Mar 28, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; LSU Tigers head Ccoach Kim Mulkey answers questions during the press conference prior to their NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game at MVP Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

LSU Takes Surprise Hit in Latest NCAA Women’s Basketball NET Rankings

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Dec 15, 2025 11:25 AM ET

The LSU Tigers women's basketball team has to be happy with how they've started the 2025-26 season. They currently have an undefeated 11-0 record that includes wins over Duke, and have scored over 10 points in nine of their 11 contests to this point.

Frankly, none of the other opponents LSU has faced was expected to give them much trouble, as Kim Mulkey typically schedules a softer non-conference schedule when compared to other top teams in the country. But LSU can only play the teams opposite them, and they've done so flawlessly to this point.

LSU's hot start to the season earned them the top spot in the NCAA's NET Rankings (the ranking system that's used to determine seeding for each NCAA Tournament) for the first few weeks of the regular season. However, things changed on December 8, when Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies usurped LSU's spot as the country's No. 1-ranked team in the NET Rankings. LSU fell to No. 2.

While there's still a lot of time before the 2026 NCAA tournament (which is when this rankings system really matters), LSU would surely prefer to keep that No. 1 spot at this point in the season. At the very least, they would surely prefer to remain near the top of the rankings.

LSU Falls Further in Newest NCAA NET Rankings

LSU won't like their standing in the most recent NCAA NET Rankings, which were revealed in a December 15 X post from the @MarchMadnessWBB account. Despite another undefeated week, Kim Mulkey's team fell two more spots in the rankings to No. 4. UConn remained No. 1 while the Texas Longhorns took the No. 2 spot, and and UCLA Bruins came in at No. 3. Michigan rounds out the top five.

As for the rest of the top 10, it goes South Carolina at No. 6, Kentucky at No. 7, TCU at No. 8, Maryland at No. 9, and Michigan State at No. 10.

NET RANKINGS UPDATE

The #NCAAWBB NET Rankings are used by the Selection Committee and updated daily. pic.twitter.com/8vS9hzLBbc
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) December 15, 2025

Strength of schedule factors heavily into these rankings. And given that LSU has had an easy schedule to this point, this doesn't do them any favors when being ranked. However, this is sure to change once SEC Conference play begins, as many of the country's top teams (including LSU, Texas, South Carolina, and Oklahoma) are in the conference and will therefore play each other.

It will be interesting to see how the NET Rankings will look once the country begins playing conference games, and what this will mean for LSU.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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