UConn dropped to 17th in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll Monday, its worst ranking in 30 years.
The last time the Huskies were ranked this low was the second poll of the 1993-94 season when they were 18th. The drop also ended a 357-week stretch of being ranked in the top 15, which was the second longest in the history of the poll that dates to 1977 (Tennessee, 428 consecutive appearances).
While Geno Auriemma’s team has struggled so far this season because of injuries,
South Carolina remained the unanimous No. 1 choice in voting by 35 members of a national media panel. The Gamecocks swept a pair of games over North Carolina and Duke last week. UCLA, N.C. State, Iowa and Texas rounded out the first five in the poll. The Longhorns jumped up five spots in the poll after beating then-No. 11 UConn.
The one plus for the Huskies, who last weren’t in the top 15 on Jan. 10, 2005, is that their three losses have come to UCLA, North Carolina State and Texas — all now in the top five.