Notre Dame Moves Up To No. 1 In Ap Women's Basketball Poll, Has Busy Week Ahead
Notre Dame ascended to No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll Monday, becoming the third team to reach that spot this season.
It's the first time since the 2020-21 season that there have been that many teams to hold the top spot in one year. South Carolina was the preseason choice and UCLA held the No. 1 ranking for 12 weeks before losing its first game of the season last week to rival USC.
The Fighting Irish, who are No. 1 for the first time since 2019 , topped Duke 64-49 on Monday night. They have a busy week ahead with games at Miami on Thursday and N.C. State on Sunday.
The Irish were fourth in the initial NCAA Top 16 reveal on Sunday which would send them out to the Spokane Regional instead of going to the Birmingham Regional. Heading to Alabama would be a bit more convenient for the Irish and their fans as it's 1,200 miles closer.
Notre Dame has championship aspirations and the shorter trip from Alabama to Tampa for the Final Four also would be an advantage.