Notre Dame solidifies No. 1 rank

NEW YORK (AP) >> Notre Dame remained No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll after beating then-No. 2 Louisville last week.

The Fighting Irish received 23 first-place votes from the 30-member national media panel on Monday. Louisville fell to fourth, swapping places with Baylor, which received six first-place votes. UConn moved into a tie with the Lady Bears for the No. 2 slot. The Huskies got the final first-place vote. The Irish beat Louisville by 14 points and then routed Wake Forest by 30.

Oregon rounded out the first five teams in the poll.

Stanford, Mississippi State, North Carolina State, Maryland and Oregon State fill out the top 10.

Rutgers and DePaul entered the AP Top 25 at Nos. 20 and 24 while Florida State and California fell out.

Here are some other tidbits from the poll:

RISING RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights entered the poll at No. 20. Rutgers has won its first five games in the Big Ten — the best start since joining the conference in 201415. The team has won eight straight overall. Rutgers faces Purdue and No. 17 Michigan State this week.

FALLING LADY VOLS: Tennessee dropped seven spots this week to No. 20 as the team is riding a three-game losing streak. It’s the first three-game skid for the Lady Vols in 33 years. They fell to Missouri, Kentucky and Georgia by a combined eight points over the last eight days.

LAST OF THE UNBEATENS: N.C. State is the final unbeaten team this season. The Wolfpack (17-0) are 4-0 in the ACC for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. As of now, they won’t face a ranked team until visiting No. 12 Syracuse on Feb. 13.

ROBERT FRANKLIN - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw looks on during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wake Forest, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019, in South Bend, Ind.