B1G WBB general discussion
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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Really really unfortunate. Nebraska is going to be a very good team, and that returning roster with her had the potential to finish as high as 3rd, IMO. Less likely to win close/tight games now IMO. I’m a bit less worried about them beating us now tbh (but they will still want to beat us more than anyone, including ISU/IU this year).
Looks like Maryland lost one their many transfers to a torn ACL. Don't know alot about her play at Towson.
www.testudotimes.com
Maryland women’s basketball transfer Allie Kubek suffered torn ACL, out for 2022-23 season
The Towson transfer averaged 14.6 points per game last season.
www.testudotimes.com
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Really appreciate this thread. In all sports we tend to only think about our team. what happens elsewhere in the conference plays a roll. Losing a starter like Nebraska or the transfers out of Maryland that were starters definitely affects our teams chances. Thanks to all that are on top of the conference
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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I actually don’t think this was going to be a starter. But she would have played a role — they were the 7th transfer so clearly BF still wanted her. BF will now be more likely to have to rely on an incoming freshman for some minutes here and there.
Women's Bracketology: No. 1 seeds survive opening day, but make way for Michigan
The Big Ten is flexing one day into the season. The conference has two 1-seeds and matches the SEC's 11 teams as Michigan jumps into the field.
www.espn.com
Bracketology is underway. To those who might ask, "Why do this, it's too early?" I would respond, "Why not?" 😂
Big Ten projected with the same 6 teams in the field who made the tournament last year:
Iowa (2-seed)
Indiana (3-seed)
Maryland (3-seed)
Ohio State (5-seed)
Nebraska (6-seed)
Michigan (9-seed)
I think Ohio State and Michigan are too low.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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People across the board have very little faith in OSU. I was thinking they’d be a top 10 team, but everyone on Reddit / twitter is scoffing at that. Lack of a post presence seems to be the biggest gripe. Makes me wonder…did we just see them at their best this past year? I still would not be surprised if they take both the regular season and tourney titles this year.Women's Bracketology: No. 1 seeds survive opening day, but make way for Michigan
The Big Ten is flexing one day into the season. The conference has two 1-seeds and matches the SEC's 11 teams as Michigan jumps into the field.www.espn.com
Bracketology is underway. To those who might ask, "Why do this, it's too early?" I would respond, "Why not?" 😂
Big Ten projected with the same 6 teams in the field who made the tournament last year:
Iowa (2-seed)
Indiana (3-seed)
Maryland (3-seed)
Ohio State (5-seed)
Nebraska (6-seed)
Michigan (9-seed)
I think Ohio State and Michigan are too low.
They are going to have to go through Iowa to get either title. I'm not sure they will beat us.
It's not just us who saw them at their best. They had a good showing in the NCAA tournament.
I think Nebraska at a 6 could be too low too.Women's Bracketology: No. 1 seeds survive opening day, but make way for Michigan
The Big Ten is flexing one day into the season. The conference has two 1-seeds and matches the SEC's 11 teams as Michigan jumps into the field.www.espn.com
Bracketology is underway. To those who might ask, "Why do this, it's too early?" I would respond, "Why not?" 😂
Big Ten projected with the same 6 teams in the field who made the tournament last year:
Iowa (2-seed)
Indiana (3-seed)
Maryland (3-seed)
Ohio State (5-seed)
Nebraska (6-seed)
Michigan (9-seed)
I think Ohio State and Michigan are too low.
A
anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
I think Nebraska at 6 was low but now that Haiby is out, it may be more accurate.
I think Michigan will end up as good as UNL, but it may take them a bit to recalibrate.
I think Michigan will end up as good as UNL, but it may take them a bit to recalibrate.
Don’t forget they brought in Maddie Krull from South Dakota. Played for a pair of good Coyote teams.
My gut says Indiana is being overrated slightly. I think last year's Indiana team is better than this year's team in Indiana's system. This year's team doesn't have a true PG. I think Gulbe was better than Geary will be. And I think Scalia and Parrish will be far worse defensively than Patburg and Cardano-Hillary. Scalia's shooting will help them, but I don't think it will make enough of a difference.Women's Bracketology: No. 1 seeds survive opening day, but make way for Michigan
The Big Ten is flexing one day into the season. The conference has two 1-seeds and matches the SEC's 11 teams as Michigan jumps into the field.www.espn.com
Bracketology is underway. To those who might ask, "Why do this, it's too early?" I would respond, "Why not?" 😂
Big Ten projected with the same 6 teams in the field who made the tournament last year:
Iowa (2-seed)
Indiana (3-seed)
Maryland (3-seed)
Ohio State (5-seed)
Nebraska (6-seed)
Michigan (9-seed)
I think Ohio State and Michigan are too low.
