Big Ten Weekly Women’s Basketball Central – Jan. 20-26

Big Ten Weekly Women’s Basketball Central – Jan. 20-26

Big Ten. Big News.
• Half of the Big Ten’s 16 games will be featured on national platforms this week, while the remaining games will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information). A top-15 clash opens Thursday’s doubleheader on Peacock with No. 15/13 Maryland hosting No. 10 Iowa at 6 p.m. ET, followed by Indiana visiting No. 12/11 Ohio State at 8 p.m. ET. A doubleheader is also set for the Big Ten Network, starting at 6 p.m. ET with No. 7 Michigan traveling to Rutgers. No. 13/15 Michigan State welcomes NR/RV USC at 8 p.m. ET. Another ranked outing is slated for Sunday when No. 10 Iowa and No. 12/11 Ohio State meet in Iowa City at 2 p.m. ET on Peacock.
• Heading into this week, Iowa and UCLA sit atop the conference standings at 7-0. Two teams are currently tied with a 6-1 mark – Michigan and Ohio State – followed by Michigan State at 6-2.
• Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke earned her first Big Ten Player of the Week laurel on Monday after she paced the Hawkeyes with 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting with nine rebounds and five assists against No. 15 Michigan State. Stuelke recorded 18 points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists versus RV Oregon.
• Fellow Hawkeye Addie Deal was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the first time in her career. The Irvine, Calif., native went 7-for-9 from the field for a career-best 18 points with three rebounds and an assist against the Ducks. Her 18 points were the most by a Iowa freshman against a Big Ten opponent since March 13, 2021. Deal added eight points and dished two assists versus the No. 15 Spartans.
• The Big Ten had a 170-33 (.837) combined record in non-conference play this season, which ranked second behind the SEC (197-24, .891) and ahead of the Big 12 (156-39, .800) and ACC (144-72, .667).
• The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in assists (17.1 apg), field goal percentage (.457), three-point field goal percentage (.341) and free throw percentage (.733), while ranking second in scoring (76.9 ppg).
• Through games on Jan. 19, the Big Ten boasts 10 teams in the top 25 and 12 in the top 50 of the NCAA’s NET Rankings, the top marks among all conferences. UCLA paces the Big Ten contingent at No. 2, followed by No. 6 Michigan, No. 9 Michigan State, No. 12 Maryland, No. 13 Iowa, No. 16 Minnesota, No. 18 Ohio State, No. 19 Nebraska, No. 23 Oregon, No. 25 USC, No. 31 Washington and No. 34 Illinois.
• Through Monday’s contests, Big Ten teams have combined to win 38 Quad 1 games with nine teams posting at least two Quad 1 wins. UCLA leads the country with 10 Quad 1 victories and the Big Ten is one of only two conferences that has four teams with at least four Quad 1 wins.
• UCLA currently has the toughest NET strength of schedule in the country. The Bruins are one of eight Big Ten teams in the top 25 for the toughest schedules this season based on the NET rankings – USC (2nd), Penn State (4th), Michigan (8th), Iowa (14th), Indiana (17th), Minnesota (20th) and Purdue (22nd).
• This week’s Associated Press (AP) poll featured eight teams from the Big Ten. UCLA remained steady at No. 3 and was joined by No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Iowa, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 15 Maryland, No. 24 Nebraska and No. 25 Washington. Illinois and Minnesota received votes.
• Seven programs made an appearance in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 poll – No. 3 UCLA, No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Iowa, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 13 Maryland, No. 15 Michigan State and No. 25 Washington. Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota and USC garnered votes.
• Illinois currently leads the nation shooting 83.5 percent from the free throw line while UCLA ranks second in assist/turnover ratio (1.73), assists per game (22.3) and rebound margin (15.9).
• The Big Ten has multiple individuals leading the country in statistical categories, including Northwestern’s Carolina Lau with 9.2 assists per game and Penn State’s Gracie Merkle in field goal percentage (.749). Ohio State’s Kennedy Cambridge’s steals per game (4.11) ranks second nationally.
