AP Top 25 Poll: An SEC team jumps to the top of one women’s basketball ballot

Texas is legit.

That’s what the Longhorns proved last week in Las Vegas as they beat UCLA and South Carolina on back-to-back nights, handing the Bruins and the Gamecocks their first losses of the season.

Any concerns skeptics had about Texas’ ability to assemble another squad capable of returning to the Final Four should be tossed out. No other team in the country this season has taken down a pair of AP-ranked top five opponents, and with Madison Booker and Rori Harmon leading the way again, Texas proved it’s still capable of beating anyone, anytime, anywhere.

With the Longhorns now owning two of the most impressive victories captured by any team so far this season, they jumped to the top of my AP Top 25 ballot, ahead of UConn. While the Huskies’ triumph over Michigan is still remarkable, they didn’t stack any other ranked wins on top of that this week. Sorry, a 65-point win over Big East cellar-dweller Xavier isn’t as good as beating the Gamecocks or Bruins.

Here’s what my AP Top 25 ballot looks like after Week Three of the season…

Just missed: Stanford, Louisville, Nebraska, Fairfield, Princeton

25. West Virginia

24. Richmond

23. Ohio State

22. USC

21. Tennessee

20. Ole Miss

19. Washington

18. Oklahoma State

17. Notre Dame

16. Michigan State

15. Baylor

14. Vanderbilt

13. Kentucky

12. LSU

11. Iowa State

10. Iowa

9. Michigan

8. North Carolina

7. Oklahoma

6. TCU

5. Maryland

4. South Carolina

3. UCLA

2. UConn

1. Texas