I'm not sure what to think of Maryland frankly. Sellers and Miller are good building blocks. Freese is a great coach (other than the transfer out issue). But the team also lost a ton of talent, and will need the transfers and freshman to fill big shoes. If you told me one of those 6 teams would significantly underperform those expectations, Maryland would be my pick.
I think Ohio State might beat this projection, but their roster is still to guard-dependent for my liking. Same with Nebraska. Their offenses are really good, but they're also one bad shooting night away from head-scratching losses.
Michigan reminds me of our 2019-2020 team in that expectations are relatively low and I think they might be able to replace their star post better than people expect. I bet they'll be better than a 9 seed.
I was very unimpressed with Michigans talent level last year with the obvious exception of Naz Hillman. Phelia looks like a talent but their roster looks to be filled with role players.
I think Phelia will make a big jump. Leigha Brown is one of the better players in the conference. Kiser is a decent post. I'd still pick them to finish 6th in the conference, but I don't think they'll be that close to the NCAA Tournament bubble. Aside from the top 6, the rest of the conference will probably be pretty bad again.
Indiana: I think you may be right and 100% agree that Gulbe will be sorely missed on both ends. She was so unheralded in her time there and epitomized Moren's system as much or moreso than Patberg, who got most of the press seeing as she was the local Indiana product. Berger and Holmes will be a fantastic duo but Berger is prone to some pretty ice cold shooting streaks that make it difficult for IU to score in general.
I respect Maryland too much to ever count them out. While they lost a lot to the portal, I think it may be a case of addition by subtraction with Angel Reese. She's what I would call a big ego and selfish player. Diamond Miller, when healthy and playing near her ceiling, is IMO the most difficult defensive matchup in the entire conference. (hot take: yes that includes our own #22.) The Princeton transfer Abby Meyers will be an important piece for them, and a perimeter wing/guard trio of Miller, Meyers, and Sellars has an elite defensive ceiling with incredible length that will make it very difficult for Clark to do her thing when we play them.
Ohio State: Yes they are guard heavy, but three things:
-If Madison Greene can return to her pre-ACL form, OSU isn't just "guard heavy," they'll have the best backcourt in the entire conference with Sheldon, Mikesell, and Greene. We will struggle mightily to contain all three.
-While guard heavy, they are less shooting reliant than us because Sheldon and Greene (if she can play like she did before her ACL) are both excellent slashers.
-I think freshman forward Cotie McMahon, while listed at just 5'11'', while bring physicality and athleticism to compensate a for OSU's missing post presence. She was an absolute beast for the USA U18 team this summer so I'm basing my predictions off of that.
Nebraska: Not sure I'd call them too guard dependent since they have Markowski and also 6'5'' freshmen and two-sport athlete Maggie Mendelson, if she joins the basketball team soon enough after volleyball season to find her groove. But agree that they still have something to prove. IMO they will be in the 15-25 range nationally as opposed to being a legit top 10-15ish threat at this point.
Preseason All-B1G teams. The same 10 players were chosen by both the coaches and media differing only by who was/wasn't unanimous. I'm surprised not to see Jaz Shelley here, but I struggle to choose someone whom I would remove to make room for her. That's a sign of a good list in my book.
I was stunned the media only had two unanimous selections. Like you said, most of the list seems very straightforward.
Reese/Maryland- No idea what impact she had on Maryland's locker room, but she was a dynamic player. Iowa just couldn't stop her when they played. I think Maryland will be worse as a team without her. The Owusu of two years ago will also be hard to replace. I'm still shocked at Maryland wasn't better last year.
Ohio State- I agree with a lot of this. The thought underlying my comment is that Ohio State is a decent post away from being one of the best teams in the country. Iowa has Czinano to fall back on if our shooters are cold. Ohio State doesn't have that luxury. I think I'm also partly jaded by the Creighton game last year. Driving to the basket is great until your opponent decides to hack you all game and dare the referees to call fouls.
Nebraska- Guard-dependent probably wasn't the right phrase for them. Perimeter-dependent is better. I think Markowski is a great player that we're going to hate for years. Frankly, they should use her more. My concern with them is that they get three happy and are prone to long scoreless stretches. That sort of describes Iowa too, but we've gotten better at getting Czinano involved when shots aren't falling.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
Indiana: I must say I've been a bit taken a back with the CW on Indiana -- people are basically saying they'll be as good as they were last year. I just have a hard time believing that. Not to say they won't be a good team, just that replacing their 3 starters will be a tall task, and it takes time for any team to calibrate. Replacing that many starters is just tough.
OSU: I would not be surprised to see them go undefeated in conference play. I am hopeful that's not the case, obviously. I'm also hopeful we beat them -- perhaps more hopeful than any other team tbh. I'm inclined to predict that they get a 2-3 seed in the end while Indiana ends up in their 4-5 seed.
