WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
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Big Ten CommunicationsPublished: 1/30/2024, Last updated: 3/15/2024
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Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Jan. 30-Feb. 1

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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 - JAN. 30

  • The final full month of the 2023-24 Big Ten Conference regular season kicks off this week, highlighted by a top 10 battle and half of the 12 league games being carried on national platforms. Peacock will have a Big Ten doubleheader Wednesday with No. 10/9 Indiana at Maryland (7 p.m. ET) and No. 3/4 Iowa at Northwestern (8 p.m. ET). Wisconsin starts February with a visit to No. 8/7 Ohio State at 6 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network (and the FOX Sports App). Action on BTN continues 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. This week’s remaining games will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information).

  • 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. It was her 53rd career double-double, which ranks sixth on the Big Ten’s all-time list. Clark needs just 14 points to pass Kelsey Mitchell as the Big Ten’s all-time scoring leader.

  • In its 73-62 victory over Rutgers, Wisconsin held the Scarlet Knights to three points in the first quarter, which tied for the second-fewest points allowed in a quarter in program history.

  • With an 82-61 win, Robyn Fralick became the first Michigan State head coach to defeat Michigan in their first meeting since Karen Langland’s inaugural season in 1976-77.

  • Penn State earned a dominant 112-76 win against Maryland, its first victory in the series since Dec. 3, 2003 and second-most points scored by a Terrapin opponent in their school history. The Nittany Lions improved to 15-5 overall, their first time having 15 or more wins since the 2017-18 season, and is off to their best 20-game start since the 2013-14 campaign.

  • 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. 15 Ohio State, No. 20 Michigan State, No. 26 Penn State, No. 28 Nebraska, No. 33 Maryland and No. 36 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. Five 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 – 90.9), Penn State (5th – 87.6), Michigan State (6th – 86.7), Ohio State (17th – 81.2), Indiana (20th – 80.5) and Maryland (21st – 80.5).

  • The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in scoring (76.0 ppg), three-point percentage (.351), free throw percentage (.739), field goal percentage (.453) and assists (16.4 apg).

  • With a 1.78 assist/turnover ratio, Michigan State sits at No. 1 in the NCAA’s national statistical rankings. Iowa (11th – 1.47) and Indiana (13th –1.45) are also included in the top 15. Individually, Chloe Moore-McNeil (IND) has a 2.90 ratio, which places her 12th, and DeeDee Hagemann (MSU) comes in 19th at 2.72.

  • 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 second at 51.6 percent, followed by Penn State (4th – .510), Iowa (5th – .506) and Michigan State (14th – .479). Penn State and Indiana are also efficient from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions rank second in the nation with a 41.7 three-point percentage while the Hoosiers check in third at 40.1 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 – 20.5), Michigan State (9th – 19.6), Indiana (14th – 18.9), Penn State (19th – 18.6) and Northwestern (21st – 18.0). A trio of Big Ten players rank among the top 20 nationally in assists – Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (2nd – 7.6 apg), Northwestern’s Caroline Lau (20th – 5.8 apg) and Purdue’s Jeanae Terry (20th – 5.8 apg).

  • Individually, Caitlin Clark (IOWA) leads the country in points (672), points per game (32.0) and assists (160). Serah Williams (WIS) is averaging 3.12 blocks per game, which is good enough for fifth. Mackenzie Holmes (IND) is shooting 67.4 percent from the floor to rank fifth in field goal percentage, followed by Kendall Bostic (ILL) with a 63.2 clip to stand ninth and Hannah Stuelke (IOWA) at 61.5 percent for 13th. Mara Braun (MINN) has the second-best free throw percentage (95.0) in the nation and Madison Layden (PUR) ranks fifth in three-point percentage (47.8).

  • 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, 12 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 – 6,849), Maryland (11th – 6,685) 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.