MSU women hold steady at No. 17 in hoops poll

Michigan State remained at No. 17 in the Associated Press women’s basketball poll Monday, following a busy week in which the Spartans won two of three games.

Michigan State (18-5) sandwiched victories over rival Michigan (85-64) and Iowa (74-69) around an 85-76 loss at No. 5 Maryland.

The Spartans, who have won six of seven, are at Penn State on Thursday.

UConn and South Carolina remain the top two teams in the poll, setting up a 1 vs. 2 showdown Monday night.

It will be the 56th meeting between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams with the top team holding a 34-21 advantage. The Huskies have been involved in the last five matchups between top seeds, winning all of them, including an 87-62 victory over the Gamecocks last season.

Tennessee fell to No. 25, the first time the Lady Vols have ever been ranked that low during their 564-week streak of being in the Top 25 that started on Feb. 17, 1985.

Notre Dame, Baylor and Maryland once again rounded out the first five.

ASSOCIATED PRESS WOMEN’S TOP 25

1. UConn (32 first-place votes), 22-0, 800 (No. 1 last week)

2. South Carolina, 22-0, 765 (2)

3. Notre Dame, 23-1, 739 (3)

4. Baylor, 23-1, 699 (4)

5. Maryland, 21-2, 660 (5)

6. Texas, 21-1, 653 (6)

7. Ohio State, 18-4, 599 (7)

8. Oregon State, 20-3, 580 (9)

9. Arizona State, 20-4, 518 (8)

10. Florida State, 19-4, 515 (10)

11. Mississippi State, 21-4, 485 (11)

12. Louisville, 18-6, 418 (13)

13. Stanford, 19-5, 389 (15)

14. UCLA, 17-6, 366 (14)

15. Texas A&M, 16-7, 354 (12)

16. Florida, 19-4, 305 (22)

17. Michigan State, 18-5, 286 (17)

18. Kentucky, 16-6, 231 (18)

19. Miami (Fla.), 20-4, 219 (16)

20. Oklahoma State, 18-4, 202 (25)

21. Oklahoma, 16-6, 132 (20)

22. South Florida, 16-6, 115 (19)

23. DePaul, 19-7, 84 (NR)

24. West Virginia, 18-6, 80 (NR)

25. Tennessee, 14-9, 49 (23)

Others receiving votes: Missouri 35, Colorado State 23, Syracuse 23, BYU 20, Duquesne 12, Washington 12, Georgia 9, UTEP 6, Albany (NY) 5, George Washington 3, Minnesota 3, Purdue 3, Arkansas State 1, Green Bay 1, Oregon 1.