B1G WBB general discussion
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Great game to watch and Cook really was terrific. Holmes benefitted from a lot of touch fouls.
Was really hoping Virginia Tech was gonna give ncsu their first lost. But they’re up 9 with 6 mins to go
Wow! What a finish. Ncsu state got their first lost after being in lead with .9 second left
Michigan has become quite a volatile team.
- 2021-2022 was their best season in school history. Behind B1G POY Naz Hillmon, they advanced to the Elite 8 (tho they also lost the B1G title to us in a highly dramatic fashion in the regular season finale). Ironically, tho Naz had a fifth year of availability, KBA’s success on the recruiting trail meant there was no space for her to take it. The only player who would take her COVID year was UNL transfer Leigha Brown, an eventual WNBA 2nd round pick (who has had longevity in the league).
- Though they lost their best player, they returned a strong core for 2022-2023 led by Brown. Returning veteran players also stepped up in production. But they spent most of last season squarely at the bottom of the “top” of the B1G. They did not have a single signature win (losing to UI, IU, MD, OSU) but suffered no unexpected losses either…until getting upset late in the season by Wisconsin (Brown was not available for the game, but still…not a good look). They then got blasted out of the NCAA tourney by LSU in the Round of 32.
- They started this season on a generally negative note with some bad losses, then had a huge win over Ohio State. A huge moment of redemption for Kim Barnes Arico. Then Indiana took care of business with them.
- Now they are on the losing end of Dawn Plitzuweit’s first signature win at Minnesota. Hands down a bigger win than any other W by her predecessor BTW.
After all, she has quite a bit of talent on her team…for example, Bluder reportedly was all in on Greta Kampschroeder, a 2020 McD All American out of Chicago that also had an offer from Stanford. She chose Oregon State (like Oregon, another formerly trendy program that reached the Final Four in the 2010s but has since flamed out) and though she started out getting quite a few minutes, she got phased out of the rotation, and then transferred to Michigan. She was the first McD AA of KBA’s tenure in fact (tho Leila Phelia, current star there, was close). But she’s basically been a non-event in Ann Arbor.
The aforementioned Phelia is likely First Team All B1G this year. Cameron Williams is also very athletic. Both could probably smoke any of our players not named Clark 1-on-1.
Curious…
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WOW and Michigan State takes down Maryland. Two first year coaches finding their grooves EARLY.
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Not sure there were 500 people at Michigan game tonight. But football celebration was going on.
It's still early but so far this is the most interesting conference season in a few years as far as unpredictability goes. More parity between the first and second tiers. Several teams in rebuild mode after graduating a concentrated wave of top player talent. Influx of new coaches. And the transfer portal too of course.
Oh and Wisconsin beat Illinois. Very unexpected.
Agree 100%, but can’t tell for sure if increased parity is the result of a worse BIG. So many Conference teams played such poor non-con schedules, or lost to most of the decent teams they did play, that it makes them hard to evaluate.
To me it feels more like the first tier has eroded and the third tier has improved. Last year there were 4 elite teams. Now it's just Iowa and Indiana and the Hoosiers have only really started playing well the last two weeks. Maybe Ohio State can make it three, but the Buckeyes haven't played well most of the season.
Otherwise, teams 3 or 4 through 12 look as close as they've been in a while. I wouldn't be shocked the rest of the year if any team in that range beats another team in that range.
It's still too early to differentiate the contenders from the pretenders although this Sunday's Hawkeye vs Hoosier game will go a long ways in picking an eventual champion. Michigan St is a team to keep an eye on along with Nebraska & Ohio St. Maryland is obviously down this year and I thought Illinois has been a disappointement so far.
Nebraska and Ohio State are two of the most ridiculously volatile teams. Last year Nebraska could have been a Sweet 16 team IMO, but they didn’t even make the NCAAT. Ohio State is its own thing all together. It feels like they could beat anyone or lose to anyone.
The shooting display at Rutgers by Davis and Marshall gives me some hope that Iowa is/can become an elite team, but I am a skeptic with Clark's 40%+ usage rate (for which I don't blame Clark). I still worry that the combination of Clark's usage rate, an unreliable supporting cast, and the circus environment is a recipe for some bad conference losses.
If we're defining contender as contending for the regular season conference title, I don't think it's too early. The last four Big Ten winners have had conference records of: 16-2, 17-1, 14-4, and 16-2. 9 Big Ten teams already have at least 2 conference losses. I'd be shocked if any of those teams finish 14-4 or better.
