Arizona women’s basketball receives first-place votes in Associated Press Top 25 but holds at No. 4

The Arizona Wildcats are still biding their time waiting to get back on the court for a competitive game, but three Associated Press voters are ready to crown them the No. 1 team in the country. The program ended up holding steady at No. 4 overall, but there is no longer a unanimous No. 1.

Despite losing to a shorthanded and unranked Missouri on Dec. 30, South Carolina remained at No. 1. The other USC is no longer getting all of the No. 1 votes, though. The Gamecocks received 22 votes for the top spot, while Louisville picked up five and Arizona took the other three.

On Dec. 21, Stanford lost by just four points at South Carolina. Although they have played one of the toughest schedules in the country, the No. 2 Cardinal did not benefit from the Gamecocks’ stumble. Stanford received none of the first-place votes this week.

Stanford and Arizona remain the only two ranked teams in the Pac-12. Colorado received 53 points, landing them first on the “others receiving votes” list. The Buffaloes are five points behind No. 25 Texas A&M.

The Wildcats hope to finally get on the court to start the Pac-12 season on Friday, Jan. 7 against Washington State. The Cougars were one of just three teams that opened conference play as expected last weekend, as they defeated California and were blown out by Stanford.