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.
Gophers women find tough competition everywhere in loaded Big Ten
Coach Lindsay Whalen said, "This is probably the deepest [conference] that we've had," as the Big Ten has six ranked teams in the latest Associated Press poll.
January 12, 2023 at 12:44AM
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.
Of the eight teams with losing conference records right now in the Big Ten, Nebraska has beaten Maryland and a ranked Kansas. Michigan State beat an Indiana team ranked No. 4 at the time.
This is a very important portion of the schedule for the Gophers (8-8, 1-4 Big Ten), who have lost three straight.
Their next two games are at home, followed by road games at Penn State — a team the Gophers beat in double overtime earlier this season — and at Purdue.
The young Gophers set a goal of finishing in the top half of the conference. And that means getting some wins.
Rutgers beat Nebraska in large part because it was able to shut down leading scorer Jaz Shelley, who shot 0-for-10 overall, missing eight threes and two free throws. The 47 points Nebraska scored in the loss was a season low.
But it's an opportunity. The Scarlet Knights are last in the Big Ten in scoring (64.3) and 13th out of 14 teams in shooting percentage (.407).
Under former coach C. Vivian Stringer, Rutgers was known for its fearsome full-court press. But Washington, working with just an eight-player roster, doesn't have the depth to play that way this season. The Scarlet Knights force just 14.3 turnovers per game, worst in the Big Ten, and lead the Big Ten in turnovers at 21.2.
But numbers don't mean a lot once the game begins.
"This league was good last year,'' Gophers center Rose Micheaux said. "But it's deeper now. Way deeper.''
Minnesota’s bench scored 50 points, including a team-leading 18 points from graduate transfer Annika Stewart, showcasing the depth that coach Dawn Plitzuweit promised.