Of the 5 teams remaining, Purdue isn't even projected to make the NCAA Tournament right now, so I don't think they're contenders. Nebraska has had a good start to conference play, but is 1-4 in NET Quad 1 games. I'm still skeptical.
That leaves Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio State.
Clark's usage rate leaves Iowa more susceptible than most teams to upset losses. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if any tier 2 team (or tier 3 team on the road) beat Iowa on a given night.
But I think the sum of the each game will result in a better regular season than last year. Iowa finished last year with 6 regular season losses. I'd be shocked if Iowa loses 5 out of its next 14 to match that.
Iowa State trailed a ranked West Virginia team by 19 points in the second half, but came back to win by 10 at home. They have definitely turned the page on their rocky start to the season, and the road win for us at Ames is looking better and better.
Purdue Coach Katie Gearlds is a fun listen. Her pre-game and post-game comments about Clark, e.g. go to the WNBA, are funny, extraordinarily complimentary of CC, and include praising Caitlin as a person. The warm exchange between Clark and Gearlds in the handshake line makes me wonder if they have a prior relationship.
I agree with this but hopefully Gabby is finally getting her shot ironed out. If she can remain consistent the rest of the season then Iowa becomes very difficult to beat because other teams will need to guard her closer and that will leave Clark with more space to work.
Good BIG representation on the USA Nike Hoop Summit Team: Cambridge (OSU); Dudley (UCLA); Olson (Michigan); and Smith (USC).
ISU takes down #4 Baylor after beating #24 WVU earlier this week. Reminds me so much of the '19-'20 season when we were unranked and beat ranked Maryland and Indiana teams back to back at home. ISU figuring out identity in their post Ashley Joens era while we were adjusting post Gustafson.
McDonald’s AA scheduled to be released Tuesday. A number of BIG schools (not Iowa) with signees who are potential selections. Most interested to see if Nebraska signee Britt Prince makes the team. Her stock has waxed and waned from its early lofty heights. Interested to get a read where it currently stands.
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Meh, not that significant an issue.
"Schools that fail to comply with FERPA can face a number of penalties, including the loss of federal funding. In addition, individual employees can be fined up to $500 for each FERPA violation. Some of FERPA's provisions are reasonably straightforward." Sep 29, 2022
I think Levin, Guyton and Heiden are on the nomination list of 2024. It's really a compliment to receive a nomination, but as you know making the final 24 is the real juice for those elite few. One of our kids many moons ago was fortunate enough to make the nomination list, which came as somewhat of a surprise to her parents.
I agree with you regarding Britt, really talented player, perhaps bored with the level of play she's been exposed to or tired of it over the years or nagging injuries have slowed her down. The small sampling of times I've watched her play against elevated competition, I wouldn't rush to hang the franchise tag on her. I feel we're in on a couple others, perhaps different class, that have a higher ceiling than Prince. Not a knock on Britt.
I see Britt Prince was not selected in the final 24.
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The McDonald's 2024 AA team (24 players) was released on Tuesday. On the girl's side, the McDonald's AA list is worth paying attention to. Since 2008, 18 different players have won at least 1 National POY Award, 17 of which were McDonald's AA. The one outlier is Megan Gustafson. First-Team AA lists are similarly filled with McDonald's AA, though the number of outliers is greater than it is for POY Awards.
For those that remember how Maryland raised the bar for the BIG when Maryland arrived in 2015, a similar scenario is set to happen next year. This year, if I have my numbers right, there are 8 McDonald's AAs playing in the BIG: Ashley Owusu (PSU); Jakia Brown-Turner (MD), Celeste Taylor (OSU), Caitlin Clark, Sydney Parrish (IU), Greta Kampschroeder (MI), Destiny Adams (RU), and Riley Nelson (MD). The last four are likely to return next year (Parrish has announced she will play her COVID year at IU).
The existing rosters of USC, UCLA, Oregon & Washington are set to return 12 McDonad's AAs next year, and 9 of this year's 24 McDonald's AAs are set to join BIG schools next season. These are listed below, along with ESPN recruiting rank. So, pending portal moves, 25 McDonald's AA are set to play in the BIG next season. That is an unprecedented amount of high-end recruiting talent for BIG schools, even though there are some real recruiting misses in this group. Will be interesting to see how the Iowa '24 class matches up, and if Iowa can land some McDonald's AAs in the 2025 and 2026 classes.
