Michael Voepel
Multiple Authors
As we say farewell to the 2025-26 ESPN women’s college basketball Power Rankings, we say hello to one of the most fun parts of the season: conference tournaments.
Not all coaches agree. They view Champ Week as just another gauntlet to face after two-plus months of that grind. But for fans, it’s a chance to see several high-stakes games in a short time as a teaser for the NCAA tournament.
Sometimes, league tournament outcomes foretell the most success in March Madness. But the team that hoists a trophy during these next two weeks isn’t always the one in its league to go the deepest in March Madness.
In the Power 4, the 2026 regular-season champions — Duke (ACC), UCLA (Big Ten), TCU (Big 12) and South Carolina (SEC) — are also the defending champs of their respective 2025 tournaments.
The Bruins and Gamecocks are likely locks for No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, regardless of their performance between now and Sunday. Duke and TCU are currently projected as No. 3 seeds, so Champ Week performances might play a larger role in protecting or improving their bracket position. With seven teams from the Big Ten and five from the SEC featured in this past Sunday’s top-16 reveal, the league tournaments could make or break some March Madness seeding hopes.
Previous ranking: 1
Next seven days: Big East tournament
The Huskies finished the regular season with routs of Georgetown and St. John’s by a combined 68 points. They were No. 1 in the Power Rankings this season for all but three weeks in December, when Texas moved ahead. The last time they didn’t win their conference tournament was 2013 in the “old” Big East, when they lost the title game to Notre Dame. They then won seven consecutive American Conference tourney titles, and have won the last five in the current version of the Big East.
0:28
SVP breaks out wild stat over latest UConn undefeated season
Scott Van Pelt provides historical context after UConn finishes off its perfect 31-0 regular season.
Previous ranking: 2
Next seven days: Big Ten tournament
The Bruins beat crosstown rival USC 73-50 on Sunday, with senior guard Charlisse Leger-Walker their leading scorer (20 points) for the only time this season. It’s another example of the many offensive threats for UCLA, which stayed in the Power Rankings’ top four all season. The Bruins became the fourth team in Big Ten history to finish regular-season league play undefeated (18-0). Their only previous regular-season conference title was a Pac-10 tie with Oregon in 1999.
Previous ranking: 3
Next seven days: SEC tournament
Last week, the Gamecocks secured their 10th SEC regular-season title with a 112-71 blasting of Missouri, then had a little scare at Kentucky — but eventually won 60-56. Center Madina Okot had a combined 47 points and 30 rebounds and is a force heading into the postseason. South Carolina, which is seeking its 10th SEC tournament title, also stayed in the Power Rankings’ top four all season.
Previous ranking: 4
Next seven days: SEC tournament
The Longhorns tied for second place in the SEC with Vanderbilt after beating Georgia 79-50 and Alabama 72-65 last week behind a combined 39 points from forward Madison Booker. Texas is the only team besides UConn to have been No. 1 in the Power Rankings this season — the Longhorns did it after beating UCLA and South Carolina back-to-back at the Players’ Era Championship in late November. They won the Big 12 tournament title in two of their final three seasons in that conference before moving to the SEC in 2024-25.
Previous ranking: 5
Next seven days: SEC tournament
The Commodores closed out their regular season with an 85-60 win over Alabama and an 87-77 victory at Tennessee, behind 69 combined points from sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes. She’s the only SEC player since 2000 to average at least 30 points during conference play in a season (30.5 PPG). Vanderbilt enters the SEC tournament as the No. 2 seed, having tied for second place with Texas — at 13-3, a program record for conference wins — and then won the head-to-head matchup. It tied for the Commodores’ best seed in the SEC tournament, and positions them to chase a seventh Champ Week trophy as they remain in the hunt for a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday.
Previous ranking: 6
Next seven days: SEC tournament
Junior guard Mikaylah Williams led the way in last week’s wins over Tennessee (89-73) and Mississippi State (72-63) with a combined 46 points, 25 rebounds and nine assists. Those victories secured the Tigers the No. 4 seed in the SEC tournament, and LSU is currently a projected No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers have gone to the Final Four six times, but they’ve won the SEC tournament only twice: in 1991 and 2003.
Previous ranking: 7
Next seven days: SEC tournament
It’s the nature of the SEC tournament that even very good teams can end up with a nightmarish spot in the bracket. Oklahoma closed the regular season at 11-5 in SEC play after beating Arkansas 89-44 and Missouri 84-78, and receiving the No. 5 seed in the league tournament. The Sooners missed out on the double bye for the top four seeds, so they will start SEC play in the second round and might have to face LSU and South Carolina just to reach the championship game. That said, they are a projected No. 3 NCAA seed.
