AP Women's College Basketball Poll 2023: South Carolina No. 1 After LSU, UConn Upsets

South Carolina moved into the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll following an eventual opening week to the 2023-24 women's college basketball season.

LSU and UConn, who occupied the first two spots in the preseason poll, both suffered defeats and slipped six spots apiece in the newest poll. In general, the Top 25 looks a lot different thanks to a handful of upsets.

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AP Top 25 Week 2

1. South Carolina

2. Iowa

3. UCLA

4. Utah

5. Colorado

6. Stanford

7. LSU

8. UConn

9. Virginia Tech

10. USC

11. Texas

12. Florida State

13. Ohio State

14. North Carolina State

15. Tennessee

16. Notre Dame

17. North Carolina

18. Indiana

19. Louisville

20. Maryland

21. Baylor

22. Creighton

23. Ole Miss

24. Washington State

25. Oklahoma

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Thanks to a loaded slate of non-conference matchups, it was almost impossible to keep track of the ranked teams that put a notch in the losing column already.

South Carolina's position atop the rankings is more than earned.

The Gamecocks suffocated then-No. 10 Notre Dame in a 100-71 victory in their opener. They followed up by beating then-No. 14 Maryland 114-76, which saw the Terps get outscored by 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Head coach Dawn Staley lost one of the best players in the country, Aliyah Boston, along with a number of other key contributors in the offseason. But a squad that includes three freshmen and three sophomores is already looking like a well-oiled machine.

Kamilla Cardoso is helping to fill the void Boston left in the frontcourt, while MiLaysia Fulwiley is a walking highlight reel two games into her college career.

South Carolina wasn't the only team that made a strong impression on the voters.

Colorado moved up 15 spots to No. 5 on the strength of a 92-78 win over LSU. Frida Formann and Aaronette Vonleh combined for 51 points as the reigning champion Tigers went down.

USC also jumped 11 spots to 10th in the poll after earning an 83-74 victory over Ohio State. JuJu Watkins, the No. 1 player in the 2023 recruiting class, looks like she's every bit as good as the hype after going off for 32 points, six rebounds and five assists against the Buckeyes.

With Colorado, USC, UCLA, Utah, Stanford and Washington State all ranked in the Top 25, no conference will be more difficult to win this year than the Pac-12. Perhaps Watkins can propel the Trojans to their first Pac-12 tournament title since 2014.