Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - March 19

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Big Ten Weekly Release - March 19 | 2025 Big Ten Women's Basketball Postseason Central

• For the 24th consecutive season (not counting the 2019-20 campaign that ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the Big Ten is sending at least eight of its women's basketball programs to postseason play. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington will compete in the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota will represent the conference in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), while Rutgers will take part in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).
• A record-setting 12 Big Ten Conference schools received berths into the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, led by No. 1 overall seed UCLA and No. 4 overall seed USC. The 12 berths were the top mark among all Division I conferences, followed by the SEC (10), ACC (8) and Big 12 (7).
• This marks the third and fourth times, respectively, a Big Ten program has garnered a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament in the last three years. Iowa had been a top seed the past two years and reached consecutive national championship games.
• The Big Ten has now had at least four of its schools selected for NCAA Tournament action every year since 1986. Current Big Ten programs have advanced to the NCAA Women’s Final Four 22 times (most recently by Iowa in 2024) and have won four national championships (USC – 1983, 1984; Purdue – 1999; Maryland – 2006).
• For the first time in conference history, UCLA is the Big Ten’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament after the Bruins won their first-ever Big Ten Tournament title. UCLA is the overall No. 1 seed for the first time in program history.
• Maryland leads all current Big Ten schools in NCAA Tournament appearances, with the Terrapins competing for the 32nd time this year. They are followed by Iowa (31st appearance this year), while Ohio State earned its 29th NCAA bid this year, good for third-most among conference members.
• Oregon is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Washington has also found its way back with its last appearance coming in 2017.
• Minnesota is making its first appearance in the WBIT, which is in its second year. The 32-team postseason single-elimination tournament is familiar territory for the Big Ten Conference after Illinois won the inaugural competition last year to claim its first-ever postseason title with a 71-57 victory over Villanova.
• Rutgers accepted a bid for the postseason to participate in the 48-team field of the WNIT. The Scarlet Knights were an at-large qualifier for the 27th edition of the tournament. Big Ten school have enjoyed success in the WNIT, with Big Ten schools have also enjoyed success in the WNIT, with conference programs reached the tournament semifinals 29 times and winning the WNIT Championship nine times (Oregon – 1989; Penn State – 1998; Wisconsin – 2000; Ohio State – 2001; Oregon – 2002; Rutgers – 2014; UCLA – 2015; Michigan – 2017; Indiana – 2018).
• Second-seeded UCLA claimed its first Big Ten Conference Tournament crown with a 72-67 win over top-seeded USC inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. It was the first time since 2019 that the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds met in the Big Ten Tournament final and the fourth-straight year the No. 2 seed has won the tournament championship. The Bruins captured their first conference tournament championship since 2006 (Pac-12) and eclipsed 30 wins in a season for the first time in program history (30-2).
• UCLA’s Lauren Betts was named the Jim and Kitty Delany Most Outstanding Player after averaging 19.0 points and 8.0 rebounds over three games in the Big Ten Tournament. Betts was joined on the All-Tournament Team by USC’s JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen, Iowa’s Lucy Olsen and Michigan’s Syla Swords.
• The championship game of the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament between UCLA and USC drew 1.44 million viewers on CBS. It was the most-watched women’s college basketball tournament game this season and the second-best Big Ten women’s basketball title game ever behind last year’s Iowa-Nebraska matchup (3.02 million viewers).
• The Big Ten Conference announced its 2024-25 women’s basketball all-conference teams and individual award recipients Tuesday live on the Big Ten Network’s “B1G Today” show. USC sophomore guard JuJu Watkins was voted Big Ten Player of the Year by both the conference coaches and a select panel of the Big Ten media members. Ohio State guard Jaloni Cambridge was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the media panel. In the coaches’ vote, Cambridge shared the honor with Michigan guard Olivia Olson as the Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year with both being unanimous selections. UCLA junior center Lauren Betts garnered Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year laurels and was a unanimous pick by the coaches. USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb was chosen as the Big Ten Coach of the Year while UCLA junior forward Janiah Barker was voted the Big Ten’s Sixth Player of the Year.
• In its inaugural season as a member of the Big Ten Conference, USC claimed the 2024-25 Big Ten Championship outright with an 80-67 win over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif. The Trojans finished their conference slate with a 17-1 record.
• This week’s Associated Press (AP) poll featured four teams from the Big Ten. UCLA checked in at No. 1 for the 14th time this season and was joined by No. 4 USC, No. 15 Ohio State and No. 18 Maryland while Michigan, Michigan State and Iowa received votes.
• The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today poll featured four Big Ten teams this week. UCLA held at No. 1, followed by No. 4 USC, No. 13 Ohio State and No. 17 Maryland. Michigan State and Iowa garnered votes.
