Women's college basketball Power Rankings: Stanford leapfrogs South Carolina for top spot

Thanks to Kentucky's magical run through the SEC tournament, we end the 2021-22 women's college basketball Power Rankings with a new No. 1.

That doesn't mean South Carolina, which had been in the top spot from the first week, has lost any ground in NCAA tournament seeding. The Gamecocks already had the overall No. 1 seed wrapped up in Charlie Creme's Bracketology projection, so Sunday's 64-62 loss to the Wildcats in the SEC final only cost South Carolina another championship trophy. The Gamecocks now will go after the biggest one with perhaps some additional motivation.

Four of the Power 5 conferences have their champions and automatic NCAA bids decided, while the Big 12 tournament is this week in Kansas City. Baylor has dominated that event, winning nine of the past 10. A title this year might even propel the Bears into the last No. 1 seed, after Louisville lost in the ACC quarterfinals.

The Big 12 currently has six teams in the NCAA field, none of which are in danger of falling out regardless of the league tournament results. Oklahoma is trying to stay among the NCAA's top 16 seeds, which host first- and second-round games. So the Sooners, who ended the regular season with a loss to Kansas (giving the Jayhawks insurance to make their first NCAA appearance since 2013), hope to get at least one win in K.C.

Here's one final edition of the Power Rankings before you fill out your NCAA bracket.

Player of the Week: NaLyssa Smith, Baylor Bears

The Bears needed two wins this past week to secure the Big 12 regular-season title for the 12th year in a row. They got them behind Smith, who went 24-of-36 from the field and 14-of-15 from the line for 63 points, with 32 rebounds, in the two games.

Team of the Week: Kentucky Wildcats

There are several Kentucky teams that seemed to have a good chance to win the SEC tournament in the past decade-plus, but they didn't do it. A few weeks ago, this year's Wildcats weren't thought to even be in the running for that title. But their 10-game winning streak turned around their season and gave them a trophy the program had not won in 40 years.

Win of the Week: UMass Minutewomen 62, Dayton Flyers 56

Dayton was the Atlantic 10 regular-season champion, but UMass won its first A-10 tournament title on Sunday. It is the program's first NCAA tournament bid since 1998, and third overall.

Coach of the Week: Kyra Elzy, Kentucky Wildcats

In her second season as the Wildcats' head coach, Elzy had to use tough love and motivational tactics to get her team out of the funk it was still dealing with in February. And it worked. She also told them that defense had to be an all-in proposition if they were going to have a chance of making the NCAA field. That worked, too, and now they don't have to wait for an at-large bid. They claimed the SEC's automatic berth with their dramatic win over South Carolina on Sunday.

Power Rankings

 1. Stanford Cardinal (28-3)
Previous ranking: 2
This week: No games

The defending national champions had some close calls at the end of the regular season but cruised through the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas with wins over Oregon State, Colorado and Utah. Haley Jones was the tournament's most outstanding player, and -- along with the rest of the Cardinal -- is looking strong going into the NCAA tournament.

 2. NC State Wolfpack (29-3)
Previous ranking: 3
This week: No games

The Wolfpack have turned into the boss of the ACC tournament, having won it three years in a row now. Miami had a terrific run to reach the final, but there was no stopping NC State, which won its three tournament games by an average of 19.3 points. Senior center Elissa Cunane, who grew up near Greensboro, has made the most of her hometown tournament, winning her second MVP Sunday.