WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
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Big Ten CommunicationsPublished: 1/26/2024, Last updated: 3/15/2024
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Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Jan. 26-29

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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. 22-23)

BIG TEN WEEKLY RELEASE - JAN. 26

  • The final weekend of January has seven games slated for the Big Ten Conference. No. 5 Iowa and Nebraska are the lone television matchup for the league at 2 p.m. ET Saturday on the Big Ten Network (and the FOX Sports App). This week’s remaining games will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information).

  • The Jan. 21 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.

  • The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced the Top 10 Watch List candidates for a quartet of 2024 awards. The Nancy Lieberman Award recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball and features three Big Ten student-athletes on its list – Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers and Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon. The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award honors the best shooting guard, with Indiana’s Sara Scalia representing the Big Ten. Indiana’s Yarden Garzon, Minnesota’s Mara Braun and Ohio State’s Cotie McMahon are being considered for the Cheryl Miller Award, which goes to the top small forward. The Lisa Leslie Award recognizes the best center and Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes holds the torch for the Big Ten.

  • Laila Phelia tallied 14 points in Michigan’s overtime victory against Maryland to join the Wolverine’s 1,000-point club.

  • Moira Joiner topped 1,000 career points, the 30th Michigan State player to do so, with 14 points in the Spartans’ win over Purdue.

  • Makenna Marisa surpassed the 2,000-point career mark behind 20 points in Penn State’s triumph over Northwestern. She is the seventh Nittany Lion in program history to accomplish the feat.

  • Cotie McMahon claimed the first Big Ten Player of the Week award of her career on Monday and was voted Jersey Mike’s Naismith Women’s College Player of the Week. McMahon was also chosen as one of five Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and named Associated Press (AP) National Player of the Week on Tuesday. She led Ohio State to wins over NR/RV Maryland and No. 2 Iowa behind 23.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks. The sophomore scored a career-high 33 points and added a season-high 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the season in an overtime upset of Iowa. She chipped in 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists against the Terrapins.

  • With 45 points against Ohio State, Cailtin Clark is just 52 points shy of overtaking Kelsey Mitchell for the No. 1 spot on the Big Ten Conference’s all-time scorers list.

  • 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. 6 Iowa, No. 11 Indiana, No. 13 Ohio State, No. 20 Michigan State, No. 26 Maryland, No. 27 Nebraska, No. 29 Penn State and No. 33 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 making an appearance in this week’s Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll. In the latest media survey, Iowa falls to No. 5 while Ohio State jumps six spots to No. 12 and Indiana gains two places to come in at No. 14.

  • The Big Ten has four programs in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 poll. Iowa is tied for fifth while Ohio State and Indiana both move up three spots to rank 12th and 13th, respectively. Michigan State is receiving 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 20 scoring offenses reside in the Big Ten, led by Iowa (2nd – 90.9), Michigan State (5th – 86.9), Penn State (8th – 86.3), Ohio State (14th – 81.7) and Maryland (20th – 80.7).

  • The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in scoring (76.0 ppg), three-point percentage (.350), free throw percentage (.739), 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 (10th – 1.45) and Indiana (14th –1.43) are also included in the top 15. Individually, DeeDee Hagemann (MSU) has a 2.93 ratio, which places her 11th, and Chloe Moore-McNeil (IND) comes in 16th at 2.80.

  • 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 10, in field goal percentage. Indiana ranks third at 51.5 percent, followed by Iowa (6th – .505), Penn State (7th – .504) and Michigan State (14th – .480). Penn State and Indiana are also efficient from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions rank second in the nation with a 40.5 three-point percentage while the Hoosiers check in third at 40.3 percent.

  • Big Ten teams have been passing the rock quite well this season as five programs rank in the top 20 in the country in assists, led by Iowa (2nd – 20.5), Michigan State (7th – 19.7), Indiana (15th – 18.9), Northwestern (18th – 18.5) and Penn State (20th – 18.2). A trio of Big Ten players rank among the top 20 nationally in assists – Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (2nd – 7.7 apg), Northwestern’s Caroline Lau (17th – 5.9 apg) and Purdue’s Jeanae Terry (20th – 5.8 apg).

  • Individually, Caitlin Clark (IOWA) leads the country in points (634), points per game (31.7) and assists (154). Serah Williams (WIS) is averaging 3.06 blocks per game, which is good enough for fifth. Mackenzie Holmes (IND) is shooting 67.6 percent from the floor to rank third in field goal percentage, followed by Kendall Bostic (ILL) with a 64.4 clip to stand eighth and Hannah Stuelke (IOWA) at 61.8 percent for 12th. Mara Braun (MINN) has the second-best free throw percentage (94.8) in the nation and Madison Layden (PUR) ranks fourth in three-point percentage (49.4).

  • 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 six 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 – 8,828), Ohio State (10th – 6,849), Maryland (11th – 6,685), Purdue (12th – 6,528) and Nebraska (15th – 5,526).

  • 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.

  • 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.