Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Dec. 23-29

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Big Ten Weekly Release - Dec. 23

Big Ten. Big News.

• IT’S B1G TIME! All 18 Big Ten women’s basketball teams are turning their focus to conference play beginning Sunday. A tripleheader is slated for the Big Ten Network (and the FOX Sports app), starting with RV/NR Illinois visiting Purdue at noon ET. A top-25 outing is set for 2 p.m. ET between No. 4 UCLA and No. 19 Ohio State before No. 14 Iowa hosts Penn State at 4 p.m. ET. Remaining contests will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information).
• Monday’s schedule includes No. 20/24 Nebraska welcoming No. 17/16 USC at 3 p.m. ET. The Huskers will face another ranked opponent on Thursday (Jan. 1) when they travel to take on the No. 14 Hawkeyes at 2 p.m. ET on BTN. The first edition of the Battle of LA takes place Saturday (Jan. 3) as No. 17/16 USC meets No. 4 UCLA in Pauley Pavilion for an 8 p.m. ET showdown on Peacock.
• The Big Ten has posted a 167-32 (.839) combined record in non-conference play, which ranks second behind the SEC (182-22, .892) and ahead of the Big 12 (156-38, .804) and ACC (138-71, .660).
• The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in assists (17.7 apg), free throw percentage (.726) and three-point field goal percentage (.342) while ranking second in field goal percentage (.467) and scoring (79.3 ppg).
• Through games on Dec. 22, the Big Ten boasts nine teams in the top 25 and 12 in the top 50 of the NCAA’s NET Rankings, the top marks among Division I conferences. UCLA paces the Big Ten contingent at No. 4, followed by No. 6 Michigan, No. 8 Michigan State, No. 10 Maryland, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Iowa, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 23 USC, No. 25 Oregon, No. 32 Washington, No. 35 Ohio State and No. 36 Illinois.
• The Big Ten Conference had eight programs featured in this week’s Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll. UCLA stayed steady at No. 4, followed by No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Maryland, No. 14 Iowa, No. 17 USC, No. 19 Ohio State, No. 20 Nebraska and No. 24 Michigan State. Washington, Illinois and Oregon received votes.
• The same eight programs made an appearance in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 poll – No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Maryland, No. 8 Michigan (tie), No. 14 Iowa, No. 16 USC, No. 19 Ohio State, No. 21 Michigan State (tie) and No. 24 Nebraska. Washington and Oregon garnered votes.
• The Big Ten has multiple individuals leading the country in statistical categories, including Northwestern’s Carolina Lau with 9.2 assists per game, Penn State’s Gracie Merkle in field goal percentage (.735) and UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez in three-point percentage (.542).
• Offensive production continues to be the calling card of the Big Ten Conference. The league has eight teams ranked in the top 25 in field goal percentage – Nebraska (4th – .522), Michigan State (5th – .521), UCLA (7th – .512), Iowa (11th – .504), Michigan (12th – .501), Maryland (13th – .490), Indiana (14th – .484) and Illinois (25th – .472).
• Sharing the rock comes naturally for the Big Ten with nine teams featured in the top 25 rankings for assists per game, including four in the top 10 – UCLA (3rd – 22.3), Iowa (4th – 21.8), Michigan State (5th – 21.6), Nebraska (8th – 21.3), Northwestern (17th – 18.9), Michigan (18th – 18.7), Minnesota (21st – 18.7), Maryland (22nd – 18.6) and Ohio State (23rd – 18.6).
• Maryland’s Yarden Garzon claimed her first Big Ten Player of the Week honor on Monday after leading the Terps with a season-high 25 points, seven rebounds and two assists versus CCSU. Garzon connected on seven three-pointers to help Maryland to 39 first-quarter points, the second-highest mark in program history.
• USC’s Jazzy Davidson picked up her third Big Ten Freshman of the Week laurel after tallying 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a career-high six steals versus Cal Poly. She also dropped a career-best 24 points with four rebounds, four blocks, two assists and two steals against Cal.
• Congrats are in order for Rutgers head coach Coquese Washington, who notched her 250th career win against Lafayette.
• With an 86-43 win over Jackson State, Illinois improved to 11-1 on the season. The Fighting Illini are off to their best start in over 40 years since also going 11-1 to open the 1981-82 season.
• Maryland had 17,300 fans in attendance for its game against CCSU, the largest attendance in all of NCAA women’s basketball this season.
• Michigan State took home the Cherokee Invitational Championship by defeating No. 15 Ole Miss, 66-49. It was the Spartans highest ranked victory since 2022 and under head coach Robyn Fralick.
• Nebraska scored at least 80 points for a school-record 12th consecutive game by defeating Cal Baptist, 87-56.
• Faith Blackstone clinched her 1,000th Division I point with 22 points versus Lafayette.
• UCLA dominated its matchup with Cal Poly, 115-28. The 87-point win marked the largest margin of victory in the NCAA era.
• Wisconsin improved its home record to 8-0 this season, marking the best start at the Kohl Center since the 2006-07 season.
• Twice this season and for the third time in the history of the Big Ten Conference, nine women’s basketball teams were ranked in the Associated Press (AP) poll. The Big Ten is the only conference to have nine programs ranked in the AP poll since 1996 and first achieved the feat on Dec. 2, 2024.
• The 2025-26 season will be the final ride for storied Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown, who announced on March 24 that he intends to retire at the conclusion of season. McKeown is the longest-tenured and winningest head women’s basketball coach in Northwestern history. This is his 18th season in Evanston and his 40th season overall as a head coach.
• Each Big Ten institution will play an 18-game conference schedule for the seventh time in eight seasons. The conference season tipped off on Saturday, Dec. 6, with three games, while the remaining 12 teams opened conference action on Sunday, Dec. 7. The league slate pauses for the holidays and resumes on Sunday, Dec. 28 with a four-game lineup. During the conference season, each program will play one school both home and away, while facing 16 teams once. Of the single-play opponents, institutions will face eight at home and eight on the road.
• The 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament is set for March 4-8 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, marking the 27th time the tournament will be played in Circle City. Fifteen teams will qualify for the tournament, with three first-round games slated for Wednesday, March 4 on Peacock. The second-round, quarterfinal and semifinal contests on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be carried on the Big Ten Network. CBS will broadcast the championship game for the third year in a row on Sunday.