Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Dec. 27-Jan. 1

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Big Ten Weekly Release - Dec. 27

• IT’S B1G TIME! All 18 Big Ten women’s basketball teams are turning their focus to conference play this weekend. Three games will be featured on the Big Ten Network, including a doubleheader on Saturday with Wisconsin at Indiana (2 p.m. ET) and Penn State at Minnesota (4 p.m. ET). The remaining six contests will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information).  
• Sunday’s slate will showcase a pair top-25 matchups, starting with No. 19 Michigan State visiting No. 8 Maryland at 1 p.m. ET. The weekend concludes with No. 23/25 Michigan heading to No. 4/5 USC for a 10 p.m. ET outing on the Big Ten Network.
• USC earned its first victory over a top-10 opponent this season by upsetting No. 4 UConn, 72-70, in front of a sellout crowd at the XL Center. It was the first win for the Trojans over the Huskies in program history in a series dating back to the 2002-03 season and the first loss at home for UConn since Feb. 21, 2023.
• This week’s Associated Press (AP) poll featured seven teams from the Big Ten. UCLA remained in the top spot and was joined by No. 4 USC, No. 8 Maryland, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 23 Michigan and No. 24 Iowa. Nebraska and Illinois received votes.
• The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today poll featured seven Big Ten teams this week. UCLA stayed at No. 1, followed by No. 5 USC, No. 8 Maryland, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 22 Iowa and No. 25 Michigan. Nebraska and Illinois garnered votes.
• The Big Ten paces all Division I conferences with 153 non-conference wins so far this season, followed by the SEC (145), Big 12 (144) and ACC (139).
• The Big Ten leads all Division I conferences with 12 teams among the top 50 in the latest NET rankings (including six in the top 25, which ranks second) – No. 3 UCLA, No. 7 USC, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 22 Maryland, No. 23 Michigan, No. 30 Iowa, No. 33 Minnesota, No. 35 Nebraska, No. 37 Oregon, No. 38 Illinois 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.
• Offensive production remains the calling card of the Big Ten Conference. The league has six teams averaging more than 80 points per game, all of which are included among the nation’s top 20 scoring offenses – Ohio State (10th – 86.7), Maryland (11th – 86.2), Michigan State (13th – 85.6), USC (14th – 85.1), Michigan (18th – 83.7) and UCLA (20th – 82.8).
• The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in assists (16.8 apg), while standing second in field goal percentage (.460), scoring (77.0 ppg) and rebounds (41.0 rpg).
• 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, 13 Big Ten schools rank among the top 50 in the nation in average attendance, including eight in the top 20, with both figures leading all Division I conferences. Iowa is second nationally in attendance (14,998 fans per game), followed by Indiana (4th – 10,285), Maryland (11th – 5,928), Ohio State (13th – 5,433), Illinois (15th – 5,186), Oregon (16th – 5,108), UCLA (17th – 5,091) and Nebraska (18th – 5,085).
• 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.  
• Sophomore JuJu Watkins was named Big Ten Player of the Week, one of five Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week by the USBWA and AP National Player of the Week. Watkins paced USC with a game-high 25 points in its 72-70 upset win over No. 4 UConn. She also added six rebounds, five assists and a game-best three blocks.
• Kiyomi McMiller earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week laurels after she dropped a career-high 31 points in Rutgers’ 72-65 victory over Lafayette. She hit a career-best five three-pointers, notched five rebounds and dished three assists. It was McMiller’s second consecutive week being recognized by the conference.
• 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.