The Arizona Wildcats will finish the 2019-20 women's basketball season with their highest ranking in decades.
The UA was voted 12th in the final Associated Press and USA Today coaches' polls, their highest ranking since the 1997-98 season.
"The best since my senior year in college!!" coach Adia Barnes tweeted.
South Carolina took the top spot in the AP Top 25, while Oregon (2), Stanford (7) and UCLA (10) all finished in the top 10. Northwestern, the team Arizona defeated in the WNIT Championship last season, finished 11th in the AP Top 25. The Pac-12 placed a record six teams in the final AP poll. It was also the most of any conference. Arizona State was second in the "also receiving votes" category of the AP poll, but ranked No. 25 nationally in the coaches' poll.
Arizona finished the 2020 season with a 24-7 record and was two wins shy of breaking the program record. Led by Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Aari McDonald, All-Pac-12 Defensive Team member Sam Thomas and All-Pac-12 forward Cate Reese, the Wildcats were also anticipating hosting the first and second round of the NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 2005. McDonald is also a finalist for Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which is given to the top shooting guard in women's college basketball.
Arizona opened the season unranked in the AP poll but ranked No. 24 in the coaches' poll, rising to No. 24 and No. 22, respectively, the following week. Arizona hovered between No. 18 and No. 22 until Jan. 27, when it rose to 16th in the AP poll and 17th in the coaches' poll. The Wildcats ascended to 12th in both polls the following week, and moved up to 11th — their highest perch since 1998 — on the week of Feb. 17.
Tuesday’s AP poll was expected to be a mere formality before the NCAA released its 64-team bracket, with South Carolina as the presumptive No. 1 overall seed. The Gamecocks likely would have been favored to reach the program’s third Final Four and compete for its second national title.
But with growing concern about the spread of the coronavirus, the NCAA on Thursday canceled all winter and spring championships.
“In what has been one of, if not the most parity-filled, competitive women’s basketball seasons, it is good to see the hard work, determination and incredible accomplishments of our team recognized on the national stage,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said in a statement. “Having the NCAA Tournament canceled, even with how necessary that was, brought out feelings of frustration, sadness, disappointment and a sense of emptiness from our players. Those feelings were not just about not having the opportunity to compete for a National Championship, but also about not having the opportunity to eliminate any interpretation of what they had achieved. I reminded them that our success was measured by how we responded to challenges and obstacles placed in our path all season, but I also wanted that validation for them. Earning the final No. 1 ranking in both of these polls does what our team wanted — it leaves no question of what they achieved, it solidifies their place in history and shows the world that ‘what is delayed is not denied.’”
The NCAA has given no indication that it will crown or recognize a national champion, but South Carolina could try to claim a title based off the No. 1 ranking.
Athletics director Ray Tanner said Friday it was “too early” to discuss whether USC would claim a title, saying his focus at the moment has been on the spread of the virus.
“I will add that we were on quite a run and, if I’m not mistaken, we were 32-1, we were ranked number one in both the polls, and we won a regular season title and the tournament championship. So in my mind, we’re No. 1,” Tanner added.