Previous ranking: 8
Next seven days: Big 12 tournament
The Frogs won their second consecutive Big 12 regular-season title with a very different roster than last season. Last week, they had an 83-70 win over Cincinnati and completed the season sweep of Baylor 65-53. The effort was led by Marta Suarez, who has made her final college season her best: She had a combined 53 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists and six steals in last week’s wins. Senior transfers Suarez and Olivia Miles (20.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 6.5 APG) will be playing in their first Big 12 tournament this week.
Previous ranking: 9
Next seven days: Big Ten tournament
Like Vanderbilt and TCU, Iowa was not in our first Power Rankings in November but finished in the top 10. The development of sophomores Ava Heiden and Taylor Stremlow is a big key. Last week, the Hawkeyes had a come-from-behind 82-78 win over Illinois and then cruised at Wisconsin 81-52. Heiden had a combined 44 points on 21-of-29 (72.4%) shooting and Stremlow a combined 23 points and 20 assists. It will be tough for anyone to knock off No. 1 seed UCLA in the Big Ten tournament, but No. 2 seed Iowa looks to protect its projected NCAA No. 2 seed.
Previous ranking: 10
Next seven days: Big Ten tournament
Last week, the Wolverines survived 88-86 in a wild overtime game against Ohio State that had multiple momentum shifts. Then they beat Maryland 87-69 and finished in a tie for second in the Big Ten with Iowa. Also like the Hawkeyes, Michigan is hoping to protect its projected NCAA No. 2 seed with a good showing in the conference tournament. Iowa and Michigan could meet in the Big Ten semifinals. The Hawkeyes won the regular-season meeting 62-44 on Feb. 22, which is why Michigan is the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament.
Previous ranking: 14
Next seven days: Big 12 tournament
We’ve mentioned before how West Virginia — a program long known for defense — is having one of its best offensive seasons. In Big 12 play, the Mountaineers were second in scoring, averaging 76.1 points. Last week, they beat UCF 74-62 and then Cincinnati 118-60, which was the most points West Virginia had scored since 2002. The Mountaineers have won seven of their past eight and are the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. Their only loss in that stretch was to top-seeded TCU.
Previous ranking: 16
Next seven days: ACC tournament
North Carolina, like West Virginia, has been flying under the radar this season. But since back-to-back losses at the start of January to Stanford and Notre Dame, the Tar Heels have won 12 of 13. Their only loss in that stretch was to Duke on Feb. 15, but they avenged that in the regular-season finale on Sunday 74-69. A good performance in the conference tournament could open the door to UNC being in the top 16 seeds in the NCAA tournament; the Tar Heels currently are projected as a No. 5 seed.
Previous ranking: 11
Next seven days: ACC tournament
The Blue Devils won the ACC title outright despite losing two of their last three games. That’s because Louisville, which dropped out of the Power Rankings, did the same thing. In the final week of the regular season, Duke beat Florida State 80-52 but then lost at North Carolina 74-69. The Blue Devils need to recapture what was working so well during their 17-game winning streak.
Previous ranking: 13
Next seven days: Big Ten tournament
The Buckeyes are holding on in the Power Rankings and the NCAA’s projected top 16, but they can’t afford an early conference tournament defeat. They have lost three of their past five games, all to ranked foes. They nearly got a big win against Michigan last Wednesday but let an eight-point lead in overtime slip away to lose 88-86. But that was followed by an important 87-68 victory Sunday against Michigan State.
Previous ranking: 15
Next seven days: Big Ten tournament
The Terrapins have helped their NCAA tournament seeding in the past few weeks, winning six of their past seven. Their 87-69 regular-season finale loss at Michigan shouldn’t hurt them too much. But like Ohio State, Maryland must avoid an early loss in the Big Ten tournament to stay in the NCAA top 16.
Previous ranking: Not ranked
Next seven days: Big Ten tournament
On Dec. 7, the Gophers looked as if they had Maryland beat (more than once) but lost 100-99 in a double-overtime heartbreaker to drop their Big Ten opener. That could have been a confidence crusher, but it wasn’t. Minnesota kept battling and finished tied for fourth in the conference with Ohio State. Having won the head-to-head matchup with the Buckeyes on Feb. 18, the Gophers earned the tiebreaker and the No. 4 seed in the league tournament. Minnesota has won 10 of its past 11 games and enters the Power Rankings for the first time this season in their last edition for 2025-26.
Dropped out: Louisville Cardinals
Leave a Reply