B1G WBB general discussion
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Michigan found its groove back? Wolverines appeared to be falling off the NCAA bubble but maybe they can right the ship yet. Minnesota is most likely done with Mara Braun out. Maryland doesn't look promising. Nebraska is getting iffy with this loss. At one time it appeared 9 Big Ten teams could make it, but as of now maybe just 6, even 5.
Looks like everyone played today.
Maryland is sitting at 12-10 with 7 regular season games left with the toughest two being IU and OSU. Let's say they lose those but win the rest. They'd be sitting at 17-12 with no marquee wins heading into the Big Ten tournament. If they win two and lose in the semis, 19-13 might just be enough to get them in. What they really need though is a signature win. I'm glad we didn't give that to them tonight.
The biggest thing working in their favor is that all of their losses are quad 1 losses. And 9 of the 10 losses are to top 27 teams. Pretty brutal for them that they haven't managed to convert just a single one of those games into a win.
That was an incredible game! The speedy 5 out vs Holmes in the middle was a chess match the whole game long.
Indiana trailing Illinois by 16 at half. Holmes has two fouls, and Scalia and Garzon are ice cold. Meanwhile IU can't keep the Illinois guards out of the paint. They have much better defensive fundamentals than us but struggle against a balanced speedy backcourt just like we do. Parrish is back but only nominally, coming off the bench and playing just 3 minutes.
You hate to see that. You especially hate to see that right before they play OSU...
There goes the last hope of giving Ohio State a loss (before Iowa does).
Iowa should win at home against OSU on the last game of the season but the problem is the tournaments. Just don't think the Hawkeyes have the depth to go far playing several games in a short period like OSU does. OSU doesn't really have a star player but several very good players on their roster
JC Sheldon is a star player...should be a lottery pick this year. Probably has best chance to be conference Player of the Year, outside of Clark. Very underrated player!
Depends on how you define depth. They play 7 players but, yeah, you're right, after those the rest are young and unproven
Just like they did against Indiana, Illinois will try to take everything to the hoop with their guards. We simply have to defend much better than we have the past two games. This game could be very close.
My 1st Team All Conference picks, roughly in the order of strongest to weakest case.
Caitlin Clark, Iowa, POY
Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Cotie McMahon, Ohio State
Sara Scalia, Indiana
Serah Williams, Wisconsin
Shyanne Sellers, Maryland
Alexis Markowski, Nebraska
Moira Joiner, Michigan State
Laila Phelia, Michigan
--
2nd team (no longer in order, just listing names)
Julia Ayrault, Michigan State
DeeDee Hagemann, Michigan State
Bri McDaniel, Maryland
Jakia Brown Turner, Maryland
Jaz Shelley, Nebraska
Kate Martin, Iowa
Hannah Stuelke, Iowa
Makenna Marissa, Penn State
Makira Cook, Illinois
Mara Braun, Minnesota (would be 1st team if not injured so early but I'd still giver her a vote here)
--
6POY The b1g dawg SYDNEY AFFOLTER
Caitlin Clark, Iowa, POY
Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Cotie McMahon, Ohio State
Sara Scalia, Indiana
Serah Williams, Wisconsin
Shyanne Sellers, Maryland
Alexis Markowski, Nebraska
Moira Joiner, Michigan State
Laila Phelia, Michigan
--
2nd team (no longer in order, just listing names)
Julia Ayrault, Michigan State
DeeDee Hagemann, Michigan State
Bri McDaniel, Maryland
Jakia Brown Turner, Maryland
Jaz Shelley, Nebraska
Kate Martin, Iowa
Hannah Stuelke, Iowa
Makenna Marissa, Penn State
Makira Cook, Illinois
Mara Braun, Minnesota (would be 1st team if not injured so early but I'd still giver her a vote here)
--
6POY The b1g dawg SYDNEY AFFOLTER
Thanks for starting this.
My First Team would be the same as yours, except Ayrault for Joiner.
My Second Team would be, in no particular order:
Brown Turner, MD
Taylor, OS
Stuelke, IA
Martin, IA
Shelly, NE
Moore McNeil, IN
Hagemann, MS
McDaniel, MD
Owusu, PS
Terry, PU
Same for Sixth POY
HM: Marshall and Davis
COTY: Bluder sentimental choice but probably Fralick
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Hoopla has its All BIG picks out as well.
Hoopla's 2023-24 Big Ten Awards
Making my picks for all of the conference's award categories
hooplanewsletter.substack.com
Agree on Fralick -- I just hope it's not McGuff!
I truly think Martin deserves 2nd team this year -- I'd even put her above Stuelke honestly. Martin deserves more credit for the way she's upped her PPG *and* FG% even though she's higher on our scouting report than previous seasons. Add in her dependability, versatility, leadership, and the way she's upped her rebounding playing out of position at the 4 and it's been a really impressive season overall for her.
I considered Ayrault 1st team over her teammate Joiner. I knew an MSU player deserved 1st team and couldn't decide who. Ayrault is deadly as a stretch 5 and scored a lot of points benefitting from mismatches in that regard, but to me it's the backcourt that really makes that team run, and Joiner is their best guard IMO. I might consider Ayrault most improved if that were an award in this conference. But I'm fine if she gets 1st team.
If Owusu gets recognition over Marisa I'll be salty.
I don't care for Owusu either, but Marisa's production this year has really fallen off from last year. I don't follow Penn State enough to know why. And Owusu has been their best player since joining the lineup in mid-January.
On the contrary Marisa is having her most efficient season yet from the floor, from 2, from 3, and from the line! Ppg is down only because Owusu is taking shots from her.
IMO, Tay Valladay was Penn State's best player in conference play. After Valladay got injured in the first Minnesota game, Penn State went into the tank the last 8 games, going 2-6. Marisa did not play well in the 6-game losing streak, when they really needed her to step up. She wouldn't get my vote for all league honors
Smikle — best player at Rutgers — to the portal. She didn’t rly play the second half of the season, much speculation it was an academic issue.
I realize it's easier to rebuild in the transfer portal era, but it still feels like Rutgers could be a bottom 4 team in the conference for the next couple years, if not longer. Washington had a bad first year (with difficult circumstances) and was worse in year 2.
Maryland fighting for mid-major talent with the rest of the plebians. Quite a sign of changing winds.
&#@! - One of my favorite players in the B1G.
Someone's going to step in and fix this portal mess soon, right? Ridiculous.
Hagemann would be a great fit for us. Can pass, drive, shoot, and DEFEND. And would thrive in our fast system with other scoring options around her. However, I won't be surprised at all if she transfer to a middling SEC team with a sh*t offense and proceeds to have an absolutely forgettable, inefficient season. I could also see Maryland or OSU duping her into heading to there. Despite MSU showing huge signs of promise this year, she probably feels like she just has one season left and wants to be on a legit top 25 team.
100% to all of this.
I know that to some people, a conference tourney championship doesn't mean a lot. But you'd have to hope that for a kid who has spent the last 3 years in the B1G, 4 titles and 5 title game appearances in 6 seasons would be a selling point.
We did recruit DeeDee so maybe there’s a bit of a relationship there.
Ohio State is only returning 5 players next year.
Theyre also bringing in the #3 player in 2024….so I’m sure they’ll be fine lmao
Maryland loses both their veteran emotional leader and the 5 ⭐️ freshman that was supposed to be their next star to the portal.
Sounds like Masonius left on good terms with everyone after giving Maryland 5 solid years. But Nelson leaving raises yet another eyebrow -- if there are any left to raise lol -- for that program's culture.
