Women’s basketball top 25: How Shaq’s daughter and a WNBA draftee have Kentucky humming

The first statement win of the 2026-27 season belongs to Michigan. With all due respect to South Carolina and Oklahoma, which put on a strong advertisement of SEC basketball for the nation of France, the Wolverines’ victory over UConn stands alone. Their 77-66 win stamps them as an early title contender. Over the past decade, most seasons start with the Huskies and South Carolina as the leaders of the pack, and other programs have to force their way into the conversation; often, those teams — li