7:16 PM AST

The South Carolina women's basketball team is the top ranked team in the country.

The defending national champion South Carolina was the unanimous choice of the national media panel. South Carolina has been the preseason favorite for the last three years.

We wanted to be here for our program. I have to share it with our players. Some of the best players in the country come to us frequently. They put us in this situation because they work so hard. I'm not sure if they want to be the top team in the country or not. Being a national champion is a step in the right direction.

Five teams are in the preseason poll. It's Iowa's best ranking since 1994 when the Hawkeyes were fourth in the early part of the year.

It doesn't matter in March what we're ranked in, but I want my team to be proud of what they have accomplished. Iowa is on the map.

South Carolina has been the top team in the country for 20 weeks in a row. Since the 1994-95 season when the Top 25 became a writers' poll, only two teams have had longer streaks at the top of the rankings.

The Huskies were not in the first five of the preseason poll for the first time in six years. The top 10 are Louisville, Iowa State, Notre Dame, and N.C State.

That's the Tiger.

It's the first preseason ranking for the Ivy League school.

The team that upset Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament and lost to Indiana in the second round was ranked for the final two weeks of last season and returns four of its top five players.

It's great for our program and for the Ivy League and putting some respect on what we've done in the past. It's great for our team and for us to live up to the standards we've set. There's a lot of work to be done even though the team is ranked in the preseason.

Her alma mater, the University of Connecticut, has been added to the schedule to challenge the tigers.

She said that a tough non conference schedule can prepare you for the Ivy League.

Cornhusker run.

Expectations are high in Nebraska. Nebraska was ranked for the first time in three years. This is the first time that both teams have been ranked in the same week.

It's great to have Nebraska in the top 25. It's great for the state.

The Bluejays advanced to the first Elite Eight in school history after defeating Iowa at home in the second round. The expectations are high.

The program is in a better position than it's ever been. It's a good thing for them. They should get it. They worked hard to get us here. It doesn't change their approach.

There are tips.

Virginia Tech has its best ranking since 1999 when it was 13th. South Dakota State is in the preseason for the first time.

There is a conference watch.

Six of the Big Ten's teams are ranked. They are joined by Indiana, Ohio State, Maryland, Nebraska, and Michigan.

Three teams in the top 10 are from the Atlantic Coast Conference. They are joined by Louisville, Notre Dame and N.C. State.

The Big 12 has four teams ranked. The Sooners and Bears are also in the rankings.

Three teams from the SEC and two from the Pac-12 are in the poll. South Carolina and Tennessee are ranked in the top five. The two Arizona and Oregon teams are in the same conference.

The Big East has two teams in the rankings, while the Ivy League has one.