Mich: Laila Phelia is going to be the best player in the B1G not named Clark by the end of the year. I think she'll end up being a more prolific player than Hillmon when it's all said and done. Whether she can bring the rest of her team along with her is to be seen, but if everyone is assuming Sydney Parrish will take to IU's style quickly, IDK why we wouldnt offer the same generosity to Kampschroeder. Not to mention Leigha Brown, Emily Kiser, Cameron Williams...that's a solid lineup.
MD: No idea what to expect with them. They're gonna have a lot of talent but you have to wonder if they'll all be able to gel and play their roles. They're essentially building an offense from scratch. I think OSU will beat them, and their matchups vs Mich/IU will be evenly matched.
I'm actually going to our game at MD -- probably the only season I'll ever be so excited to see us play at Xfinity!
OSU: I would not be surprised to see them go undefeated in conference play. I am hopeful that's not the case, obviously. I'm also hopeful we beat them -- perhaps more hopeful than any other team tbh. I'm inclined to predict that they get a 2-3 seed in the end while Indiana ends up in their 4-5 seed.
Mich: Laila Phelia is going to be the best player in the B1G not named Clark by the end of the year. I think she'll end up being a more prolific player than Hillmon when it's all said and done. Whether she can bring the rest of her team along with her is to be seen, but if everyone is assuming Sydney Parrish will take to IU's style quickly, IDK why we wouldnt offer the same generosity to Kampschroeder. Not to mention Leigha Brown, Emily Kiser, Cameron Williams...that's a solid lineup.
MD: No idea what to expect with them. They're gonna have a lot of talent but you have to wonder if they'll all be able to gel and play their roles. They're essentially building an offense from scratch. I think OSU will beat them, and their matchups vs Mich/IU will be evenly matched.
I'm actually going to our game at MD -- probably the only season I'll ever be so excited to see us play at Xfinity!
I'd be shocked if Ohio State went undefeated in conference play. Maryland has only done that once since joining the Big Ten. Frankly I'll be surprised if this year's conference winner has less than 3 losses.
OSU was allowed to get away with extremely physical play. They have shooters but they're a flawed team if they can't hack and foul. I am hopeful the BIG will make it a point of emphasis to clean up the pure thuggery that was allowed to happen. They probably lose to both Iowa and MD last year if the refs would have actually called the fouls. Sheldon and Mikesell are a great 1-2 but they don't really have depth beyond that.
Jacy Sheldon is hands down the 2nd best player in the league. Phelia is a good player but I wouldn't even put her on the 1st Team all Big.
I think Iowa, OSU and Michigan will fight it out for the title -- possibly another shared title this year.
2nd Tier MD, Nebby and Indiana.
3rd Tier NW is always good but losing Burton is big blow. I think Purdue and Penn State rise and one/two of the three will be an NCAA team.
I know Charlie Creme predicts 6 BIG teams will be in the tourney. I think it's probably 7 or 8. The top is not as heavy and the middle is more balanced this year. The top and 2nd tier teams should clobber the bottom 4-5 teams. Minnesota, Illinois, Rutgers and Wisconsin are not good and MSU has been on the decline. They can still keep it close but likely lose to the top/2nd tier in close games.
I think Iowa will be vastly improved with a true backup PG in Davis and a plethora of solid rebounders returning with Goodman healthy and the combination of Hannah/Jada. I also think McCabe is much more dynamic than Marshall and will be a huge spark off the bench. Our bench now has players that can come in and elevate the team in a slump as opposed to just trying not to drop off when the starters leave.
And I think we can now rest Clark a little more. Having fresher legs will allow her to be more aggressive on defense and push the ball even harder on offense. There were times last year, particularly early in the season when she was noticeably gassed. I think her conditioning improved as the season progressed and she seemed to get stronger but there were several times in games where she deferred to other guards to advance the ball. I'm guessing she has a few less minutes (maybe 4-5 minutes on average) but better production.
Through a strange quirk of the schedule, we only play OSU and Michigan once each on their floor. Those will be must wins for the title.
We do play all three in your second tier both home and away.
I was about to say that Laila Phelia seems like a pretty big omission from this last. And then the prediction came in for her to be the second best player in the league this year. A bold prediction, but one I can respect as a member of the Laila Phelia fan club.
As a long and athletic wing, Phelia has a very high ceiling. She's already very good defensively. But for a slasher, she did not finish well at the rim last year on the whole. She also doesn't yet have a proven 3-point shot shot. If she wants to be one of the best players in the conference she'll need to step up in one or both of those areas.
I think Iowa fans have a higher opinion of her because her career high game came against us in Ann Arbor. Our defense regrettably does have a knack for allowing opposing players to have break out game against us lmao.
In our defense though, that was one of the games when we were incredibly shorthanded.
Open question to those who think Phelia should be on this list-- who would you have her replace?
I think Iowa fans have a higher opinion of her because her career high game came against us in Ann Arbor. Our defense regrettably does have a knack for allowing opposing players to have break out game against us lmao.