HS YR
2020 Dalaylah Daniels Washington 13
2021 Clarice Akunwafo USC 21
2021 Rayah Marshall USC 27
2022 Lauren Betts UCLA 1
2022 Kiki Rice UCLA 2
2022 Chance Gray Oregon 7
2022 Aaliyah Gayles USC 8
2022 Grace VanSlooten Oregon 13
2022 Gabriela Jaquez UCLA 19
2023 Judea Watkins USC 1
2023 Sofia Bell Oregon 26
2023 Amanda Muse UCLA 32
2024 Jaloni Cambridge OSU 3
2024 Kennedy Smith USC 6
2024 Syla Swords Michigan 11
2024 Kendall Dudley UCLA 14
2024 Olivia Olson Michigan 15
2024 Berry Wallace Illinois 20
2024 Avery Howell USC 23
2024 Zania Socka-Nguemen UCLA 27
2024 Kayleigh Heckel USC 28
For those that remember how Maryland raised the bar for the BIG when Maryland arrived in 2015, a similar scenario is set to happen next year. This year, if I have my numbers right, there are 8 McDonald's AAs playing in the BIG: Ashley Owusu (PSU); Jakia Brown-Turner (MD), Celeste Taylor (OSU), Caitlin Clark, Sydney Parrish (IU), Greta Kampschroeder (MI), Destiny Adams (RU), and Riley Nelson (MD). The last four are likely to return next year (Parrish has announced she will play her COVID year at IU).
The existing rosters of USC, UCLA, Oregon & Washington are set to return 12 McDonad's AAs next year, and 9 of this year's 24 McDonald's AAs are set to join BIG schools next season. These are listed below, along with ESPN recruiting rank. So, pending portal moves, 25 McDonald's AA are set to play in the BIG next season. That is an unprecedented amount of high-end recruiting talent for BIG schools, even though there are some real recruiting misses in this group. Will be interesting to see how the Iowa '24 class matches up, and if Iowa can land some McDonald's AAs in the 2025 and 2026 classes.
HS YR
2020 Dalaylah Daniels Washington 13
2021 Clarice Akunwafo USC 21
2021 Rayah Marshall USC 27
2022 Lauren Betts UCLA 1
2022 Kiki Rice UCLA 2
2022 Chance Gray Oregon 7
2022 Aaliyah Gayles USC 8
2022 Grace VanSlooten Oregon 13
2022 Gabriela Jaquez UCLA 19
2023 Judea Watkins USC 1
2023 Sofia Bell Oregon 26
2023 Amanda Muse UCLA 32
2024 Jaloni Cambridge OSU 3
2024 Kennedy Smith USC 6
2024 Syla Swords Michigan 11
2024 Kendall Dudley UCLA 14
2024 Olivia Olson Michigan 15
2024 Berry Wallace Illinois 20
2024 Avery Howell USC 23
2024 Zania Socka-Nguemen UCLA 27
2024 Kayleigh Heckel USC 28
Quite a coincidence tonight. Maryland women's team was tied at 67 at Michigan with 21 seconds to play, and Maryland men's team was tied at 67 at Iowa with 21 seconds to play, both happening at the time. Two games then ended quite differently. Maryland men won on a last second shot in regulation. Maryland women went to overtime, had a chance with 3 seconds to play to win the game but turned the ball over during the inbounds play. Michigan went down the court, drew a foul and made two free throws. Maryland's tap in attempt with 0.6 second to go spun out and lost the game in OT.
Ohio St @ Illinois tonight. Got to think the Buckeyes could be flat after the emotional win against the Hawks. Unfortunately I'm not sure Illinois is playing well enough to take advantage.
My guess is that McMahon won't get 33 versus the Illini. I'm sure they watched extensive film on how she tore up Iowa.
She's a good player, but lets be honest, She was allowed to "tear up Iowa" She could have been fouled out in the first half on offensive fouls alone. I'd imagine Lisa will put a bug in the refs ear during their pre game meeting on March 3rd.......
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Wasn't it OSU who knocked both Gabby & McKenna out of the 2022 game and both missed time afterward?
Yes, I think two years ago... left us short handed for that game where clark went for 46 at michigan
Nebraska with the home loss today to Rutgers. At the very least, will be a contender for worst BIG loss of the year, with a good chance to claim the prize. This is year 8 for Amy Williams at Nebraska, and she has done very little. Will be interesting to see if Britt Prince next year is a big boost to the Nebraska cause.
