.”
The Wolverines were one of 10 Big Ten teams ranked this week, matching the record set by the Southeastern Conference last season.
South Carolina remained the No. 1 team in the Top 25 in the first regular-season poll after wins over Maryland and North Carolina, two ranked teams, to start the season. The Gamecocks received all but one of the first-place ballots from the national 33-member media panel.
USC was third, garnering the other first-place vote. UConn dropped two spots to fourth while Duke rounded out the first five.
Texas, Louisville, Vanderbilt, LSU were next. UCLA and Iowa were tied for 10th. Kentucky and Notre Dame followed them. Oklahoma jumped up seven spots to No. 14 after routing North Carolina in the season opener in France.
TCU, Washington, Ohio State, Minnesota, Oklahoma State and Maryland were 15-20. The final five were Ole Miss, Illinois, North Carolina, West Virginia and Nebraska. The Cornhuskers entered at No. 25 while N.C. State fell out.
The Big Ten has 10 teams in the Top 25. The Southeastern Conference has seven, including four in the top nine. The Atlantic Coast Conference has four and the Big 12 three. The Big East has one.
Barnes Arico's team has now beaten a top five team three times in the past five years. The Wolverines topped No. 5 Baylor in 2021 and fifth-ranked Indiana in 2022. The coach also accomplished a rare feat, ending another long UConn winning streak. She was the coach at St. John's when the Red Storm ended the Huskies' 99-game home winning streak. Last Thursday, the team ended UConn's 39-game, regular-season winning streak. Barnes Arico is one of the few coaches who has beaten Geno Auriemma at different schools, joining Texas coach Vic Schaefer.
“When I think back at UConn and Geno, I have the most respect for him of any coach that’s ever coached in our game,” Barnes Arico said. “He’s been able to maintain consistency and what he's accomplished has been unreal and unheard of. To be one of two coaches that have beat him at two different places is really incredible. People go through a lifetime and never beat Connecticut ever.”
No. 3 USC visits No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday. The two teams met twice last season with the Gamecocks winning both matchups. One was in the regular season while the other came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans have JuJu Watkins back after she missed the last 20 months recovering from an ACL injury she suffered in the NCAA Tournament her sophomore year.
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