WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
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Big Ten CommunicationsPublished: 2/3/2024, Last updated: 3/15/2024
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Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Feb. 2-5

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BIG TEN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL  |  BIG TEN STANDINGS  |  BIG TEN SCHEDULE & RESULTS

2023-24 BIG TEN STATISTICS (XML)  |  2023-24 BIG TEN STATISTICS (PDF) |  2023-24 BIG TEN MEDIA GUIDE

NCAA STATISTICS  |  NATIONAL TOP 25 POLLS (JAN. 29-30)

BIG TEN WEEKLY RELEASE - FEB. 2

  • Five games are on this weekend’s docket and action starts on the Big Ten Network (and the FOX Sports App) Saturday at 6 p.m. ET with Michigan headed to RV/NR Penn State. Saturday’s primetime 8 p.m. ET slot on FOX belongs to No. 3/4 Iowa and Maryland. No. 10/9 Indiana and No. 8/7 Ohio State are slated to meet on Sunday at noon ET on FS1 in Columbus. The remaining two games will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information).

  • Caitlin Clark scored a game-high 35 points against Northwestern to bring her career total to 3,424. With that, Clark became the Big Ten Conference’s all-time scoring leader, passing Kelsey Mitchell’s (OSU, 2015-18) previous record of 3,402 points. She also moved ahead of Mitchell on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list to rank second behind Kelsey Plum (3,527 points).

  • The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List, which included three student-athletes from the Big Ten Conference – Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon.

  • The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) released its 2023-24 Wade Trophy Watch List at Midseason Point, featuring Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.

  • Ohio State topped Wisconsin, 87-49, and scored 39 points in the third quarter, which tied for fourth in the Big Ten’s history for most points in a quarter.

  • In a 77-64 win at Michigan, Illinois picked up its first victory over the Wolverines since Feb. 28, 2015, snapping an eight-game series skid. It was the first win in Ann Arbor for the Fighting Illini since Feb. 4, 2008.

  • Indiana defeated Maryland, 87-73, for its first victory in College Park in the 16-game all-time series.

  • Penn State bested Minnesota, 80-64, to win six-straight Big Ten games, its longest conference win streak since 2014.

  • Northwestern had a sellout crowd to break its attendance record on Wednesday as 7,039 fans packed Welsh-Ryan Arena to watch the Wildcats take on Iowa.

  • Penn State’s Makenna Marisa and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark were chosen as two of five Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Tuesday. Marisa averaged 22.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists during Penn State’s wins over Northwestern and Maryland. Her 20-point outing against Northwestern helped her surpass 2,000 career points, the seventh Nittany Lion to reach the milestone. She followed up with 24 points, five rebounds and two assists to lead Penn State to a 112-76 victory versus Maryland, the first win over the Terrapins since Dec. 3, 2003. Clark had 38 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals in Iowa’s 92-73 triumph over Nebraska.

  • The Big Ten leads all Division I conferences with a remarkable eight schools among the top 40 in the latest NET rankings (including four in the top 20, second behind the Pac-12) – No. 5 Iowa, No. 11 Indiana, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 20 Michigan State, No. 25 Penn State, No. 27 Nebraska, No. 34 Maryland and No. 39 Minnesota. The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) is the primary sorting tool used by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee for determining NCAA Tournament teams.

  • The Big Ten has three teams ranked in the top 10 of this week’s Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll. Iowa gained two spots, getting back to No. 3, while Ohio State and Indiana both moved up four places to come in at No. 8 and No. 10, respectively. Penn State is also receiving votes. It is the first time since the preseason poll on Oct. 17, 2023 that the Big Ten has three programs in the top 10.

  • The Big Ten returns three programs to the top 10 of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 poll. Iowa is up to No. 4, Ohio State made a five-spot jump to No. 7 and Indiana shifted four spots to No. 9. Michigan State continues to receive votes.

  • In the latest Massey Ratings, the Big Ten owns the country’s top offensive power rating, while coming in second in the nation in strength of schedule for both games played and future games.

  • Offensive production continues to be the story for the Big Ten Conference as 10 different schools (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State) have scored 100 points in at least one game this season. Six Big Ten teams are averaging more than 80 points per game to ensure multiple national top 25 scoring offenses reside in the Big Ten, led by Iowa (1st – 91.8), Penn State (5th – 87.2), Michigan State (6th – 86.5), Ohio State (15th – 81.5), Indiana (18th – 80.8) and Maryland (21st – 80.1).

