Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Feb. 18-23

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Big Ten Weekly Release - Feb. 18

Big Ten. Big News.

• The penultimate week of the regular season is loaded with postseason implications. The Big Ten has 11 games slated for national platforms, while the remaining games will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information). No. 10 Ohio State is set to visit No. 23 Minnesota at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday on B1G+. Sunday features No. 13/12 Iowa hosting No. 6/5 Michigan on FOX at noon ET before No. 18/16 Michigan State and No. 23 Minnesota battle at 6 p.m. ET on FS1.
• The NCAA had its first top 16 reveal on Sunday, which included six Big Ten teams. UCLA was tabbed as the No. 2 seed, while No. 6 Michigan and No. 9 Ohio State rounded out the top 10. Iowa was selected as the No. 11 seed, followed by No. 13 Maryland and No. 14 Michigan State. The final top 16 reveal will take place on Sunday, March 1.
• UCLA owns possession of the top spot in the conference standings with an unblemished 15-0 record. Michigan sits at 13-2 in league play, followed by Iowa (11-3), Ohio State (11-3) and Minnesota (11-4).
• Teams continue to clinch spots in the 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, set for March 4-8 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. So far, 10 teams earned a berth into the tournament (listed in alphabetical order) – Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, UCLA, USC and Washington.
• The Big Ten had 10 players included on the 2026 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Late-Season Team, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Tuesday. The conference was represented by Ava Heiden (IOWA), Oluchi Okananwa (MD), Olivia Olson (MICH), Syla Swords (MICH), Grace VanSlooten (MSU), Jaloni Cambridge (OSU), Lauren Betts (UCLA), Kiki Rice (UCLA), Jazzy Davidson (USC) and Sayvia Sellers (WASH).
• Four Big Ten head coaches were named to the 2026 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Wednesday. Iowa’s Jan Jensen, Michigan’s Kim Barnes Arico, Ohio State’s Kevin McGuff and UCLA’s Cori Close were among the 15 head coaches included on the list.
• USC’s Jazzy Davidson was tabbed as the Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Tuesday. Davidson, the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, recorded 24 points, six rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocks against Indiana. It was her 22nd consecutive outing in double figures and 10th time scoring 20+ points this season.
• Maryland was selected as the USBWA’s National Team of the Week after erasing a 19-point deficit to upset No. 8 Ohio State, 76-75. The Terps went on a 35-11 run over 13 minutes in the second half to tie the biggest comeback win in program history and first top-10 road win since 2022.
• Michigan sophomore Olivia Olson earned the first Big Ten Player of the Week recognition of her career on Monday. Olson turned in 21 points, eight rebounds, a career-high seven assists and two steals in 31 minutes at Northwestern. She wrapped up the week by dropping 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks in a win over No. 13 Michigan State.
• The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in assists (16.7 apg), field goal percentage (.454), three-point field goal percentage (.341) and free throw percentage (.737), while ranking second in scoring (75.6 ppg).
• Through games on Feb. 17, 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 all conferences. UCLA paces the Big Ten contingent at No. 2, followed by No. 6 Michigan, No. 9 Minnesota, No. 12 Iowa, No. 14 Maryland, No. 15 Michigan State, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 21 USC, No. 23 Oregon, No. 29 Nebraska, No. 30 Washington and No. 32 Illinois.
• Through Tuesday’s contests, Big Ten teams have combined to win 59 Quad 1 games, the most among Division I conferences, with 12 teams posting at least two Quad 1 wins. UCLA leads the country with 14 Quad 1 victories and the Big Ten is the only conference that has five teams with at least five Quad 1 wins.
• Every day is a battle as the Big Ten has 13 teams in the top 25 for NET strength of schedule – UCLA (1st), USC (2nd), Penn State (5th), Iowa (6th), Michigan (9th), Rutgers (11th), Indiana (14th), Nebraska (17th), Michigan State (18th), Northwestern (19th), Maryland (20th), Wisconsin (22nd) and Ohio State (23rd).
• 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. 6 Michigan, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 13 Iowa, No. 14 Maryland, No. 18 Michigan State and No. 23 Minnesota. Washington and Illinois 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. 5 Michigan, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 12 Iowa, No. 15 Maryland, No. 16 Michigan State and No. 23 Minnesota. Washington and Nebraska garnered votes.
• Illinois currently leads the nation shooting 81.5 percent from the free throw line. UCLA ranks second in assist/turnover ratio (1.73), assists per game (22.2), field goal percentage (.517) and rebound margin (15.8). Iowa is third in assists per game (20.9) while Minnesota has a 1.60 assist/turnover ratio to come in fourth.
• Six of the nation’s best long-range shooters reside in the Big Ten. Iowa’s Chit-Chat Wright (2nd – .491) leads the pack, followed by Indiana’s Shay Ciezki (5th – .466), Minnesota’s Grace Grocholski (7th – .460), UCLA’s Gianna Kneepkens (11th – .453), Nebraska’s Logan Nissley (15th – .446) and Michigan State’s Emma Shumate (20th – .429).
• Offensive production continues to be the calling card of the Big Ten Conference. The league has seven teams ranked in the top 25 in field goal percentage – UCLA (2nd – .517), Iowa (6th – .490), Nebraska (11th – .482), Michigan State (12th – .481), Michigan (14th – .479), Indiana (15th – .473) and Ohio State (22nd – .464).
• Sharing the rock comes naturally for the Big Ten with eight teams featured in the top 25 rankings for assists per game, including five in the top 15 – UCLA (2nd – 22.2), Iowa (3rd – 20.9), Nebraska (10th – 18.4), Ohio State (12th – 18.1), Michigan State (13th – 18.0), Michigan (18th – 17.8), Oregon (22nd – 17.6) and Northwestern (23rd – 17.5).
• 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.