In the first half, Haley Jones hit three big 3-pointers to help build a lead. There is a delay of 0:45. Kentucky's run through the SEC tournament has resulted in a new No. 1 in the college basketball Power Rankings. South Carolina, which had been in the top spot from the first week, has not lost any ground in NCAA tournament seeding. The SEC final loss to Kentucky cost South Carolina another championship trophy, because the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament was already wrapped up. The bigger the one, the more motivation the Gamecocks will have. The Big 12 tournament is this week in Kansas City and four of the Power 5 conferences have their champion decided. Nine of the past 10 events have been won by Baylor. The Bears might get into the last No. 1 seed after Louisville lost in the quarterfinals. The Big 12 currently has six teams in the NCAA field, none of which are in danger of falling out regardless of the league tournament results. Oklahoma is trying to stay in the top 16 of the NCAA. The Sooners hope to get at least one win in K.C., where they ended the regular season with a loss to Kansas. Before you start filling out your NCAA brackets, check out this final edition of the Power Rankings. Mee Asberry fires a no-look pass to NaLyssa Smith. The Bears needed two wins this past week to win the Big 12 title for the 12th year in a row. Smith went 24 of 36 from the field and 14 of 15 from the line for 63 points in two games. Several Kentucky teams that seemed to have a good chance to win the SEC tournament in the past decade-plus did not do it. A few weeks ago, this year's Wildcats weren't thought to be in the running for that title. The program hadn't won a trophy in 40 years when their 10-game winning streak turned around their season. The A10 regular-season champion was Dayton, but the A10 tournament champion was UMass. Since 1998, the program has had three NCAA tournament bids. In her second season as the head coach, Elzy had to use tough love and motivational tactics to get her team out of a rut. And it worked. If they were going to have a chance of making the NCAA field, she told them, defense had to be an all-in proposition. They don't have to wait for an at-large bid now that that worked. The SEC's automatic berth was claimed by them after their dramatic win over South Carolina. 1. Stanford Cardinal (28-3)
Previous ranking:
This week: No gamesPlayer of the Week: NaLyssa Smith, Baylor Bears
Team of the Week: Kentucky Wildcats
Win of the Week: UMass Minutewomen 62, Dayton Flyers 56
Coach of the Week: Kyra Elzy, Kentucky Wildcats
Power Rankings
The defending national champion had some close calls at the end of the season, but still won the conference tournament in Las Vegas with victories over Oregon State, Colorado and Utah. The rest of the Cardinal is looking strong going into the NCAA tournament after Haley Jones was the tournament's most outstanding player.
Raina Perez drained a 3 before the buzzer as NC State finished the first half on a 10-0 run.
2. NC State Wolfpack (29-3)
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This week: No games
The Wolfpack have won the tournament three years in a row. NC State won its three tournament games by an average of 19.3 points, even though Miami had a terrific run to reach the final. Cunane won her second Most Valuable Player award Sunday at her hometown tournament.
Pick the winner of each game of the women's NCAA tournament. Play a tournament.
3. South Carolina Gamecocks (29-2)
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This week: No games
The Power Rankings don't really change much for the USC going into the NCAA tournament. They might have a renewed sense of importance. The same powerhouse team that has Minneapolis in its sights has some defensive lapses and missed free throws that cost it in the SEC final.
4. Baylor Bears (25-5)
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This week: Big 12 tournament quarterfinals vs. TBD (Friday)
The Bears won the Big 12 regular-season title for the 12th year in a row with victories over Iowa State and Texas Tech. In those two games, NaLyssa Smith had 63 points and 32 rebound, as the Bears head into Kansas City with a full head of steam.
5. UConn Huskies (24-5)
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This week: Big East tournament final vs. Villanova (Monday)
The nine-year conference-game winning streak for the University of Connecticut was ended by the University of Nova Scotia in February. The current version of Connecticut is frightening for opponents.
The Big Ten tournament championship was won by Iowa thanks to big games from the two players.
