The undefeated ranks sized down again, Paige Bueckers reached 2,000 career points faster than any prior UConn player and Hannah Hidalgo returned from a brief injury, much to the dismay of Notre Dame’s opponents.

In another packed week of action, the top of the Associated Press Top 25 continued to distance itself from the bottom with one notable exception.

South Carolina tearing up its ‘gauntlet’

The Gamecocks (18-1, 6-0 SEC) are calling their 16-day stretch of five top-20 opponents “the gauntlet,” but so far there’s been little challenge.

They cracked triple digits for the first time in a 101-60 win over then-No. 13 Oklahoma, their largest win over a ranked team in program history. It pushed their average winning margin in the three games that also include Texas and Arkansas to 25.3 points. South Carolina hosts LSU on Thursday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) and travels to Tennessee on Jan. 27 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

The first quarters are the back breakers for opponents. South Carolina outscored Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma by a combined 67-30 in the first 10 minutes, forcing them into cascading mistakes as the deficit grew. The 28-9 margin over Oklahoma was the largest, with scoring contributions from seven of the 12 players who took the court.

It was the 12th time they kept an opponent to single digits in the first quarter and seven of those times were against ranked opponents. The most glaring poor start came in their lone loss to UCLA when they fell behind 20-10 through 10 minutes. They quickly unraveled.

As they swipe aside every top team that comes in their way, it becomes more difficult to envision a Final Four without South Carolina in it.

Kansas State’s sleeper status in question

Largely by virtue of playing in the Big 12, Kansas State has quietly asserted itself as a contender to slide into the Final Four. The Wildcats didn’t bowl anyone over in their non-conference slate (an 18-point win over Creighton and 11-point loss to Duke on a neutral court headline the bill), but they soundly defeated the teams they were supposed to beat.

They’re one of only two teams to rank top 10 in offensive and defensive rating (third and fourth, respectively). No. 1 UCLA is the other, ranking ninth and sixth, respectively. The schools share one more major differentiator: a skilled, highly efficient center who creates sizable mismatches.

The Wildcats (19-1, 7-0 Big 12) may be without theirs moving forward, putting a run to the Final Four in question without a clear replacement. Ayoka Lee, a fifth-year 6-foot-6 center who holds the NCAA Division I single-game scoring record, left Sunday’s game against Arizona State with an injury.

“It’s not good, guys,” head coach Jeff Mittie said. “I don’t have a definitive update, but it’s not going to be a week or two.”

Mittie said he spoke with Lee after the 81-69 win, but had not spoken to trainers or doctors. “It’s probably not good,” he added.

Lee, the program’s all-time scoring and rebounding leader, left the game against Arizona earlier in the week after aggravating an ankle injury. But she started on Saturday before an early exit. She’s averaging a team-high 16 points in a career-low 19 minutes per game. Her 33.5 points per 40 minutes rank second in DI and her 4.8 blocks per 40 rank third.

The Wildcats have more depth at the position, unlike in years past when Lee missed considerable time. They have three games until hosting TCU (19-1, 7-0), the other undefeated Big 12 team, on Feb. 5.

Penn State delivers massive Big Ten upset

That wasn’t on the bingo board.

Penn State earned its first conference win by upsetting undefeated Ohio State, 62-59, in State College on Sunday. It was the program’s first win over a top-10 ranked team since 2012. The Buckeyes struggled to put points on the board without point guard Jaloni Cambridge, a watch-list candidate for national freshman of the year averaging 15.4 points, 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals.

Cambridge’s two-game absence in December was inconsequential at home against Youngstown State, 87-39, and even against Stanford, 84-59, on the road in the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic. She returned from a right shoulder injury in time for the start of conference play but missed Sunday’s game due to illness.

Without her leadership, the Buckeyes (17-1, 6-1 Big Ten) offense stagnated for long stretches against a team ranked in the bottom quarter of the conference defensively. The Nittany Lions (10-9, 1-7) performed well in an easy non-con schedule before the brick wall of the Big Ten came calling.

Ohio State didn’t score for the first 4:20 of the second quarter, allowing an eight-point lead to escape in a disastrous 20-9 quarter. The Buckeyes went scoreless again over the last 6:45 of the game, going 2-for-12 in the fourth quarter.

The loss was also a wake-up call for Ohio State; though unblemished to this point, the Buckeyes have yet to face the toughest part of their schedule. The signature non-con victory was Stanford. Big Ten favorites USC, UCLA and Maryland are coming up.

The loss leaves two remaining undefeated squads, both of which are playing in circled contests this week. UCLA (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) faces Baylor on a neutral court Monday (3 p.m. ET, FOX) and takes its first trip to Maryland on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, NBC). LSU (20-0, 5-0) takes on South Carolina on the road.

Games of the Week

The Coretta Scott King Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark on Monday features three ranked teams and a fourth receiving votes. No. 1 UCLA faces Baylor at 3 p.m. ET, followed by Texas and Maryland in a top-10 matchup.

Looking later in the week:

LSU (20-0, 5-0 SEC) at South Carolina (18-1, 6-0), Thursday, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN —The rivalry that grew the last few years is in its post-Angel Reese era.

Tennessee (15-3, 3-3 SEC) at Texas (17-2, 4-1), Thursday, 9 p.m. ET on SECN — The Lady Vols have lost their three games to Oklahoma, LSU and Vanderbilt by a combined four points.

UCLA (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) at Maryland (16-1, 6-1), Sunday, 2 p.m. ET on NBC — Every game between the conference’s top four is the potential for lost ground.

Official AP rankings

1. UCLA
2. South Carolina
3. Notre Dame
4. YSC
5. LSU
6. UConn
7. Texas
8. Maryland
9. TCU
10. Kansas State
11. Kentucky
12. Ohio State
13. North Carolina
14. Duke
15. Oklahoma
16. West Virginia
17. Tennessee
18. Georgia Tech
19. Alabama
20. NC State
21. Michigan State
22. Cal
23. Minnesota
24. Michigan
25. Baylor

Yahoo Sports AP ballot

1. Notre Dame
2. UCLA
3. South Carolina
4. Southern Cal
5. Maryland
6. Texas
7. UConn
8. LSU
9. Kansas State
10. TCU
11. Kentucky
12. North Carolina
13. Ohio State
14. Duke
15. Tennessee
16. Alabama
17. Oklahoma
18. Georgia Tech
19. West Virginia
20. Michigan State
21. Minnesota
22. NC State
23. Michigan
24. Baylor
25. Creighton