Five takeaways from AP Top 25 women's basketball poll

In this week's Associated Press Top 25 women's college basketball poll, released on Monday, one conference dominates the rankings while another continues to struggle with zero teams in the top 10. Here are five takeaways from the poll.

Big Ten ties record with nine ranked teams

With the addition of No. 24 Nebraska (9-0) to the poll, the Big Ten conference has nine of the top 25 teams in the country, one more than the SEC (eight) and tying the mark the conference set last season on Dec. 2.

Although UConn (9-0) remains on top and No. 2 Texas (10-0), No. 3 South Carolina (9-1) and No. 5 LSU (10-0) make up four of the top-five spots, No. 4 UCLA (9-1), No. 6 Michigan (8-1) and No. 7 Maryland (11-0) gives the conference three of the top-10 spots. No. 11 Iowa (9-0), No. 16 USC (7-2), No. 20 Washington (8-1), No. 21 Ohio State (7-1), Nebraska and No. 25 Michigan State (8-1) round out the top 25 for the Big Ten.

Struggles continue for ACC after rough outing against SEC

The ACC/SEC Challenge is a good benchmark to see which conference is superior to the other in head-to-head competition. This time around, the SEC clearly had the upper hand, winning the challenge 13-3, only compounding the struggles the ACC has experienced this season after seeing its run of having at least one top-10 team in every poll end earlier this season after 453 consecutive weeks.

No. 12 North Carolina (9-2) is the highest-ranked ACC team and one of only three in the top 25 alongside No. 19 Notre Dame (6-2) and No. 22 Louisville (8-3). It is still early in the season, but it is clear the conference is a step behind the Big Ten and SEC at the moment.

Tennessee hits milestone ranking

The Lady Vols (6-2) move up one spot to No. 18 in this week's rankings, marking the 800th time they have appeared in the 50-year history of the poll after once going 565 consecutive weeks in the top 25.

Tennessee does not have a ranked win to its credit yet with losses to then-No. 9 NC State, 80-77, and No. 3 UCLA, 99-77. It needs to improve its three-point shooting (28.4 percent) and cut back on its 16.3 turnovers per game, but that is a monumental ranking regardless.

No. 15 Kentucky climbs two spots

After suffering their first loss of the season to No. 7 Maryland, 74-66, on Nov. 26, the Wildcats (10-1), up two spots to No. 15, have strung together three straight wins, including a 64-48 road win over Miami in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

It is the second consecutive 10-1 start for Kentucky under head coach Kenny Brooks, and a lot of that success stems from its stout defense. Aside from the 74 points allowed to the Terrapins, Kentucky has not allowed an opponent to score more than 62 points and gives up the third-fewest points per game (48.4 PPG).

Michigan State experiences biggest tumble 

The Spartans (8-1) suffered their first loss of the season to Wisconsin on Sunday, 78-64, dropping five spots to No. 25 as a result. With no ranked opponents on Michigan State's schedule until Big Ten play, it is hard to get a solid read on the Spartans. However, a sixth-ranked defense (50.4 PPG) and second-best offense (96.4 PPG) gives them an encouraging outlook.