This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It's been 15 years since Muffet McGraw and Notre Dame were No. 1 in the poll.

The Irish earned the top spot in The Associated Press women's basketball Tuesday, receiving 14 first-place votes from a 33-member national media panel to earn the top ranking in the preseason. Notre Dame last held the No. 1 ranking on March 5, 2001. McGraw returns most of the core from a team that went 33-2 last season.

She was happy for the compliment, but found the ranking a little high considering her team is coming off one of its most disappointing seasons in a few years and didn't reach the Final Four for the first time in six years.

"I'd rather we earned it," McGraw said. "We're coming off the worst season we've had in six years, it seems odd that we're preseason No. 1. You should have to earn it."

McGraw has had a bunch of very good teams over the last 15 seasons that never reached the top spot. There always seemed to be someone just a little bit better.

"Other teams have had good teams, too. Connecticut has had some pretty good teams in there," McGraw said. "There was a year when yeah maybe, Stanford beat Connecticut, but then South Carolina went to No. 1."

Baylor was a close second, four points behind the Irish. The Lady Bears garnered 12 first-place votes.

"Being preseason No. 2 in the country brings great recognition to our school and our program," Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey said. "We welcome it. We have a schedule, nonconference and conference, that will be most challenging early in the season. It's one that I think will help us late in the season."

UConn, which has won 75 consecutive games and four straight national championships, was third. The Huskies had been the No. 1 team for the last 24 weeks.

"I don't think we should be No. 1," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "I don't think we should be anywhere near the teams that almost went to the Final Four and have everybody back and have all that experience and all that talent. We've been in those situations before and we're not there now. So, wherever they put us, I'm OK."

South Carolina and Louisville round out the top five teams. Maryland, Ohio State, Texas, UCLA and Mississippi State are next.

Tennessee, which had its run of 565 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 end last season, is back in at No. 13. The Lady Vols have been in each preseason poll except the first one. They are one of four teams not ranked in the final poll that's in the Top 25 now.

National runner-up Syracuse was 14th, while Final Four participants Washington and Oregon State were 17th and 25th.

The Southeastern Conference leads the way with six teams in the top 25. The Pac-12 and ACC each have five. UConn and 21st-ranked DePaul are the only two schools from non-power five conferences to be ranked.

The first regular-season poll will be Monday, Nov. 14, with two big games that night. Baylor hosts UCLA while UConn visits Florida State.

Here are a few other poll tidbits:

IT'S BEEN A WHILE: Missouri is ranked in the preseason for the first time since 1984. The Tigers reached the NCAAs for the first time in a decade and return star Sophia Cunningham. Unfortunately, they already lost second-leading scorer and top rebounder Jordan Frericks and reserve Bri Porter for the season with knee injuries.

MISSING TRIANGLE: Duke is not ranked in the preseason for the first time since 1994-95. The Blue Devils aren't the only member of Tobacco Road absent from the poll. North Carolina and North Carolina State aren't ranked either. It's only the second time in the 41-year history of the poll that none of the three are in the preseason rankings. It also happened in 1986.

HOOSIER HYSTERIA: Indiana is ranked for only the third time in the program's history. The No. 23 Hoosiers are coming into the season after equaling a school record with 21 victories and winning the team's first NCAA game. Indiana is led by junior Tyra Buss, who averaged 18.8 points last season. —

AP Top 25 preseason poll

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' preseason 2016-17 women's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2015-16 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last year's final ranking:

Record Pts Prv

1. Notre Dame (14) 33-2 793 2

2. Baylor (12) 36-2 789 4

3. UConn (6) 38-0 743 1

4. South Carolina (1) 33-2 719 3

5. Louisville 26-8 718 8

6. Maryland 31-4 635 5

7. Ohio State 26-8 632 9

8. Texas 31-5 604 7

9. UCLA 26-9 557 10

10. Mississippi St. 28-8 516 15

11. Stanford 27-8 471 13

12. Florida St. 25-8 437 17

13. Tennessee 22-14 415 —

14. Miami 24-9 328 19

14. Syracuse 30-8 328 14

16. Oklahoma 22-11 285 24

17. Washington 26-11 259 —

18. Arizona St. 26-7 244 11

19. Kentucky 25-8 228 12

20. Florida 22-9 181 25

21. DePaul 27-9 160 20

22. West Virginia 25-10 154 23

23. Indiana 21-12 108 —

24. Missouri 22-10 98 —

25. Oregon State 32-5 95 6

Others receiving votes • Michigan St. 78, Auburn 43, Texas A&M 20, Duke 16, Colorado St. 10, California 9, Creighton 9, South Florida 8, BYU 6, Temple 6, South Dakota St. 5, Belmont 4, UTEP 3, Boise St. 2, Green Bay 2, NC State 2, Chattanooga 2, Iowa St. 1, Saint Louis 1, Oregon 1.