UConn atop women’s basketball coaches poll as March Madness begins

UConn still sits atop the USA TODAY Sports' women's basketball coaches poll as March Madness begins. UCLA is second and grabbed one first-place vote.

There were no changes to the USA TODAY Sports’ women’s basketball coaches poll this week, as the undefeated UConn Huskies still sit atop the poll with 30 of 31 first-place votes.

The undefeated Huskies begin their March Madness journey on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET against No. 16 UTSA in Storrs, Connecticut.

This will be the final coaches poll released until the Monday after the national championship game in Phoenix, Arizona.

UCLA, the second overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, is in second with one first-place vote. The Bruins are followed by fellow No. 1 seeds Texas and South Carolina. The Bruins begin their tournament on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET against No. 16 Cal Baptist. The Gamecocks and Longhorns will face winners of First Four games.

The only team ranked inside the top 16 of the coaches poll that isn’t hosting games during the opening weekend of March Madness is Maryland. The Terps check in at No. 16 in the coaches poll, but are a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play at North Carolina. Minnesota is hosting first- and second-round games this weekend, despite ranking 19th in the coaches poll.