Two human polls make up the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings, the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, in addition to various publications' preseason polls.

Stanford failed to be in the top 25 in the AP Poll released December 25, 2017. They had been in the top 25 for the prior 312 consecutive weeks, tied with Duke for the third-longest streak in the top 25. The longest streak (not currently active) is 565 weeks (32 seasons) held by Tennessee between February 17, 1985, and February 15, 2016. The second-longest streak, and longest active streak, is held by Connecticut, and currently active as of December 25, 2017, at 458 weeks, starting with the preseason 1993–94 poll.^[1]

The Coaches Poll is the second-oldest poll still in use after the AP Poll. It is compiled by a rotating group of 31 college Division I head coaches. The poll operates by Borda count. Each voting member ranks teams from 1 to 25. Each team then receives points for their ranking in reverse order: Number 1 earns 25 points, number 2 earns 24 points, and so forth. The points are then combined and the team with the most points is then ranked No. 1; second most is ranked No. 2 and so forth. Only the top 25 teams with points are ranked, with teams receiving first-place votes noted the quantity next to their name. The maximum points a single team can earn is 775.

• 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings