UCLA is officially the No. 1 team in the AP top 25 poll for the first time in program history, a rather unsurprising development considering they upset reigning national champion South Carolina on Sunday.

The Bruins smothered South Carolina defensively, holding the Gamecocks to their fewest points in a game since they scored 59 in the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA tournament (perhaps not coincidentally, also against UCLA). It was South Carolina’s largest margin of defeat since a 25-point loss to the Baylor Bears in the Sweet 16 of the 2019 tournament.

UCLA women's coach Cori Close is preaching perspective after the fifth-ranked Bruins shocked No. 1 South Carolina.