Big Ten Weekly Women’s Basketball Central – Feb. 14-17

February 14, 2025 News, Pac 12 Athletics
  • The Barn Burner Trophy is on the line Saturday when Purdue heads to Indiana for a noon ET tipoff on the Big Ten Network (and the FOX Sports app). Women’s basketball is taking over BTN this Sunday with a tripleheader. Action begins at 5 p.m. ET with RV/NR Illinois welcoming Nebraska. No. 6 USC is up next at 7 p.m. ET with a trip to Washington before No. 22 Michigan State and No. 1 UCLA meet for a 9 p.m. ET outing. The remaining games slated for Sunday will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information).
  • Fans will be treated to three games on national platforms on Monday, starting at noon ET on FOX with Iowa challenging Ohio State. BTN is set to air a doubleheader as Michigan heads to Maryland (6 p.m. ET) and Rutgers hosts Northwestern (8 p.m. ET).
  • The Battle of LA did not disappoint as No. 6 USC netted a 71-60 victory over No. 1 UCLA. The win marked the Trojans’ first triumph over an AP top-ranked team since 1983 and snapped the Bruins’ 23-game win streak for their first loss of the season.
  • USC has sole possession of the top spot in the conference standings with a 12-1 mark. UCLA sits at 11-1 in league play, followed by Ohio State (10-3), Illinois (10-4) and Michigan State (9-4).
  • 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, 12 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 and USC.
  • The John R. Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List, presented by Principal, was unveiled on Tuesday by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Ohio State’s Cotie McMahon, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and USC’s JuJu Watkins were featured on the 20-member list of student-athletes who are frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball: the Wooden Award® All-American Team and the Wooden Award® Most Outstanding Player.
  • Five Big Ten student-athletes were named to the 2025 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team on Wednesday, the Atlanta Tipoff Club/Naismith Awards announced. Cotie McMahon (OSU), Lauren Betts (UCLA), KiKi Rice (UCLA), Kiki Iriafen (USC) and JuJu Watkins (USC) are being considered for the award that recognizes the best player in college basketball.
  • Nebraska picked up its first true road victory over a top-25 team since 2021 after taking down No. 17 Maryland, 91-71. The Terps were the highest ranked team the Huskers have defeated in a true road game since 2013.
  • On Feb. 12, Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico surpassed John Beilein to cement her place as the winningest coach in Michigan basketball history, men’s or women’s, with her 279th win in Ann Arbor when the Wolverines topped Indiana, 70-67.
  • 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. 6 USC, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 17 Maryland and No. 22 Michigan State. Illinois and Michigan received votes.
  • UCLA has 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 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today poll featured five Big Ten teams this week. UCLA stayed at No. 1, followed by No. 6 USC, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 15 Maryland and No. 22 Michigan State. Michigan garnered votes.
  • Through Thursday, USC’s JuJu Watkins is the only player averaging at least 20 points per game during conference play (23.9 ppg). On the boards, Illinois’ Kendall Bostic (11.0 rpg) is the lone 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. 5 UCLA, No. 6 USC, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 21 Michigan State, No. 25 Michigan, No. 28 Maryland, No. 29 Iowa, No. 31 Minnesota, No. 33 Illinois, No. 36 Nebraska, No. 38 Indiana and No. 40 Oregon. 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 third-toughest NET strength of schedule in the country. The Boilermakers are joined by USC (8th), Indiana (9th), Maryland (10th), Oregon (12th), UCLA (15th), Michigan (16th), Nebraska (19th) and Rutgers (20th) with some of the toughest schedules this season based on NET rankings.
  • As a team, USC leads the country behind 7.3 blocks per game while Minnesota stands seventh with a 1.51 assist/turnover ratio. UCLA averages 20.8 assists (4th), shoots 48.6 percent from the field (6th) and has the top rebounding margin (+15.1). Ohio State is second in the nation in turnover margin (+10.5) and Illinois has an 80.3 free throw percentage to check in third.
  • Offensive production remains the calling card of the Big Ten Conference. The league has eight teams averaging more than 75 points per game, five of which are included among the nation’s top 20 scoring offenses – USC (9th – 82.7), Michigan State (11th – 81.5), Ohio State (18th – 79.8), UCLA (19th – 79.8) and Maryland (20th – 79.6).
  • Individually, the Big Ten has two players ranked in the top 10 in the nation in field goal percentage – Penn State’s Gracie Merkle (5th – 66.0) and UCLA’s Lauren Betts (8th – 62.0). USC’s JuJu Watkins is fifth in the country in total points (587) and fourth in points per game (24.5). Illinois’ Kendall Bostic (11.1) stands sixth in rebounds per game while Betts averages 2.77 blocks per game (6th).
  • 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 per game, led by UCLA (4th – 20.8), Michigan State (9th – 19.2), Northwestern (15th – 18.1), Iowa (T24th – 17.6) and Penn State (T24th – 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 (16.2 apg) while standing second in field goal percentage (.446) and 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 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 – 10,753), Maryland (8th – 8,520), Ohio State (13th – 6,332), USC (14th – 5,703), Nebraska (15th – 5,540), Oregon (17th – 5,327), UCLA (22nd – 4,993) and Purdue (23rd – 4,914).
  • Graduate student Kiki Iriafen was chosen as one of five Ann Meyers Drysdale National Players of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Tuesday. Iriafen chipped in 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists to pace USC in a pair of wins. She had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists at Wisconsin before recording a double-double (24 points, 13 rebounds) against No. 8 Ohio State.
  • Junior Kaylene Smikle was selected as the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 28.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 89.5 percent at the free throw line in Maryland’s pair of road victories. She scored 21 points and went 10-for-10 at the charity stripe with nine rebounds against Oregon and shot 72.2 percent from the field on her way to a career-high 36 points versus Washington.
  • Syla Swords’ efforts during Michigan’s 2-0 week earned her Big Ten Freshman of the Week laurels on Monday. Swords chipped in 15 points, five rebounds and five assists at Nebraska. She followed up with a game-high 19 points with six assists and five boards to lead the Wolverines past No. 20 Michigan State.
  • 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.