• Offensive production continues to be the calling card of the Big Ten Conference. The league has nine teams ranked in the top 25 in field goal percentage – UCLA (3rd – .518), Nebraska (6th – .501), Michigan State (7th – .499), Iowa (8th – .492), Maryland (17th – .472), Michigan (18th – .470), Indiana (22nd – .467), Oregon (24th – .466) and Penn State (25th – .466).
• Sharing the rock comes naturally for the Big Ten with seven teams featured in the top 25 rankings for assists per game, including five in the top 10 – UCLA (2nd – 22.3), Iowa (5th – 20.9), Ohio State (7th – 19.4), Nebraska (9th – 19.2), Michigan State (10th – 19.1), Northwestern (18th – 18.4) and Oregon (21st – 18.1).
• Through Tuesday, six players are averaging at least 20 points per game in conference play – Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge (26.2 ppg), Northwestern’s Grace Sullivan (23.6 ppg), Illinois’ Berry Wallace (22.3 ppg), Penn State’s Kiyomi McMiller (21.5 ppg), Maryland’s Oluchi Okananwa (21.0 ppg) and Indiana’s Shay Ciezki (21.0 ppg). On the boards, Lauren Betts is the only player in double figures with 10.5 rebounds per game and is the sole player averaging a double-double thanks to her 18.7 points per game in league action.
• Congratulations to Washington head coach Tina Langley, who guided her team to an 82-63 win over Indiana for her 200th career win.
• Ohio State connected on 17 three-pointers against Penn State to tie its single-game program record.
• Destiny Howell made 10 of Wisconsin’s 17 three-pointers in a double-overtime win over Oregon. Both marks set single-game records for the Badgers and Howell tied for the second-best three-point shooting performance in a conference game in Big Ten history.
• HISTORY. MADE. The Big Ten is the first conference to ever have nine teams ranked in three different Associated Press (AP) polls in a single season – Dec. 8, Dec. 15 and Jan. 5. The Big Ten has had nine programs ranked in the AP poll four times, first achieved on Dec. 2, 2024, and is the only conference to have nine ranked teams since 1996.
• Big Ten Conference Deputy Commissioner and Michigan women’s basketball great Diane Dietz was honored Jan. 11 with the lifting of her No. 21 jersey into the rafters at the Crisler Center. Dietz, who competed in Maize and Blue from 1979-82, was the program’s first 2,000-point scorer, a record that stood for more than 30 years. She still ranks fourth all-time in scoring with 2,076 points, a feat she achieved before the addition of the three-point line to the women’s game. Dietz is also second all-time in 30-point games (11) and in field goals made (940) and is only one of two players with at least 900 makes. She graduated as the Wolverines’ all-time leader in steals (229), a mark that currently ranks fourth in program history. Dietz was also a standout in the classroom and is one of only two Michigan student-athletes to have been inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2009). The three-time Academic All-American was the first female recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1982, which is considered the most prestigious honor a Big Ten student-athlete can receive. Dietz was inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame after her induction in 2019.
• The 2025-26 season will be the final ride for storied Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown, who announced on March 24 that he intends to retire at the conclusion of season. McKeown is the longest-tenured and winningest head women’s basketball coach in Northwestern history. This is his 18th season in Evanston and his 40th season overall as a head coach.
• Each Big Ten institution will play an 18-game conference schedule for the seventh time in eight seasons. During the conference season, each program will play one school both home and away, while facing 16 teams once. Of the single-play opponents, institutions will face eight at home and eight on the road.
• The 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament is set for March 4-8 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, marking the 27th time the tournament will be played in Circle City. Fifteen teams will qualify for the tournament, with three first-round games slated for Wednesday, March 4 on Peacock. The second-round, quarterfinal and semifinal contests on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be carried on the Big Ten Network. CBS will broadcast the championship game for the third year in a row on Sunday.