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Assessing Big Ten women's hoops

Lisa Bluder and the Hawkeyes are looking to repeat at the top of the Big Ten.
Lisa Bluder and the Hawkeyes are looking to repeat at the top of the Big Ten.

With Christmas and New Year’s Day quickly approaching, the focus shifts from non-conference play to Big Ten play for women’s basketball teams across the conference. Eight Big Ten teams have reached the ten-win mark to this point in the season. The Hawkeyes hit the week-long Christmas break with a 10-3 record, including a 2-0 start in Big Ten play.

The break also gives us a chance to sit back and assess how the Big Ten has played out through the first two months of the season. We will take a look at what teams look like conference contenders and what teams may be pretenders.

CONTENDERS

Indiana (12-0) (2-0)

Best Win: #6 North Carolina

The Hoosiers 87-63 blasting of #6 North Carolina in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge put Indiana into the “for real” category. They also have six other wins against teams in the NET Top 70, including Auburn and Tennessee.

F Mackenzie Holmes (19.8 ppg, 69.2% FG) has been as advertised this season, while the Hoosiers have gotten great contributions out of their new additions. Oregon transfer Sydney Parrish, Minnesota transfer Sara Scalia and freshman Yarden Garzon are all averaging in double figures.

If Grace Berger can return from her injury at some point this season, watch out for the team from Bloomington. Could argue they are the Big Ten favorites right now.

Ohio State (13-0) (2-0)

Best Win: #16 Oregon

The Buckeyes just picked up some resume builders going into the break, as they defeated 11-4 South Florida and #16 Oregon en route to the San Diego Invitational Championship. They also have wins over Tennessee, Louisville and Boston College.

Scoring the ball has not been an issue as the Buckeyes are #8 in the country in points per 100 possessions and are averaging 89.4 points per game. They boast an amazing five players in double figures, led by guard Taylor Mikesell who is averaging 18.1 points and 3.2 three point makes per game. After that it’s pick your poison with several other scorers that can change a game. Rebeka Mikulasikova is the most recent one to go off, as she had 27 points and five three pointers against Oregon in San Diego.

An injury has kept Jacy Sheldon off the floor, but if she is able to come back, this is a team that can absolutely repeat as Big Ten champions. They might be able to even with her out of the lineup.

Iowa (10-3) (2-0)

Best Win: #14 Iowa State

The Hawkeyes have looked like an Elite Eight level team at times this year, but also have looked like a team that could suffer an opening weekend exit again. The win over Iowa State looks good and wins over Drake and Oregon State aren’t bad. Still, the players know that each of their losses could have been wins.

How the Hawkeyes do in Big Ten play will depend on if the defense is able to gain some consistency or continues to be on and off. If this team can hit their stride like they did at the end of the regular season last year, they will absolutely be in the conference race until the end.

Michigan (11-1) (1-0)

Best Win: #6 North Carolina

The Wolverines just picked up their signature win of the non-conference slate with a win over top ten UNC in the Jumpman Invitational. On top of that, they have wins over #24 Baylor, South Florida and Miami FL. Their lone loss is an upset loss to a Toledo team that may find themselves in the NCAA Tournament.

Seemed like Michigan was probably going to have some issues early due to the loss of All-American Naz Hillmon, but Emily Kiser has stepped up big time. She is averaging 18.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and is shooting 58.1% from the floor. Laila Phelia (17.0 ppg) and Leigha Brown (14.9 ppg) have also been impressive so far. The top three have combined for 15 games of 20+ points. The Wolverines are going to be a threat in the Big Ten.

Maryland (10-3) (1-1)

Best Win: at #5 Notre Dame

The Terrapins have played a pretty brutal schedule to this point. Wins over #5 Notre Dame, #9 Connecticut, #24 Baylor and Purdue gives Maryland a really good resume to this point of the season. Losses to #1 South Carolina, DePaul and Nebraska aren’t bad, although 90-67 at home to the Huskers was a little head scratching.

Princeton transfer Abby Meyers and Vanderbilt transfer Brinae Alexander have been huge for the Terps shooting from three-point range, but it has been a couple of returning pieces in Diamond Miller (18.4 ppg) and Shyanne Sellers (13.9 ppg) that have been big.

Looks like Brenda Freese is going to have her team in the Big Ten hunt after there were questions during the offseason.

PRETENDERS

Nebraska (10-3) (2-0)

Best Win: at #15 Maryland

The Cornhuskers have had an interesting start to their season. Their three losses have been in blowout fashion and all on the road. They lost to #8 Virginia Tech, #21 Creighton and Drake by a combined 75 points. In the win column, they have two ranked wins against #20 Kansas and #15 Maryland. They also took down 11-2 Mississippi State in the Puerto Rico Classic.

Jaz Shelley is still her normal self, averaging 15.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.6 three pointers per game. Behind her are three other scorers in double figures, led by sophomore Alexis Markowski (13.6 ppg). They also rebound well with four players averaging 6.0 rebounds or more. Feels like this Huskers team will be similar to last year unless something changes. They will likely win a couple big games, but they will lose some games. Probably too many to be a real threat in the standings.

Purdue (10-2) (1-1)

Best Win: Oklahoma State

The Boilermakers have gotten off to a good start this season and while they are 10-2, they were very close to being 12-0. They lost by one in the Cancun Challenge to Florida State and lost to #15 Maryland on a buzzer beater three pointer. They did however pick up decent wins against Oklahoma State and Syracuse.

Rutgers transfer Lasha Petree leads the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game, but Abbey Ellis (12.0 ppg) and Caitlyn Harper (10.9 ppg) have also been big. The Boilers are 40th in pts per 100 possessions on offense, so they can score the ball. This is a team to keep an eye on for an upset or two in Big Ten play and the Hawkeyes get them first game back from the Christmas break.

Illinois (11-2) (1-1)

Best Win: at Missouri

Make no mistake, first year head coach Shauna Green is off to a great start. The Illini were 7-20 last season and are off to an 11-2 start this year. Despite the start, the resume is pretty weak. They defeated 11-2 Missouri on the road, but their non-conference strength of schedule is #121 in the country. They played #4 Indiana close on the road, but lost to Delaware in the Daytona Beach Invitational.

Dayton transfer guard Makira Cook (17.9 ppg) and NC State transfer guard Genesis Bryant (13.8 ppg) have done most of the heavy lifting so far this season. They are also shooting lights out from behind the arc, as they have combined to shoot 50/103 (48.5%) from long distance. Adalia McKenzie is also averaging 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. It’s a very much improved team in Champaign, but probably not enough to make real noise in the Big Ten.

THE REST OF THE BIG TEN

Michigan State (8-5), Minnesota (7-5), Northwestern (6-5), Penn State (9-4), Rutgers (6-8), Wisconsin (4-9)


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