AP Top 25: With one week to go before conference tournaments, the pressure (and résumé-building) is on

It was a massive week for ACC bubble teams … and a treacherous one for those sitting near the top, whether it be conference standings, the Associated Press Top 25 poll or the top 16 NCAA tournament team list.  

With one week remaining in the regular season, teams are feeling the pressure and some healthy desperation. At this point, they know where they stand and what they need to do within their control to secure the best possible outcome. 

Clemson and Virginia each did that in quick succession on Sunday, boosting their fringe NCAA tournament résumés with wins over the conference’s three best teams. They were two of four unranked teams to upend an AP Top 25 team last week, joined by bubble buddy Colorado and Texas A&M. In all, 12 teams lost, as did three of the next five to receive votes. 

Clemson secured the best win in head coach Shawn Poppie’s tenure by handing previously ranked No. 9 Duke its first conference loss of the year, 53-51. Hannah Kohn, left alone in the backcourt as a driving Mia Moore drew attention at the rim, hit the game-winning 3-pointer with three seconds left. She had yet to score, missing all four 3-point attempts. The defense busted up Duke’s last scoring try. 

The Blue Devils tore through ACC play after a brutal non-conference schedule and led Clemson by as many as 14 points. Defensively, they kept Clemson to eight points in the first, seven in the third and a 32% field goal percentage over the course of the game (29% from 3). But Clemson tore off a 23-point fourth quarter, won the points off turnovers and allowed Duke a near-season low five steals. 

A similar late-game scene played out in Louisville earlier in the day. Virginia senior guard Romi Levy made the 3 on an assist from Paris Clark, and secured the defensive rebound on Louisville’s last play to secure the 74-72 win. They shot 50%, nearing a season-best, and were 8-of-17 from 3. Louisville had only lost within the conference to Duke. 

Should Clemson and Virginia remain on the right side of the bubble, they would each make their first NCAA appearances in quite some time. 

Clemson hasn’t been back since 2019, when it reached the second round. It was their only appearance since 2002, and the Tigers have been poking up through the bottom of the ACC the last few years. Virginia last appeared in 2018, which was also its only showing since 2010. 

For the ACC collectively, it’s a pro that more teams are likely to make the NCAA tournament field. But it also comes at a cost: their only two in the first Top 16 reveal probably won’t be moving up. And they already trail the SEC and Big Ten powers. 

Louisville was ranked No. 7 in the first reveal as the second-to-last 2-seed, while Duke was ranked No. 10 and the 3-seed line. The second reveal is Sunday at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN. 

Colorado helped its bubble case with a 75-68 win over then-No. 20 Texas Tech, while Minnesota boosted its mid-seed-line résumé with its 74-61 signature win over then-No. 10 Ohio State. 

Combined with Iowa’s 62-44 statement win over Michigan in the race for the Big Ten’s second-best, there is a sense that while the group in contention for the Final Four seems set, the rest of the field feels wide open. It bodes well for early-round close calls and upsets. 

Bracketology: Two-bid Summit, and Summit’s Tennessee

Two-bid Summit? South Dakota State can boost its bubble chances this week when it travels to league-leader North Dakota State on Wednesday. The Jackrabbits (22-6, 12-2) lost the first meeting, 76-68.

They’re looking up at the Bison (25-2, 14-0), who clinched at least a share of the Summit League regular season title as well as the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. Their 23-game winning streak is second-best in DI, and projects them as the tournament victor and automatic bid earner. South Dakota State is six spots behind them in NET and on the verge of a spot. 

Tennessee’s fall: The Lady Vols are on a four-game losing skid and solidly out of a top-16 true seed. Their great collapse could push them down as far as a No. 8 or 9 by the time the regular season is done. They finish with LSU and Vanderbilt, both teams ranked in the top 10. 

Stat of the week: 40 consecutive wins

UConn is always up to something when it comes to winning streaks. It extended its run of dominance against Providence on Sunday with an 81-38 win that marked the 40th consecutive victory in the series. The last time Providence won, in March 1993, the Huskies had yet to win even one of their 12 national championships. 

The Huskies are winning by an average of 42.3 points per game in Big East play, but faced their two closest final scores in the past 10 days. Marquette lost by 15 on Feb. 14. Villanova, a bubble team that should make it into the field, lost by 14 on Wednesday at home. No other Big East opponent has come within 32 by the final buzzer. 

Performance of the week: Ava Heiden, Iowa

The answer to every Michigan comeback attempt was Ava Heiden, the sophomore center who was named to the Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year late-season team earlier in the week. Heiden scored 20 of her 24 points in the second half to send then-No. 13 Iowa over then-No. 6 Michigan, 62-44. She added 10 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. It was her third consecutive 20-point double-double, a dangerous sign for the Big Ten as the tournament arrives. 

Honorable mentions: Olivia Miles is up to five triple-doubles on the season, after 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a comeback win over Iowa State. Fifteen came within the last five minutes. Aubrey Galvan hit the deep mid-range game-winner late in the shot clock to send Vanderbilt past Kentucky, 81-79. The freshman had 20 points and five assists. Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds in a win over Tennessee. 

Game of the week: Baylor (23-6, 12-4) at TCU (25-4, 13-3), Sunday, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)

The finale could determine the Big 12 regular-season champion. Olivia Miles scored a career-high 40 points in the first meeting, an 83-67 TCU win on Feb. 12. It kickstarted a four-game winning streak that included West Virginia and Iowa State. The Bears will need a better game plan to keep the fifth-year point guard in check after she scored 23 of the team’s 25 points and went 7-of-9 from behind the arc in a game-deciding third quarter.

Honorable mentions: Michigan (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) at Ohio State (23-5, 12-4), Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET on Peacock; Tennessee (16-10, 8-6 SEC) at LSU (24-4, 10-4), Thursday, 6 p.m. ET on ESPN; Maryland (22-6, 10-6 Big Ten) at Michigan (22-5, 13-3), Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX

Yahoo Sports’ Top 25 AP ballot

1. UConn
2. UCLA
3. South Carolina
4. Texas
5. LSU
6. Vanderbilt
7. Iowa
8. Oklahoma
9. Michigan
10. Kentucky
11. Louisville
12. Ohio State
13. Duke
14. Maryland
15. TCU
16. Ole Miss
17. Michigan State
18. West Virginia
19. Minnesota
20. Baylor
21. Georgia
22. Princeton
23. Texas Tech
24. Tennessee
25. Fairfield

Official AP Top 25

1. UConn
2. UCLA
3. South Carolina
4. Texas
5. Vanderbilt
6. LSU
7. Oklahoma
8. Michigan
9. Iowa
10. Louisville
11. TCU
12. Duke
13. Ohio State
14. Maryland
15. Michigan State
16. Kentucky
17. West Virginia
18. Baylor
19. Ole Miss
20. Texas Tech
21. North Carolina
22. Minnesota
23. Georgia
24. Alabama
25. Princeton