Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Feb. 28-March 4

Big Ten Women's Basketball | Big Ten Standings | Big Ten Schedule & Results
Big Ten Statistics | NCAA Statistics
NCAA NET Rankings | National Top 25 Polls (Feb. 24-25)

Big Ten Weekly Release - Feb. 28

• The battle for the 2024-25 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Championship takes place Saturday between No. 4/3 USC and No. 2 UCLA. The marquee matchup for the regular season title and top spot in the Big Ten standings tips off at 9 p.m. ET on FOX. Seven games are slated for Sunday with tournament implications on the line. Action begins as Michigan travels to RV/NR Illinois for a 1:30 p.m. ET outing on the Big Ten Network (and the FOX Sports App). Peacock will air two more games – Indiana at Purdue (2 p.m. ET) and Wisconsin at RV/NR Iowa (4 p.m. ET). No. 12 Ohio State and No. 19/17 Maryland are set to meet on FS1 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The week’s remaining games will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information).
• The NCAA unveiled its final top 16 reveal on Feb. 27, which included three Big Ten teams. UCLA was tabbed as the overall No. 1 seed for a second time. USC moved up to the overall No. 3 seed position while Ohio State was selected as a No. 4 seed.
• USC and UCLA are locked at 16-1 for the top spot in the conference standings. Ohio State sits at 13-4 in league play, followed by Maryland (12-5) and Illinois (11-6).
• Teams continue to clinch spots in the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, set for March 5-9 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. So far, 14 teams have earned a berth into the tournament (listed in alphabetical order) – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington and Wisconsin.
• With an 89-78 win over No. 23/22 Michigan State, the Buckeyes finished the regular season undefeated on their home court for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Ajae Petty went 11-for-11 from the floor, tying the Big Ten record for field goal percentage (1.000, minimum 10 attempts).
• This week’s Associated Press (AP) poll featured five teams from the Big Ten. UCLA clocked in at No. 2 and was joined by No. 4 USC, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 19 Maryland and No. 23 Michigan State while Illinois and Iowa received votes.
• The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today poll featured five Big Ten teams this week. UCLA checked in at No. 2, followed by No. 3 USC, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 17 Maryland and No. 22 Michigan State.
• Through Thursday, USC’s JuJu Watkins is the only player averaging at least 20 points per game during conference play (23.6 ppg). On the boards, Illinois’ Kendall Bostic (11.3 rpg) is the lone player averaging double-digit rebounds.
• The Big Ten leads all Division I conferences with 11 teams among the top 40 in the latest NET rankings, including four in the top 25 – No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 USC, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 21 Michigan State, No. 26 Maryland, No. 27 Iowa, No. 28 Michigan, No. 30 Illinois, No. 35 Minnesota, No. 38 Oregon and No. 40 Indiana. 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.
• Purdue currently has the fourth-toughest NET strength of schedule in the country. The Boilermakers are joined by Iowa (9th), Indiana (10th), USC (11th), UCLA (15th), Maryland (18th), Oregon (19th) and Michigan (20th) with some of the toughest schedules this season based on NET rankings.
• As a team, USC leads the country behind 7.2 blocks per game while UCLA averages 20.6 assists (4th), shoots 48.5 percent from the field (6th) and has the top rebounding margin (+13.8). Ohio State has the best mark in the nation in turnover margin (+9.96). Illinois (79.1) and Washington (78.9) are sixth and seventh, 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, five of which are included among the nation’s top 25 scoring offenses – USC (9th – 81.9), Michigan State (13th – 80.4), Ohio State (14th – 80.3), Maryland (17th – 79.8) and UCLA (20th – 79.2).
• Individually, the Big Ten has two players ranked in the top 10 in the nation in field goal percentage – Penn State’s Gracie Merkle (4th – 67.0) and UCLA’s Lauren Betts (7th – 62.9). USC’s JuJu Watkins is fifth in the country in total points (654) and third in points per game (24.2). Illinois’ Kendall Bostic (11.3) stands eighth in rebounds per game, Northwestern’s Caroline Lau dishes 6.2 assists per game (5th) and Betts averages 2.84 blocks per game (5th).
• Big Ten teams have been passing the rock quite well this season as six programs rank in the top 25 in the country in assists per game, led by UCLA (4th – 20.6), Michigan State (10th – 18.4), Penn State (17th – 17.8), Northwestern (19th – 17.7), Iowa (22nd – 17.4) and USC (23rd – 17.4).
• In the latest Massey ratings, the Big Ten is second in the nation among Division I conferences in strength of schedule, overall strength, power rating, offensive power to score and strength of schedule for future games.
• The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in assists (16.0 apg) and field goal percentage (.446) while standing second in points (73.5 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 (9th – 8,415), Ohio State (13th – 6,705), USC (14th – 5,932), Nebraska (15th – 5,638), Oregon (17th – 5,374), UCLA (20th – 5,244), Purdue (24th – 4,849) and Illinois (25th – 4,847).
• Sophomore JuJu Watkins was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Monday and selected as one of five Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Tuesday. Watkins paced USC to a pair of wins over ranked opponents in No. 22 Michigan State and No. 25 Illinois. She had 28 points, eight rebounds, three steals, three blocks and three assists against the Spartans and added 22 points, five rebounds, four blocks and three assists versus Illinois. Watkins moved up two spots in USC’s career list and is ranked No. 11 all-time with 1,574 career points, surpassing Cynthia Cooper.
• Junior Lauren Betts earned Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors on Monday after averaging 22 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 2.5 assists in two wins for UCLA. She scored 22 points with seven rebounds, six blocks and three assists versus No. 25 Illinois. Betts broke UCLA's single-season blocks record with her six-rejection effort, surpassing Monique Billings for the all-time spot. She also recorded a double-double (22 points, 12 rebounds) while shooting 75.0 percent (9-of-12) from the field at Iowa.
• Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge was tabbed as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday and the Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week by the USBWA on Tuesday. She averaged a team-high 22.3 points, 3.7 assists and 3.0 steals over Ohio State’s three games. Cambridge finished with a game-best 29 points, four assists and three rebounds versus Iowa and tallied 18 points with four steals and four rebounds at Indiana. She wrapped up the week with 20 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds against Purdue, going 7-for-7 at the free throw line versus the Boilermakers.
• 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.
• The 2025 TIAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament is set for March 5-9 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. This will mark the 26th time the tournament has been held in Indianapolis since the event began in 1982. The tournament will be the first to feature a 15-team field. Peacock will televise the opening three games on Wednesday, with second-round, quarterfinal and semifinal games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday slated for the Big Ten Network. CBS will broadcast Sunday’s championship game for the second year in a row.