As conference tournaments begin, UConn remains the top-ranked team at 31-0 after dominating Georgetown and St. John's by a combined 68 points. The Huskies, who have held the No. 1 spot in the Power Rankings for all but three weeks this season, aim to defend their Big East tournament title after winning seven consecutive American Conference championships. Their last conference tournament loss came in 2013.

UCLA, South Carolina, and Texas round out the top four, with the Bruins and Gamecocks likely locked into No. 1 NCAA tournament seeds regardless of conference tournament performance. UCLA capped its perfect 18-0 Big Ten regular season with a 73-50 win over USC, while South Carolina secured its 10th SEC regular-season title before a close 60-56 victory at Kentucky. Texas, the only other team to reach No. 1 this season, enters the SEC tournament tied for second place.

Vanderbilt, LSU, and Oklahoma complete the top seven, all competing in the SEC tournament where bracket positioning could significantly impact NCAA seeding. Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes became the first SEC player since 2000 to average 30+ points in conference play, while LSU's Mikaylah Williams led the Tigers to the No. 4 seed. Oklahoma faces a challenging path, potentially needing to beat LSU and South Carolina just to reach the championship game.