In our defense though, that was one of the games when we were incredibly shorthanded.Open question to those who think Phelia should be on this list-- who would you have her replace?
Our interior post defense was just bad last year. It wouldn't have mattered even if we would have been healthy. A lot of her points were free throws and/or her slashing to the basket. She did fare slightly worse in the second contest when we had a healthy Warnock and Marshall.I think Iowa fans have a higher opinion of her because her career high game came against us in Ann Arbor. Our defense regrettably does have a knack for allowing opposing players to have break out game against us lmao.
I think we will fare much better against her this year, especially when Hannah Stuelke is in the game. Not to disrespect the players from last year but we were sorely lacking athleticism outside of CC. Stuelke has athleticism in leaps and bounds and should be a huge boost to our interior defense .
Tessa Johnson from Minnesota announcing on Wed. Would be surprising to pick the Gophers, but is apparently good friends with some of the Gopher freshman. Johnson has narrowed her list to three schools: Minnesota, Baylor and South Carolina. She is 25th in ESPN's HoopGurlz national ratings.
edit- picked South Carolina
edit- picked South Carolina
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A piece on Maryland's exhibition game. Couldn't find a box score.
www.testudotimes.com
This was interesting to me:
"New transfers Abby Meyers, Elisa Pinzan and Lavender Briggs joined the only two true seniors on the team in Diamond Miller and Faith Masonius, rounding off the first starting five of the year."
That group makes me think Frese will be running a 5-out/positionless system without a true post player. Besides Pinzan -- who is 5'8'' and the truest PG of this bunch -- everyone else is 6'0'' or taller, athletic, and versatile. Even if Maryland isn't as good as prior years that will be tough as ever for Iowa to guard. I'm a bit surprised Sellars didn't move into the starting lineup since she already has a year of experience in Maryland's system, but she will be great off the bench again and can sub in for virtually any position.
Multiple Terps make debut in Maryland women’s basketball’s blowout exhibition win over Frostburg State
The Terps defeated the Bobcats in their first preseason tilt at XFINITY Center.
www.testudotimes.com
This was interesting to me:
"New transfers Abby Meyers, Elisa Pinzan and Lavender Briggs joined the only two true seniors on the team in Diamond Miller and Faith Masonius, rounding off the first starting five of the year."
That group makes me think Frese will be running a 5-out/positionless system without a true post player. Besides Pinzan -- who is 5'8'' and the truest PG of this bunch -- everyone else is 6'0'' or taller, athletic, and versatile. Even if Maryland isn't as good as prior years that will be tough as ever for Iowa to guard. I'm a bit surprised Sellars didn't move into the starting lineup since she already has a year of experience in Maryland's system, but she will be great off the bench again and can sub in for virtually any position.
Last year the refs let them play hockey style body checks everywhere. Hopefully the conference cleans up the garbage they allowed last year but I am not holding my breath
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
Yes I think she had actually said that’s what she plans to do. She also said that this would be a “unique” season, I assume this is why.
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Suzy Merchant with a contract extension and some recruiting momentum. https://www.theonlycolors.com/platf...nt-davis-twins-extends-suzy-merchant-contract
We'll see. Something I found while preparing for the season was that Michigan State has finished between 7th and 9th in conference in each of the last 5 seasons. That's extremely consistent, but not in a good way.
Merchant has certainly done good things at Michigan State, but they seemed to peak as a fringe Sweet Sixteen contender 8 years ago. Since then they've only made 4/8 NCAA Tournaments (I'm counting 2020 as a miss just looking at their record. I don't remember whether they were on the bubble or not before it was cancelled).
All that said, Iowa seemed to have peaked under Coach Bluder for a while before the 2018-2019 team took us to new heights. It's certainly possible for a longtime coach to take a next step.
Agree that results have stalled out at MSU, but Merchant/staff still recruit pretty good, even if development and transfers have been a problem. If Merchant adds Jasmine Brown to Jordan Wood, that would be an impressive pair from Illinois for 2023.
Is there a reason she went to The Masters University as a 5-star prospect? Definite matchup problem. Joens is enough of a problem so this is probably the scariest early season matchup outside of the potential UConn game.
Have not seen Soares play but if she is content with shooting outside then Stuelke is suited to defend her there. I'd rather see her try to beat Iowa from outside than repeatedly scoring in the post over Monika. O'Grady and Goodman could earn some key defensive minutes too.
Have not seen Soares play but if she is content with shooting outside then Stuelke is suited to defend her there. I'd rather see her try to beat Iowa from outside than repeatedly scoring in the post over Monika. O'Grady and Goodman could earn some key defensive minutes too.
Her father and 2-3 brothers played there and her mom coached there as well…so she had a lot of ties to the place, but still odd for someone of her ability to go there.
