Not much will change atop the Big Ten standing in 2002-03 and the elite teams in the Big Ten always seem to reload instead of rebuild. With Sherika Wright back at Purdue and Kelly Mazzante having remaining eligibility for the Nittany Lions, look for the Big Ten to make some noise atop the national rankings. Parity is beginning to become more common in women’s basketball and the unbeatable teams are beginning to show some weaknesses.

While the battle for supremacy among the top of the Big Ten isn’t likely to change much, things should tighten up in the race for post-season eligibility. Look for the Wildcats of Northwestern to make a statement with a group of super sophomores who were very competitive towards the end of last season and for the Buckeyes of Ohio State to bounce back after a string of injuries left them sitting home last year.

Fresh faces will get their chance to shine with 5’10 forward Ifeoma Okonkwo, who may be the missing link for the Wildcats. Still the Big Ten remains the only conference with a perfect blend of dominating centers and sharp shooting gunners. Look for the Big Ten to get one step closer to the national spotlight in 2002-03

1) Penn State: Can anyone stop Mazzante from scoring?

2) Purdue: The most talented team in the Big Ten period. Sherika Wright is my vote for Big Ten MVP.

3) Iowa: Lisa Bluder never has a let down year. The talent is young but there. Tracy Shcrupp will have a breakout year, as have all the Iowa seniors under Bluder.

4) Minnesota: Two new coaches in two years. Still Lindsay Whalen will drive this team back to the NCAA’s

5) Ohio State: Very talented team who took some bad breaks in 2001. Should be interesting.

6) Michigan State: The Spartans have all the talent in the world, but the coaching is worse than the Barry Williams led football teams were. Hard to explain last years conference collapse any other way.

7) Wisconsin: One word. Defense. The Badgers don’t need to score points because their defense is just that good.

8) Michigan: The Wolverines just never can seem to get a break.

9) Northwestern: A very talented core of sophomores who were in every game towards the end of last year. They will sneak up on a lot of people.

10) Indiana: Very gritty hard nosed team who will keep games close, but not enough talent to make a lot of noise with the exception of an upset or two

11) Illinois : Theresa Grentz better update her resume because she won’t back in 2003-04

Penn State (23-12, 11-5): This is the year that Kelly Mazzante will rewrite the record books like Jackie Stiles did for Southwest Missouri State in 2000. The Nittany Lions have the gunners to outscore anyone and everyone and their frontcourt should be improved enough for Penn State to take home the hardware.

Best Case Scenario: Kelly Mazzante and Jessica Strom take the Lions on their collective backs and Penn State rises along with them. The Lions build on the momentum of 2002 and find themselves in the Final Four.

Worst Case Scenario: The front court is outmuscled and Penn State has to settle for second or third in the conference.

Purdue (24-6, 13-3): The Boilermakers will turn to All American Candidate Sherika Wright to become a machine gunner from three point land and use their in your face style of defense to shut down their opponents shooting lanes from the perimeter. 6’5” Center Mary Jo Noon needs to develop into the dominating force in the paint that she is capable of being. But the Boilermakers have enough talent to keep winning while Noon gets better.

Best Case Scenario: Noon becomes a dominating force, taking pressure of Sherika Wright to score on every possession. The Boilers achieve a balance that will carry them straight to the final four.

Worst Case Scenario: Penn State and Minnesota figure ways to score points against Purdue’s confusing defense and boilers have to settle for less than the conference crown.

Iowa (18-11, 10-6): Iowa struggled in 2001-02 because of their lack of a true point guard. But April Calhoun rapidly developed into a leader on the court by bullying her way into the paint and finding an outlet as the year went on. Kristi Faulkner returns to the perimeter where she is most comfortable. Tracy Shcrupp will carry on the tradition of Hawkeye Super Seniors in the post and become a force as Randi Peterson and Jerica Watson did before her. The Hawkeye freshman class will make its mark as well and will be playing for it all in 4 years.

Best Case Scenario: April Calhoun and HS All American Lindsay Richards give combine to give Iowa solid minutes at the point and the Hawks find themselves in contention for the Big Ten title.

Worst Case Scenario: Tiffany Reedy and Johanna Solverson fail to fill Iowa’s void at the small forward position and Iowa has to settle for sneaking into the NCAA’s.

Minnesota (22-8, 11-5): Pam Borton stepped into a favorable situation in Minneapolis, but the question is whether or not her team will hold together. But with Lindsey Whalen as the leader on the court that really shouldn’t be an issue. Minnesota has to prove that last year was more than just a fluke and that they are capable of winning on a consistent basis. The Gopher came out of nowhere to finish second in conference last season. Lets see how they do with a target on their back.

Best Case Scenario: The Gophers adjust to their new coach and playing with a target on their back and find a way to take home the Big Ten crown.

Worst Case Scenario: Two coaches in two years stalls the Gophers chemistry. Style adjustments slow down Minnesota early in the year keeping them out of the conference race.

Ohio State (14-15, 8-8): Injuries that slowed the Buckeyes last year may prove to be a blessing as sophomore Ashley Allen was able to learn on the job last year. Jim Foster will instill a winning attitude into this program that will propel them to new heights in a few years. But with a tough conference schedule and with the health uncertainties of often-injured LaToya Turner the Buckeyes are likely a year away. But if they can gel together they have a definite shot at post-season play and likely will earn an NCAA Tournament birth.

