Minnesota is off to its best 17-game start and earned its first ranking since 2019 on Monday, entering The Associated Press women’s basketball poll in a tie at No. 24. The Golden Gophers are 16-1, with the loss coming against Nebraska last month. They are ranked for the first time since Dec. 30, 2019. Next up is a matchup Tuesday at No. 8 Maryland. UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame and USC kept rolling, holding the top four spots again in the AP Top 25. The Bruins received 29 of 31 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Irish, who were missing All-America guard Hannah Hidalgo in their last game because of a foot injury, got the other two top votes. Undefeated LSU moved up one spot to fifth. The Tigers, UCLA and No. 9 Ohio State are the only unbeaten teams left in Division I women’s basketball. Connecticut was sixth, with Texas falling two places to seventh after a 67-50 loss at South Carolina on Sunday. TCU moved up one spot to 10th. Dropping out Iowa and Michigan fell out of the poll this week. The Wolverines had a difficult stretch over the past few weeks, losing to top-10 teams UCLA, USC and Ohio State. Michigan did beat Purdue on Saturday. Iowa lost to Illinois and Indiana last week. How Notre Dame’s Maddy Westbeld used her recovery time after surgery to mold a new mindset for her final season Ranked Cowgirls No. 24 Oklahoma State entered the poll for the first time since 2018 after knocking off then-No. 17 West Virginia on Saturday. The Cowgirls (14-2) visit Houston and Central Florida this week before hosting TCU on Jan. 22. Rising Bears California moved up six spots to No. 18 after beating No. 21 North Carolina State and Florida State last week. The Bears have their highest ranking since they were 18th on Dec. 31, 2018. Conference breakdown The SEC has seven ranked teams this week, with the Big Ten and ACC right behind with six each. The Big 12 has five and the Big East one. Games of the week No. 23 Utah at No. 10 TCU, Friday. The Utes stumbled in their first game this season as a ranked team, getting routed by then-No. 12 Kansas State. Now Utah will face another tall task against Sedona Prince and the Horned Frogs. No. 13 Oklahoma at No. 2 South Carolina, Sunday. The Gamecocks continue their stretch of facing five ranked opponents in a row with a game at No. 19 Alabama on Thursday before hosting the Sooners.