Five takeaways from AP Top 25 women's basketball poll

In this week's Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll, released on Monday, one program achieves its highest ranking in 39 years while other teams jockey for position with conference tournaments right around the corner.

Here are five takeaways from the poll:

USC sees highest ranking since 1986 after sweeping UCLA

Although the Trojans (26-2, 17-1 Big Ten), up two spots to No. 2, still trail Texas (29-2, 15-1 SEC) for the top spot, their 80-67 win over crosstown rival UCLA on Saturday gave them a sweep of the Bruins and an outright Big Ten regular-season title in their first season in the conference.

While No. 4 UCLA enters the Big Ten Tournament after its disappointing loss, USC has some extra hardware and a seven-game winning streak. If momentum has any say, the Big Ten Tournament may be another successful stop for the Trojans, with their only conference loss of the season coming on the road at Iowa on Feb. 2.

TCU climbs two spots after winning Big 12 regular-season title

After numerous injuries during the 2023-24 season forced TCU to forfeit a pair of games and hold open tryouts, head coach Mark Campbell turned to the TCU student body to get enough players on the court to finish out the season.

Over a year later, the Horned Frogs (28-3, 16-2 Big 12), up two spots to No. 8, are Big 12 regular-season champions after taking down No. 17 Baylor, 51-48, on Sunday. It is the program's first regular-season conference title since 2009-10 when it was a member of the Mountain West.

It has been a remarkable turnaround already to get to this point. However, with the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and a chance to improve its seeding in the NCAA Tournament, TCU has more left to accomplish this season.

LSU loses key player, falls after loss to unranked Ole Miss

Head coach Kim Mulkey announced before Sunday's regular-season finale against Ole Miss that junior guard Flau'Jae Johnson (18.9 PPG), the team's leading scorer, would miss that game and the entire SEC Tournament due to inflammation in her right shin.

LSU (27-4, 12-4 SEC), down two spots to No. 9, fell to Ole Miss, 85-77, on Sunday, its second straight loss to end the regular season, after committing 23 turnovers. On the bright side, senior guard Aneesah Morrow (28 points, 12 rebounds) recorded her 100th career double-double in the game, putting her in elite company with former Oklahoma standout Courtney Paris (128) as the only players to accomplish that in Division I history.

LSU will need more of that during the SEC Tournament, and Johnson at full strength, if it is going to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Maryland rises after late-game heroics

Following a thrilling 93-90 overtime win over then-No. 12 Ohio State on Sunday, Maryland (23-6, 13-5 Big Ten), up four spots to No. 15, enters the Big Ten Tournament as the four-seed, giving it a double bye to the quarterfinals.

While senior Sarah Te-Biasu's game-winning three with one second remaining clinched the victory, senior guard Shyanne Sellers (21 points, eight assists) made some history in the win. She is now the only player in program history with 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. 

Winners of four straight, the Terrapins appear to be getting hot at the right time.

Tennessee falls after shocking loss to Georgia

Following Tennessee's stunning 72-69 loss to Georgia on Sunday, the Lady Vols (21-8, 8-8 SEC), down seven spots to No. 18, finish the regular season with back-to-back losses. Per ESPN Analytics, Georgia entered the game with a 1.7% chance to win, only behind Hampton's 1.1% chance against the Bulldogs for the second-biggest Division I upset this season.

The loss also snapped Tennessee's 53-game home winning streak against unranked teams. The Lady Vols are in search of answers as they head into the SEC Tournament.