PARADISE ISLAND – The release of The Associated Press women’s Top 25 basketball poll will be delayed one day so voters can assess Monday afternoon’s showdown between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 2 Connecticut.
The championship game of the inaugural women’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament will take place at approximately the same time the AP Top 25 is released each Monday. The AP decided to hold the poll one day so it will reflect the outcome – only the second time since the poll began in 1976 that it has been delayed.
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“Due to the timing of this 1 versus-2 matchup it made sense to hold the release of the poll this week,” said Barry Bedlan, AP's Global Director of Text and New Markets Products.
The only other time also involved UConn. The second-ranked Huskies were playing No. 1 Tennessee on Jan. 16, 1995 — in the first meeting of their storied rivalry. The Huskies pulled off the upset victory and moved to No. 1 for the first time in school history as the poll was also held until the next day.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma remembers how big a deal it was that the poll was held years ago and understands why it's happening again.
“It's fun for the fans, the players, everybody,” he said.
This will be the 61st meeting between the top two teams in the poll and the sixth time it has happened in November. The No. 1 team holds a 37-23 advantage in the matchup. The last meeting of the top two teams was between these same squads back in February. UConn was the No. 2 team in that game as well and won 63-59 in overtime.
UConn has been involved in 25 of the 1-vs-2 games and has gone 22-3 in those contests, winning the last nine.
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More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25