Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Feb. 4-6

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Big Ten Weekly Release - Feb. 4

• Half of the Big Ten’s 16 games will be featured on national platforms this week, while the remaining games will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information). Wednesday’s docket includes a doubleheader on Peacock with No. 7 USC visiting Wisconsin at 7:30 p.m. ET and No. 1 UCLA hosting No. 8 Ohio State at 9:30 p.m. ET in a top-10 showdown. Action continues Thursday beginning at 6 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network (and FOX Sports app) when Rutgers travels to Indiana. RV/NR Michigan heads to Nebraska for an 8 p.m. ET tilt on Peacock, while RV/NR Minnesota welcomes NR/RV Iowa for an 8 p.m. ET contest on BTN. No. 16/15 Maryland closes out the evening against Oregon on FS1 at 9 p.m. ET. A top-10 battle is slated for Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on FOX when No. 8 Ohio State and No. 7 USC meet in Los Angeles. RV/NR Michigan and No. 20 Michigan State will face off for the second time this season on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FS1.
• UCLA has sole possession of the top spot in the conference standings with a 9-0 mark. Ohio State and USC are both 9-1 in league play to round out the top tier.
• On Monday, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, in partnership with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), announced the Top 10 candidates for the 2025 Nancy Lieberman Award. The Big Ten is represented by UCLA’s Kiki Rice for an award that recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
• The U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) released its Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year Midseason Watch List on Monday, featuring seven Big Ten student-athletes – Kaylene Smikle (MD), Julia Ayrault (MSU), Cotie McMahon (OSU), Jaloni Cambridge (OSU), Destiny Adams (RU), Lauren Betts (UCLA) and JuJu Watkins (USC).
• Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers and USC’s JuJu Watkins were named Top 10 candidates for the 2025 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award on Tuesday. The award, presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, in collaboration with the WBCA, honors the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
• Senior Lucy Olsen and fifth-year Genesis Bryant were selected as the Big Ten’s Co-Players of the Week on Monday. Olsen was also named one of five USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week after she averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals in a pair of Iowa wins. She scored 28 points, shooting 10-of-18 from the field, to help the Hawkeyes hand No. 4 USC its first Big Ten loss of the season. Bryant led Illinois to a 3-0 week, including two road victories and the program’s first-ever win over Maryland. She finished the three-game swing averaging 20.3 points with a 91.7 free throw percentage, including 20 points and the game-winning free throws against the Terps.
• Michigan’s Olivia Olson was tabbed as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday. Olson recorded the first 30-point game of her career on 13-of-19 shooting with four rebounds, three steals and an assist against Wisconsin. She posted a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) in 26 minutes versus Oregon to pick up her second weekly honor of the season.
• This week’s Associated Press (AP) poll featured five teams from the Big Ten. UCLA remained in the top spot and was joined by No. 7 USC, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 16 Maryland and No. 20 Michigan State. Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota received votes.
• UCLA has spent 11 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the AP Top 25, a new Big Ten women’s basketball record for weeks atop the rankings.
• The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today poll featured five Big Ten teams this week. UCLA stayed at No. 1, followed by No. 7 USC, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 15 Maryland and No. 20 Michigan State. Iowa and Illinois garnered votes.
• UCLA has stretched its season record to 21-0, which ties the program record for the longest win streak in school history. The Bruins are the only undefeated team remaining in Division I women’s basketball.
• Illinois secured its first ranked road win since 2019 with a 66-65 upset of No. 14 Maryland. It was the Illini’s first-ever win over the Terps in 18 meetings.
• Iowa snapped No. 4 USC’s 15-game win streak and handed the Trojans their first Big Ten loss of the season with a 76-69 victory. The Hawkeyes hadn’t beaten an AP Top-5 team while unranked since Feb. 8, 2001.
• Purdue notched its first Big Ten win of the season by defeating Wisconsin, 84-71.
• For the fourth time in program history, Ohio State has a 20-1 record to start the season, previously reaching the mark in 2006-07, 2009-10 and 2011-12.
• Maryland head coach Brenda Frese is just one victory away from notching her 600th win at the helm for the Terps. 
• Through Monday, two players are averaging at least 20 points per game during conference play – USC’s JuJu Watkins (24.2 ppg) and UCLA’s Lauren Betts (20.5 ppg). On the boards, Illinois’ Kendall Bostic (11.5 rpg) is the only player averaging double-digit rebounds. 
• The Big Ten leads all Division I conferences with 12 teams among the top 40 in the latest NET rankings, including five in the top 25 – No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 USC, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 16 Michigan State, No. 25 Maryland, No. 27 Michigan, No. 29 Minnesota, No. 31 Iowa, No. 32 Illinois, No. 36 Oregon, No. 37 Nebraska, and No. 39 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 second-toughest NET strength of schedule in the country. The Boilermakers are joined by Maryland (8th), Indiana (11th), USC (12th), Rutgers (15th), Oregon (17th) and Michigan (19th) with some of the toughest schedules this season based on NET rankings.
• As a team, USC leads the country behind 6.9 blocks per game while Minnesota stands fifth with a 1.62 assist/turnover ratio. UCLA averages 21.4 assists (4th), 44.9 rebounds (4th) and is shooting 49.5 percent from the field (5th). Ohio State paces the nation in turnover margin (+10.7) and Illinois has an 80.4 free throw percentage to check in third.
• Individually, the Big Ten has three players ranked in the top 10 in the nation in field goal percentage – Iowa’s Addison O’Grady (4th – 66.7), Penn State’s Gracie Merkle (4th – 66.2) and UCLA’s Lauren Betts (8th – 64.1). USC’s JuJu Watkins is fifth in the country in total points (518) and third in points per game (24.7). Illinois’ Kendall Bostic (11.3) stands sixth in rebounds per game while Betts averages 2.8 blocks per game (4th).
• Offensive production remains the calling card of the Big Ten Conference. The league has five teams averaging more than 80 points per game, all of which are included among the nation’s top 25 scoring offenses – USC (9th – 83.0), UCLA (11th – 82.2), Michigan State (12th – 82.0), Ohio State (14th – 81.6) and Maryland (21st – 80.0).
• Big Ten teams have been passing the rock quite well this season as seven programs rank in the top 25 in the country in assists per game, led by UCLA (4th – 21.4), Michigan State (9th – 19.0), Northwestern (10th – 18.7), Penn State (19th – 18.0), Iowa (20th – 18.0), USC (22nd – 17.8) and Nebraska (25th – 17.6).
• 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 (16.3 apg) while standing second in field goal percentage (.448) and points (74.2 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 50 in the nation in average attendance, including nine 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 – 10,781), Maryland (8th – 8,644), Ohio State (13th – 6,325), Nebraska (15th – 5,458), Oregon (16th – 5,296), USC (21st – 4,999), Purdue (22nd – 4,975) and Illinois (24th – 4,853).
• 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.