WBB NEWS: Arizona moves to No. 6 in AP Poll for first time since 2020
Arizona's women's basketball team has never been ranked higher than No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The first time it reached that number was almost exactly a year to the day the Wildcats made their return to that spot. Monday, Adia Barnes' team moved up one spot in the latest poll to No. 6 after previously being ranked seventh heading into last week.
The Wildcats (7-0) didn't have to do anything to move up as UA was idle last week because of a game that was canceled. Arizona's road matchup against UC Riverside was called off because of COVID-related issues for the Highlanders.
It meant an extended break for the Wildcats coming off a 3-0 run in the U.S. Virgin Islands at the Paradise Jam during Thanksgiving weekend. UA will have over 12 days between games when it takes the floor Thursday night against North Dakota State at McKale Center.
The last time Arizona was rated sixth it remained there for four weeks before eventually dropping to 11th by the end of the season.
That didn't matter, though, as UA eventually made a run to the title game in the NCAA Tournament falling one basket short of a championship.
Barnes has retooled her roster after the departure of star guard Aari McDonald, and the Wildcats have a more balanced team this season. That has resulted in an unblemished start despite a few difficult games in the Paradise Jam.
A win over then-No. 6 Louisville helped propel Arizona up the rankings, but Barnes wants to continue to see her team improve. That is where a lot of the focus has been since the team's last game.
"We have to get better," Barnes said last week. "We were exposed in some areas in St. Thomas. Just some areas we really hadn't worked on a lot."
Arizona has a few more games before seeing an uptick in competition starting with a matchup against current No. 11 Texas in Las Vegas on Dec. 19. UA will then go to Los Angeles to face USC and UCLA to open up Pac-12 play to open the new year.
After taking on North Dakota State this week, UA will host New Mexico (Dec. 12) followed by a trip to NAU on Dec. 17.
There are currently four ranked Pac-12 teams included in the AP Top 25 with Stanford checking in at No. 4, Oregon State at No. 23 and undefeated Colorado at No. 25.
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