• As a team, USC is second in the country behind 6.8 blocks per game while UCLA averages 20.6 assists (4th), shoots 48.1 percent from the field (7th) and has the top rebounding margin (+12.8). Ohio State has the second-best mark in the nation in turnover margin (+9.16). Illinois (79.4), Washington (79.0) and Indiana (78.9) are fifth, eighth and ninth, respectively, in free throw percentage.
• Offensive production remains the calling card of the Big Ten Conference. The league has seven teams averaging more than 75 points per game, six of which are included among the nation’s top 25 scoring offenses – USC (9th – 81.5), Maryland (12th – 79.9), Michigan State (14th – 79.5), Ohio State (17th – 78.9), UCLA (18th – 78.6) and Michigan (22nd – 78.1).
• Big Ten teams have been passing the rock quite well this season as seven programs rank in the top 20 in the country in assists per game, led by UCLA (4th – 20.6), Michigan State (10th – 18.3), Nebraska (12th – 17.9), Iowa (13th – 17.8), Penn State (17th – 17.7), Northwestern (19th – 17.6) and USC (20th – 17.4).
• The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in assists (16.1 apg) and field goal percentage (.446) while standing second in points (73.3 ppg).
• The Big Ten has consistently ranked among the top three conferences in women’s basketball attendance for the past three decades and that trend has continued into the 2024-25 season. Currently, 14 Big Ten schools rank among the top 40 in the nation in average attendance, including 10 in the top 25, with both figures leading all Division I conferences. Iowa is second nationally in attendance (14,998 fans per game), followed by Indiana (4th – 10,828), Maryland (8th – 8,476), Ohio State (13th – 6,705), USC (14th – 5,932), UCLA (15th – 5,891), Nebraska (16th – 5,638), Oregon (18th – 5,374), Purdue (22nd – 5,164) and Illinois (25th – 4,967).
• UCLA spent 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the AP Top 25, a new Big Ten women’s basketball record for weeks atop the rankings.
• The Big Ten closed out its non-conference slate with a .841 win percentage, outperforming the SEC (.808), Big 12 (.776) and ACC (.753).
• The Big Ten has faced numerous ranked non-conference opponents this season and has handed out its fair share of upsets – Oregon def. No. 12 Baylor, 76-74; Illinois def. No. 19 Florida State, 83-74; No. 18 Maryland def. No. 11 Duke, 85-80; Indiana def. No. 24 Stanford, 79-66; No. 5 UCLA def. No. 1 South Carolina, 77-62; Indiana def. No. 18 Baylor, 73-65; No. 21 Iowa def. No. 18 Iowa State, 75-69; No. 7 USC def. No. 4 UConn, 72-70. 
• On Dec. 2, for the first time in the history of the Big Ten Conference, nine women’s basketball teams were ranked in the Associated Press (AP) poll. The last time any conference had nine teams ranked in the AP poll was in 1996. UCLA remained in the top spot and was joined by No. 6 USC, No. 7 Maryland, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 17 Iowa, No. 21 Illinois, No. 23 Michigan, No. 24 Michigan State and No. 25 Nebraska.
• On Nov. 25, UCLA received 20 first-place votes to overtake South Carolina for the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press (AP) poll. The Bruins handed the Gamecocks their first loss of the season to earn the first No. 1 ranking in program history.
• DOWN GOES NO. 1! In front of a sellout crowd at Pauley Pavilion, No. 5 UCLA took down the defending national champions in No. 1 South Carolina, 77-62, on Nov. 24. The win marked the first victory for the Bruins over a number one ranked opponent in program history and snapped the Gamecocks’ 43-game winning streak. South Carolina hadn’t lost since falling to Iowa in the Final Four of the 2023 NCAA Tournament and it was the first road defeat for the Gamecocks since December 2021.
• Rutgers legend Cappie Pondexter was selected as one of seven inductees into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2025 class. Pondexter, who was inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016, led the Scarlet Knights to back-to-back BIG EAST Championships in 2005 and 2006. She was the first player to earn All-BIG EAST First Team laurels four times in the history of the league and ranks third in Rutgers history with 2,211 career points. Pondexter was the second overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury. She went on to win two WNBA titles with the Mercury, be named Finals MVP in 2007, earn seven All-Star appearances and win a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
• The new era of Big Ten women’s basketball got off to a hot start as programs won more than 87 percent of their games during the first week of the 2024-25 campaign. The stellar results included five wins over AP Top 25 opponents, including three upsets.
• The 2024-25 television schedule features the most coverage on nationally distributed platforms in Big Ten women’s basketball history. Twelve Big Ten matchups, including eight regular season games, will be televised on a broadcast platform via NBC or FOX, the most in conference history. All 162 conference games will be nationally produced or distributed for the 11th consecutive season.