Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Feb. 3-9

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Big Ten Weekly Release - Feb. 3

Big Ten. Big News.

• Five Big Ten contests will be featured on national platforms this week, while the remaining games will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information). Games begin Wednesday, which includes a ranked matchup between No. 22/19 Maryland and No. 12/13 Michigan State in East Lansing at 6:30 p.m. ET on B1G+. Thursday features a 9 p.m. ET outing on Peacock with No. 9 Ohio State visiting No. 24/25 Washington. A top-10 showdown is slated for FOX at 3 p.m. ET when No. 8/7 Michigan hosts No. 2 UCLA.
• Nebraska’s Britt Prince and UCLA’s Kiki Rice were selected as 2026 Nancy Lieberman Award Midseason Top 10 candidates, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Monday in partnership with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
• The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, in partnership with the WBCA, released its Midseason Top 10 for the 2026 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award on Tuesday. Michigan’s Syla Swords and UCLA’s Gianna Kneepkens represented the Big Ten.
• UCLA owns possession of the top spot in the conference standings with an unblemished 11-0 record. Michigan has a 10-1 mark, followed by Iowa and Ohio State at 9-2.
• Washington’s Sayvia Sellers was recognized as one of five Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Tuesday. Sellers averaged 22.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.0 blocks against Rutgers, No. 16 Maryland and Illinois. She led all scorers with a career-high 38 points and 15 made field goals to help the Huskies pull off a road upset against the Terps. The junior finished with 17 points and four assists versus Illinois and shot 66.7 percent from the field for 11 points and six helpers at Rutgers.
• For the second time this season, USC’s Jazzy Davidson was named the Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week by the USBWA. Davidson, who was selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday, tallied 21 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals in the Trojans’ win over No. 8 Iowa. She added 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals against Rutgers.
• Oregon’s Ehis Etute and USC’s Kara Dunn were tabbed as the Big Ten Co-Players of the Week on Monday. Etute became the first Duck to earn a weekly award since Oregon joined the conference after dropping a career-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting with 11 rebounds to upset No. 16 Maryland. She shot 72.7 percent from the field for 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds at Rutgers. Dunn led the Trojans in scoring (25 points) and rebounding (12 boards) in an upset of No. 8 Iowa. She also chipped in 18 points, six rebounds and two assists versus the Scarlet Knights.
• The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in assists (16.9 apg), field goal percentage (.456), three-point field goal percentage (.343) and free throw percentage (.734), while ranking second in scoring (76.3 ppg).
• Through games on Feb. 2, the Big Ten boasts 10 teams in the top 25 and 12 in the top 50 of the NCAA’s NET Rankings, the top marks among all conferences. UCLA paces the Big Ten contingent at No. 2, followed by No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 12 Iowa, No. 17 Maryland, No. 18 Ohio State, No. 20 USC, No. 22 Oregon, No. 24 Nebraska, No. 30 Washington and No. 33 Illinois.
• Through Monday’s contests, Big Ten teams have combined to win 51 Quad 1 games, the most among Division I conferences, with 12 teams posting at least two Quad 1 wins. UCLA leads the country with 12 Quad 1 victories and the Big Ten is the only conference that has five teams with at least four Quad 1 wins.
• Every day is a battle as the Big Ten has 10 teams in the top 25 for NET strength of schedule – USC (1st), UCLA (2nd), Penn State (4th), Iowa (5th), Purdue (8th), Michigan (10th), Indiana (15th), Northwestern (17th), Rutgers (21st) and Michigan State (25th).
• This week’s Associated Press (AP) poll featured seven teams from the Big Ten. UCLA held steady at No. 2 and was joined by No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 10 Iowa, No. 12 Michigan State, No. 22 Maryland and No. 24 Washington. Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois and USC received votes.
• The same seven programs made an appearance in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 poll – No. 2 UCLA, No. 7 Michigan, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 10 Iowa, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 19 Maryland and No. 25 Washington. Nebraska, Minnesota and Illinois garnered votes.
• Illinois currently leads the nation shooting 82.3 percent from the free throw line. UCLA ranks second in assist/turnover ratio (1.75), assists per game (22.7) and rebound margin (15.4) while Iowa is third in assists per game (21.2).
• The Big Ten has multiple individuals leading the country in statistical categories, including Northwestern’s Carolina Lau with 8.8 assists per game and Penn State’s Gracie Merkle in field goal percentage (.742).
• Six of the nation’s best long-range shooters reside in the Big Ten. Minnesota’s Grace Grocholski (1st – .482) leads the pack, followed by UCLA’s Gianna Kneepkens (3rd – .471), Indiana’s Shay Ciezki (5th – .466), Iowa’s Chit-Chat Wright (7th – .463), Michigan State’s Emma Shumate (11th – .448) and Wisconsin’s Destiny Howell (18th – .436).
• 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 – UCLA (3rd – .518), Michigan State (6th – .494), Nebraska (8th – .491), Iowa (9th – .487), Michigan (13th – .479), Indiana (16th – .475), Oregon (21st – .464) and Ohio State (25th – .462).
• Sharing the rock comes naturally for the Big Ten with seven teams featured in the top 25 rankings for assists per game, including four in the top 15 – UCLA (2nd – 22.7), Iowa (3rd – 21.2), Nebraska (9th – 18.8), Michigan State (12th – 18.7), Ohio State (16th – 18.4), Oregon (19th – 18.0) and Northwestern (21st – 18.0).
• HISTORY. MADE. The Big Ten is the first conference to ever have nine teams ranked in three different Associated Press (AP) polls in a single season – Dec. 8, Dec. 15 and Jan. 5. The Big Ten has had nine programs ranked in the AP poll four times, first achieved on Dec. 2, 2024, and is the only conference to have nine ranked teams since 1996.
• The Big Ten had a 170-33 (.837) combined record in non-conference play this season, which ranked second behind the SEC (197-24, .891) and ahead of the Big 12 (156-39, .800) and ACC (144-72, .667).
• Big Ten Conference Deputy Commissioner and Michigan women’s basketball great Diane Dietz was honored Jan. 11 with the lifting of her No. 21 jersey into the rafters at the Crisler Center. Dietz, who competed in Maize and Blue from 1979-82, was the program’s first 2,000-point scorer, a record that stood for more than 30 years. She still ranks fourth all-time in scoring with 2,076 points, a feat she achieved before the addition of the three-point line to the women’s game. Dietz is also second all-time in 30-point games (11) and in field goals made (940) and is only one of two players with at least 900 makes. She graduated as the Wolverines’ all-time leader in steals (229), a mark that currently ranks fourth in program history. Dietz was also a standout in the classroom and is one of only two Michigan student-athletes to have been inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2009). The three-time Academic All-American was the first female recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1982, which is considered the most prestigious honor a Big Ten student-athlete can receive. Dietz was inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame after her induction in 2019.
• 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. 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.