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South Carolina women's basketball falls in updated AP rankings

Screenshotby: Kevin Miller5 hours agokevinmillerGC

South Carolina women’s basketball enters December with a no-longer-unblemished record. The Gamecocks lost on a last-second shot to Texas at the Players Era Championship last week, one day after knocking off Duke in the opening round of the event. Now, USC is 7-1 overall with another ranked game away from home coming up next.

Ahead of that road trip, the Associated Press released its top 25 rankings for week five. With Carolina losing last week, the Gamecocks dropped one spot to No. 3 in the poll. Following the dip in the rankings, Dawn Staley’s team trails the UConn Huskies and the Texas Longhorns.

For the first time all season, South Carolina did not receive a first-place vote. UConn remained at No. 1 and now carries 22 first-place votes, while the Texas Longhorns, after beating the top-5 UCLA Bruins and the top-5 Gamecocks, are No. 2. Vic Schaefer’s group also earned 10 first-place nods.

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You can check out the entire AP top 25 below (overall first-place votes in parentheses):

  1. UConn Huskies (22)
  2. Texas Longhorns (10)
  3. South Carolina Gamecocks
  4. UCLA Bruins
  5. LSU Tigers
  6. Michigan Wolverines
  7. Maryland Terrapins
  8. TCU Horned Frogs
  9. Oklahoma Sooners
  10. Iowa State Cyclones
  11. North Carolina Tar Heels
  12. Iowa Hawkeyes
  13. Ole Miss Rebels
  14. Baylor Bears
  15. Vanderbilt Commodores
  16. Southern Cal Trojans
  17. Kentucky Wildcats
  18. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  19. Tennessee Lady Volunteers
  20. Michigan State Spartans
  21. Washington Huskies
  22. Louisville Cardinals
  23. Ohio State Buckeyes
  24. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  25. West Virginia Mountaineers

Also receiving votes: NC State Wolfpack, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Richmond Spiders, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Princeton Tigers, Oregon Ducks, Georgia Bulldogs, Stanford Cardinal, Fairfield Stags, Alabama Crimson Tide

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South Carolina has not been below seventh in the AP poll at any point since the preseason poll ahead of the 2019-2020 season. The Gamecocks finished that year as the No. 1 team in the country before the Covid-19 pandemic canceled the NCAA Tournament.

The Gamecocks’ current No. 3 spot is also second in the SEC, behind Texas. USC is one of eight total Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the top 25.

The 2025-2026 South Carolina women’s basketball schedule includes games against 10 currently ranked opponents.

The Gamecocks has already beaten the Southern Cal Trojans (No. 16) and lost to the Texas Longhorns (No. 2). USC also has upcoming games on the schedule against the Louisville Cardinals (No. 22), Texas Longhorns (No. 2), Oklahoma Sooners (No. 9), Vanderbilt Commodores (No. 15), Tennessee Lady Volunteers (No. 19), LSU Tigers (No. 5), Ole Miss Rebels (No. 13), and Kentucky Wildcats (No. 17).

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This week, the Gamecocks will play twice, once on the road and once back home in Columbia.

First, on Thursday, December 4th, South Carolina will face off against the Louisville Cardinals as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. The game will be at the KFC Yum! Center and will tip off at 7:00 p.m. ESPN will carry the television broadcast, while the ESPN app streams the action. The Gamecocks beat North Carolina (2023-2024) and then Duke (2024-2025) in the first two ACC/SEC Challenges. USC has won the only two meetings between Jeff Walz’s Cardinals and Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks, including the 2021-2022 National Semifinal game, en route to the program’s second National Championship. The Gamecocks also lead the all-time series, 18-4, with many of the previous matchups happening when the teams were in the Metro Conference.

Following the road trip to Louisville, South Carolina will return to Colonial Life Arena for the team’s first home game in two weeks. The North Carolina Central Eagles then will be in Columbia on Sunday, December 7th for a noon tip. SEC Network will air the non-conference matchup, while the ESPN app makes it available via streaming. The two teams have not played in over a decade, but the Gamecocks hold a 2-0 all-time record in the series.

NEW! Message board for South Carolina Women’s Basketball!