  • The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in scoring (76.0 ppg), three-point percentage (.349), free throw percentage (.742), field goal percentage (.453) and assists (16.4 apg).

  • With a 1.79 assist/turnover ratio, Michigan State sits at No. 1 in the NCAA’s national statistical rankings. Iowa (5th – 1.54) and Indiana (13th –1.45) are also included in the top 15. Individually, DeeDee Hagemann (MSU) comes in 11th at 2.94 and Chloe Moore-McNeil (IND) has a 2.65 ratio, which places her 20th.

  • The Big Ten features some of the best shooting teams in the country with four programs among the top 15, including three in the top 5, in field goal percentage. Indiana ranks third at 51.5 percent, followed by Penn State (4th – .509), Iowa (5th – .508) and Michigan State (13th – .482). Penn State and Indiana are also efficient from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions rank second in the nation with a 41.4 three-point percentage while the Hoosiers check in fourth at 39.7 percent.

  • Big Ten teams have been passing the rock quite well this season as five programs rank in the top 25 in the country in assists, led by Iowa (2nd – 20.8), Michigan State (6th – 19.7), Indiana (15th – 18.9), Penn State (19th – 18.5) and Northwestern (21st – 18.0). A trio of Big Ten players rank among the top 25 nationally in assists – Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (1st – 7.7 apg), Northwestern’s Caroline Lau (18th – 5.8 apg) and Purdue’s Jeanae Terry (24th – 5.6 apg).

  • Individually, Caitlin Clark (IOWA) leads the country in points (707), points per game (32.1) and assists (170). Serah Williams (WIS) is averaging 3.06 blocks per game, which is good enough for fifth. Mackenzie Holmes (IND) is shooting 66.8 percent from the floor to rank fourth in field goal percentage, followed by Kendall Bostic (ILL) with a 63.2 clip to stand seventh and Hannah Stuelke (IOWA) at 61.8 percent for 11th. Mara Braun (MINN) has the second-best free throw percentage (95.0) in the nation and Madison Layden (PUR) ranks sixth in three-point percentage (46.3).

  • 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 2023-24 season. Currently, 11 Big Ten schools rank among the top 50 in the nation in average attendance, including five in the top 15, with both figures leading all Division I conferences. Iowa is second nationally in attendance (14,998 fans per game), followed by Indiana (6th – 9,005), Ohio State (10th – 6,834), Maryland (11th – 6,726) and Purdue (12th – 6,583).

  • The Big Ten closed its non-conference slate with a combined 114-41 (.735) record. Big Ten teams dominated on their home courts with an 82-11 (.882) record. Among the 114 victories, five were over AP Top 25 opponents.

  • The 2023-24 schedule marks the most coverage on nationally distributed platforms in Big Ten women’s basketball history. Six Big Ten regular-season games will be televised on a broadcast platform, the most in conference history. NBC televised its first-ever Big Ten women’s basketball game on Jan. 21 when Ohio State upset Iowa and Peacock carried its first Big Ten women’s basketball broadcast on Jan. 2, a thriller between Michigan State and Iowa. The Ohio State-Iowa matchup on NBC and Peacock was the most-watched regular season women’s college basketball game on any network since 2010. Viewership peaked at 3.9 million viewers and the broadcast averaged 1.93 million viewers.

  • No. 16/13 Ohio State claimed a landmark non-conference 78-58 win at No. 20/22 Tennessee. It was just the second time in Tennessee’s history that the Lady Vols have lost in Thompson-Boling Arena by at least 20 points. Ohio State is only the second Big Ten Conference program to defeat Tennessee in Knoxville, joining Indiana. It was the first time in conference history that the Big Ten has posted multiple wins over Tennessee in back-to-back years – Ohio State and Indiana both claimed victories over the Lady Vols during the 2022-23 season – and has won five of its last six matchups with Tennessee.

  • No. 21/19 Indiana secured an impressive non-conference 71-57 victory over No. 19/21 Tennessee on Nov. 23. It was the second time in as many years that the Hoosiers have bested the Lady Vols and the largest margin of victory (14) in the four-game all-time series. Last year’s Hoosier win was the first time a Big Ten Conference school defeated Tennessee in Thompson-Boling Arena. The matchup scored 1,118,000 viewers to rank as FOX’s most-watched women’s college basketball game ever and the most watched regular season women’s college basketball game on any network since last season’s 1,466,000 viewers for LSU vs. South Carolina on ESPN.