6. Iowa Hawkeyes (23-7)
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This week: No games
After winning the Big Ten tournament, the Hawkeyes moved up seven spots in the Power Rankings. They did not have to beat Ohio State, Maryland or Michigan to do it, and they lost to all of those teams in the regular season. They held their Big Ten tournament foes to below 38% shooting and showed some defensive prowess to go along with their offense.
7. Texas Longhorns (23-6)
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This week: Big 12 quarterfinals vs. Kansas State (Friday)
Texas has won eight in a row after finishing the regular season with victories over Kansas and Oklahoma State. The Longhorns will face a team that they have beaten twice already in the Big 12 tournament. The Longhorns won the Big 12 tournament title in 2003 but haven't won the Final Four in a long time.
8. Kentucky Wildcats (19-11)
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It is rare for a team to vault from unranked to the top 10. They beat the 2 and 3 seeds to win the SEC tournament. They are playing like a top-16 seed despite being out of the top 16 in the NCAA tournament.
Kentucky defeated South Carolina 64-62 to win the SEC Championship.
9. Louisville Cardinals (25-4)
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Louisville lost in the final in both of the last two years. The Cards let a big lead slip away and were stunned by Miami in the quarterfinals. Their past success in the conference tournament and the fact that they came into the tournament in good shape was a big disappointment. South Carolina was motivated for the NCAA tournament.
10. LSU Tigers (25-5)
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This week: No games)
Kim Mulkey said that the SEC tournament was not a priority for the Tigers since they wanted to rest guard Alexis Morris. She is expected to play in the NCAA tournament despite having an injured knee. The loss to Kentucky in the SEC quarterfinals does not hurt LSU at all.
Pick the winners of 12 women's conference tournaments and win $10,000. Pick your favorites.
11. Iowa State Cyclones (25-5)
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This week: Big 12 tournament quarterfinals vs. TBD (Friday)
Emily Ryan had a career-high 29 points as Iowa State beat West Virginia 74-57 on Saturday, ending the regular season on a high note. The program record 14 Big 12 wins and the No. 2 seed in the league tournament is a testament to the work of the team.
12. Indiana Hoosiers (19-7)
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The Hoosiers lost four of their last five games and fell out of the Power Rankings. Indiana's run to the Big Ten final, which included wins over Rutgers, Maryland and Ohio State, showed that they are ready for the NCAA tournament. The Hoosiers made it to the Elite Eight.
13. Virginia Tech Hokies (21-8)
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The Hokies lost by two points to NC State in the final of the regular season and then fell to the Wolfpack in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Elizabeth Kitley, who suffered a shoulder injury in the quarterfinal win over North Carolina, didn't play in the semifinals. She should be ready for the NCAA tournament, according to Kenny. Same for guard Cayla King, who injured her ankle in the Hokies opener.
14. Michigan Wolverines (22-6)
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This week: No games
Michigan missed out on a share of the Big Ten regular-season title and was upset by Nebraska in the league tournament quarterfinals. The team started the season with a 20-2 record, but have lost four of their last six. They want to get a confidence reset going into the tournament.
15. Ohio State Buckeyes (23-6)
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The top seed in the Big Ten tournament, Ohio State, lost in the semifinals to Indiana. They head into the NCAA tournament having won eight of their last 10 games.
16. Maryland Terrapins (21-8)
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Since joining the Big Ten, the Terps have won six titles. It is hard to know which version of Maryland we will see in the NCAA tournament after they left after a loss to Indiana. The team with so many weapons has had some bad offensive performances, including scoring less than 60 points in two of their last three games.
The Oklahoma Sooners lost to Kansas at the end of the regular season but have a chance to avenge that loss when they play the Jayhawks in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.
The Tar Heels had won seven of their last eight games going into the conference tournament but lost in overtime to Virginia Tech.
The top seed in the West Coast Conference tournament will face the fourth seed in the semifinals on Monday.
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