Best Case Scenario: D’wan Shackleford and Courtney Coleman become leaders capable of motivating their teams and take the Bucks on their backs until the team can overcome their youth and new system and Ohio State goes crazy in March.

Worst Case Scenario: An overabundance of players and not enough rosters spots lead to turmoil and the Buckeyes are forced to settle for the WNIT or no post season at all.

Michigan State (19-13, 6-10): Its hard to understand what happened to Coach Joanna McCallie and her team last season. The Spartans were red hot during the non-conference portion of their schedule and ice cold in conference play. It’s up to McCallie to get this team back on its feet. In order to rebound the Spartans will have to create more open looks for Syreeta Bromfield, transforming her from solid to superstar. Michigan State has plenty of talent and could be a sleeper to win the conference if they can play their cards right. Freshman Lindsay Bowen will give the team a huge boost on offense. Something the Spartans desperately need.

Best Case Scenario: The Spartans right themselves and become the next big worst to first story in the Big Ten, putting them in a position to make a run in the Big Ten Tournament and compete in the NCAA tournament.

Worst Case Scenario: Offensive struggles continue to plague this team and they settle for another year in the WNIT.

Wisconsin (19-12, 8-8): Personnel losses leave the Badgers shorthanded going into the season, but the Badgers still are loaded with talent, starting with 6-3 Forward Ebba Gebisa who looks to become a full time starter for the Badgers this season. Stephanie Rich should take over the point guard duties for the Badgers. Rich proved to be talented in a back-up role last season and could very well develop into a force during conference play. Most of the Badger hopes come in the form of Nike All American Jordan Wilson who should see immediate playing and will be expected to contribute heavily. The Badgers are very well coached and seem to have on of the best defenses in the league.

Best Case Scenario: This team develops chemistry early on in the season and finished above .500, sneaking into the WNIT.

Worst Case Scenario: Youth proves to be too much and Wisconsin resembles Northwestern of last season.

Michigan (17-13, 6-10): Its hard to understand how a team that led the conference in rebounding could have such a poor conference record, but alas that was the case for the Wolverines last season. Michigan, for all of their rebounding prowess, needs to learn how to protect the rock this season or they could face a similar fate in 2002. The Wolves gave up a conference high 520 turnovers last season, a sure fire recipe for disaster. This is no doubt they are a talented and deep team but also one that had trouble proving it on the court. The schedule doesn’t get any easier and Michigan will need a strong effort to prove that last year was a fluke. Or was it?

Best Case Scenario: Strong rebounding and improved player development catapults the Wolves into a top 4 conference finish.

Worst Case Scenario: Intangibles go against Michigan and they finish in the middle to lower tier of the conference for the second year in a row.

Northwestern (4-24, 0-16): Don’t allow the Wildcats record to fool you. Northwestern returns a talented team that was very competitive at the end of last season. Let by center Sarah Kwasinski, the Wildcats could become the fastest rising team in the Big Ten. This is a team that believes that they can win as long as they continue to work hard and they should find more success this season, their fourth under underrated coach, June Olkowski who added assistant Regina Grennan to her staff. Grennan was a former assistant at Saint Joseph’s and her attitude and philosophy will bring a winning flavor back to the program.

Best Case Scenario: The Wildcats starting five compete for 30 minutes a game allowing the Wildcats to finish close to .500 in the conference, giving them momentum in 2003-04.

Worst Case Scenario: Improvements just aren’t enough and the team finds themselves last or second to last with 3-4 conference victories.

Indiana (17-14, 8-8): With only one starter returning from last years squad there is a lot of uncertainty as to the potential of the Hoosiers. Indiana returns several talented role players but it is difficult to predict if any of them can break out into full time starters. There is hope in senior forward Jill Hartman who showed flashes of talent as a freshman when she played 34 minutes per game, but found herself coming off the pine last year. Hartman’s transition back into a full time starter is essential to the young Hoosiers.

Best Case Scenario: Evansville transfer Lisa Eckart and Junior College Transfer Leeann Stephenson contribute immediately and provide leadership to a team with 6 seniors who played sparingly or not all in 2001 allowing the Hoosiers to be competitive in every game.

Worst Case Scenario: A Hoosier team whose leadership was plagued with knee injuries or simply never played their way onto the court often enough does not find unity and fails to win more than a handful of conference games.

Illinois (15-14. 7-9): Nothing more than a basement finish can be expected from the most scandalous team in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini may set a record for player defections should Theresa Grentz be allowed to coach much longer that the seven years she will have at the end of the season. Despite a modest level of success in the 1990’s, the program took major blows when players began to leave after their first year, most notably Kristi Faulkner (Iowa) and Anne O’Neil (Iowa State). The Illini are a guard laden team with only one true center and a handful of forwards yet they remain the worst three point shooting team in the league, a recipe for disaster.

Best Case Scenario: The Illini guards become three point machines overnight and Illini finishes above .500 on the year.

Worst Case Scenario: A thin frontcourt and poor three point shooting gives Illinois a stagnant offense that fails to outscore even the worst of defenses and the Illini become the laughing stock of the conference.