When ESPN women's college basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme assembled his most recent NCAA bracket this week, half of the Big Ten Conference's 14 schools were included in the 64-team field. Two schools — Indiana and Ohio State — had No. 1 seeds. Maryland had a No. 3 seed, Michigan a No. 4, and Iowa a No. 5.
When the Associated Press' top 25 poll came out Monday, the Big Ten was tied with the ACC with six ranked teams: Ohio State (third), Indiana (sixth), Maryland (ninth), Iowa (12th), Michigan (17th) and the conference's surprise team of the season, Illinois (24th).
The point: For teams in the bottom half of the conference looking to move up, wins are difficult to come by.
"This is probably the deepest [conference] that we've had, as far as, it's a battle every night," Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen said after practice. "We played really well for a big stretch against Ohio State. And we had stretches in Wisconsin where we played well. But we take it on the chin.''
There really are no gimmes, as the Gophers learned Sunday when they lost a four-point game at Wisconsin in what was the Badgers' first conference win. The Gophers on Thursday host Rutgers, which is 12th in the conference at 1-4, 7-10 overall under first-year head coach Coquese Washington. But that win came Saturday against Nebraska, one of the final teams in the NCAA tournament in Creme's latest analysis.
On Sunday the Gophers will host Illinois, which is 14-3 overall — 4-2 in the Big Ten with a victory over Iowa — under first-year coach Shauna Green. In the previous five seasons the Illini went 7-77 in conference play. Now the two games the Gophers will play against them look challenging.
"This is, for sure, the toughest league in women's basketball,'' Gophers sophomore Maggie Czinano said. It is a subject she and her sister, Iowa center Monika Czinano, have talked about.
When Iowa lost to Illinois, it was the Illini's first win against a ranked opponent on their home court in nearly eight years.
