Where Notre Dame women’s basketball ranks in Week 12 AP Top 25

For the first time since Week 8, Notre Dame women’s basketball moved up in the Associated Press poll. The Fighting Irish (14-3, 5-2 ACC) are ranked No. 15 in the Week 12 AP Top 25. They were ranked No. 19 last week.

Notre Dame beat Virginia (86-76) and Wake Forest (75-56) on the road in the last week.

The four-spot rise is tied for the second-best jump in the country this week. Ohio State moved up six spots to No. 12 after beating now-No. 5 Iowa, who moved down three spots after the upset loss.

It’s a tough week for head coach Niele Ivey’s team. The Irish are at home against No. 22 Syracuse (16-2, 6-1 ACC) on Thursday and on the road at No. 8 UConn (16-3) on Saturday. Notre Dame lost to the Orange on New Year’s Eve. The Huskies have not lost since Dec. 3 at No. 10 Texas.

The possibilities for next week’s poll for Notre Dame include anything from a top-10 ranking if the Irish earn victories over a pair of ranked foes to barely hanging onto a spot in the poll if they lose both matchups.

Surely, first thing’s first for Ivey and company; they need to find a way to beat the team they just lost to three weeks ago. Then they can approach the quick turnaround and come up with a way to compete against a UConn team that appears to be hitting its stride.

The Huskies’ average margin of victory in three Big East games, which includes wins over then-No. 18 Marquette and then-No. 21 Creighton, is 34.6 points. UConn also has double-digit wins over then-No. 24 North Carolina and then-No. 18 Louisville of the ACC.

Below is a look at the Week 12 Associated Press poll and the current ACC standings.

Week 12 AP Top 25

1. South Carolina (17-0)
2. UCLA (15-1)
3. Colorado (16-2)
4. Kansas State (18-1)
5. Iowa (18-2)
6. Stanford (17-2)
7. NC State (16-2)
8. UConn (16-3)
9. LSU (18-2)
10. Texas (18-2)
11. USC (13-3)
12. Ohio State (15-3)
13. Baylor (15-2)
14. Indiana (16-2)
15. Notre Dame (14-3)
16. Utah (13-5)
17. Gonzaga (18-2)
18. Louisville (16-3)
19. Virginia Tech (14-4)
20. North Carolina (14-5)
21. Creighton (14-3)
22. Syracuse (16-2)
23. Florida State (14-6)
24. West Virginia (16-2)
25. Oregon State (15-3)

ACC Standings

No. 20 North Carolina (14-5, 6-1)
No. 22 Syracuse (16-2, 6-1)
No. 18 Louisville (16-3, 5-1)
No. 15 Notre Dame (14-3, 5-2)
No. 14 Virginia Tech (14-4, 5-2)
No. 7 NC State (16-2, 4-2)
No. 23 Florida State (14-6, 5-3)
Duke (12-6, 4-3)
Georgia Tech (13-6, 4-3)
Boston College (11-9, 3-4)
Miami (12-5, 2-4)
Clemson (8-11, 1-6)
Virginia (9-9, 1-6)
Pittsburgh (6-13, 0-6)
Wake Forest (4-15, 0-7)