As the Big Ten women’s basketball season continues and we continue to learn more about the conference’s hierarchy, one team is making a strong push. A few losses before the New Year stymied Penn State’s hype early, but a five-game winning streak of commanding results has the Nittany Lions looking like a player for the fourth spot behind Iowa, Ohio State and Indiana.
Penn State hangs its hat on the offensive side, and that has continued through their hot stretch as they haven’t scored fewer than 76 points in the five games. They entered Sunday with the country’s 17th-ranked offensive rating per Sports-Reference, then hung 112 on Maryland. Then you look at Penn State’s losses, and virtually none of them are inexcusable: The combined margin of their four losses to No. 11 USC, No. 12 Ohio State, Michigan State and No. 14 Indiana was 30.
Long story short, the Nittany Lions are not to be trifled with. Don’t be shocked if they knock on the door of the AP Top 25 in coming weeks. With that, here are the Bracketology seeding breakdowns:
Iowa: 1-seed
Games this upcoming week: at Northwestern Wed. (Peacock), at Maryland Saturday
Iowa had an uneventful week, as their only contest was a 92-73 bludgeoning of Nebraska in Iowa City. Caitlin Clark scored 38 points to bring her within four points of Jackie Stiles, third on the Division I women’s career scoring list, and 13 of Kelsey Mitchell, who’s currently second. Wednesday’s matchup at cellar-dweller Northwestern on Peacock seems certain to be historic – twice.
Caitlin Clark record tracker: How close is she to breaking all-time points record?
Ohio State: 3-seed
Games this week: vs. Wisconsin on Thu., vs. Indiana on Sun.
It’s possible the Buckeyes dealt with a bit of a letdown after their thrilling overtime victory over Iowa last Sunday. Wins at Illinois and Purdue last week were too close for comfort at times. Still, the Buckeyes continue to get contributions up and down the roster and play an aggressive style of ball that will keep them in any game, and it will be interesting to see how it matches up with Indiana on Sunday.
Indiana: 3-seed
Games this week: at Maryland on Wed. (Peacock), at Ohio State on Sun.
All the Hoosiers did last week was blow out Northwestern 100-59 Sunday. They had a lot of time to recharge, and now they dive back in with road games at Maryland, who will be trying to bounce back from the loss to Penn State, and Ohio State, perhaps one of the 10 best teams in the nation. They have the offensive firepower to handle Ohio State’s blitzing defense, but can they get enough stops?
Penn State: 7-seed
Games this week: at Minnesota on Wed., vs. Michigan on Sat.
We already talked about Penn State’s season and current form up top, so let us marvel at the wild offensive explosion Sunday. Against Maryland:
· Four Nittany Lions scored at least 14 points, led by Makenna Marisa with 24
· Five more scored between six and eight points
· Penn State shot 61.5% from both 3-point range AND overall
· The Nittany Lions outscored the Terrapins 35-10 on the fast break.
This is a team that can score in multiple ways from many sources, That’s dangerous.
Michigan State: 8-seed
Games this week: at Rutgers on Tue.
Michigan State took care of business this week by showing off their own deadly offense, winning 97-70 vs. Purdue and 82-61 against rival Michigan. The Spartans should be able to avoid becoming the victims of Rutgers’ first conference victory, and then they get some downtime. It’s fun to watch a team that can have two bench players go for 20-plus, as Theryn Hallock and Tory Ozment did against the Boilermakers Wednesday.
Nebraska: 9-seed
Games this week: vs. Purdue on Wed., vs. Rutgers on Sat.
Just like their counterpart Iowa, Nebraska only played one game last week, and it wasn’t exactly beneficial to the resume. There’s still plenty of optimism here, though; they have two “get right” home games against struggling Big Ten foes this week and are still a top-30 team in NET Ranking.
Minnesota: 9-seed
Games this week: vs. Penn State on Wed.
Close losses in conference are always frustrating, especially when they come to teams below you in the standings. The Golden Gophers dropped last week’s matchups at Wisconsin and Illinois by a combined eight points. They get to return home but they’ll have to play better there with Penn State, Michigan State and Ohio State coming in succession.
Maryland: 11-seed
Games this week: vs. Indiana on Wed. (Peacock), vs. Iowa on Sat.
The punches just keep coming for the Terrapins, who welcome Indiana and Iowa to College Park this week. They must tighten up the defense that gave up 112 to Penn State when facing two teams that rank top-15 in offensive rating per Sports-Reference. Grabbing that overtime win at Michigan would have helped their current standing.
Michigan: 11-seed (First Four)
Games this week: vs. Illinois on Wed., at Penn State on Sat.
The Wolverines are better when playing as a cohesive unit. Wednesday’s overtime win saw all five starters score in double-figures, while Saturday’s blowout loss to Michigan State featured Laila Phelia putting up 21 points and no one else mustering more than 11. Michigan keeps hanging around the bubble, and it will have to seize an opportunity to burst through it.
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