Big Ten Weekly Women’s Basketball Central – Dec. 30-Jan. 5

Big Ten Weekly Women’s Basketball Central – Dec. 30-Jan. 5

Big Ten Weekly Release – Dec. 30

• Women’s basketball is taking over the Big Ten Network (and the FOX Sports app) on New Year’s Day, starting at noon ET with Indiana hosting No. 24/21 Michigan State. A top-25 matchup is slated for 2 p.m. ET between No. 20/24 Nebraska and No. 14 Iowa. No. 7/6 Maryland visits RV/NR Illinois for a 4 p.m. ET tilt and RV Washington welcomes No. 6/8 Michigan at 6 p.m. ET to close out the day. The first edition of the Battle of LA takes place Saturday as No. 17/16 USC meets No. 4 UCLA in Pauley Pavilion for an 8 p.m. ET showdown on Peacock. Additional contests throughout the week will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information).
• The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in assists (17.5 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (.339) while ranking second in free throw percentage (.724), field goal percentage (.466) and scoring (79.1 ppg).
• Through games on Dec. 29, the Big Ten boasts nine teams in the top 25 and 12 in the top 50 of the NCAA’s NET Rankings, the top marks among all conferences. UCLA paces the Big Ten contingent at No. 4, followed by No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Maryland, No. 10 Iowa, No. 11 Michigan State, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 15 Nebraska, No. 20 USC, No. 24 Oregon, No. 31 Ohio State, No. 34 Washington and No. 37 Illinois.
• The Big Ten Conference had eight programs featured in this week’s Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll. UCLA stayed steady at No. 4, followed by No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Maryland, No. 14 Iowa, No. 17 USC, No. 19 Ohio State, No. 20 Nebraska and No. 24 Michigan State. Washington, Illinois and Oregon received votes.
• The same eight programs made an appearance in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 poll – No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Maryland, No. 8 Michigan (tie), No. 14 Iowa, No. 16 USC, No. 19 Ohio State, No. 21 Michigan State (tie) and No. 24 Nebraska. Washington and Oregon garnered votes.
• The Big Ten has multiple individuals leading the country in statistical categories, including Northwestern’s Carolina Lau with 9.2 assists per game and Penn State’s Gracie Merkle in field goal percentage (.739). UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez’s three-point percentage (.528) and Ohio State’s Kennedy Cambridge’s steals per game (4.38) rank second nationally.
• Offensive production continues to be the calling card of the Big Ten Conference. The league has eight teams ranked in the top 25 in field goal percentage – Nebraska (6th – .515), Michigan State (7th – .508), UCLA (8th – .507), Iowa (11th – .504), Michigan (12th – .492), Maryland (13th – .490), Indiana (21st – .479) and Illinois (25th – .473).
• Sharing the rock comes naturally for the Big Ten with 10 teams featured in the top 25 rankings for assists per game, including four in the top 10 – Iowa (3rd – 22.0), UCLA (4th – 21.8), Michigan State (8th – 21.1), Nebraska (10th – 20.6), Michigan (19th – 18.9), Northwestern (20th – 18.8), Ohio State (22nd – 18.4), Maryland (24th – 18.2), Minnesota (T25th – 18.1) and Penn State (T25th – 18.1).
• The Big Ten has posted a 169-32 (.841) combined record in non-conference play, which ranks second behind the SEC (195-24, .890) and ahead of the Big 12 (156-38, .804) and ACC (144-71, .670).
• USC handed Nebraska its first loss with a 74-66 victory and held the Huskers under 80 points for the first time this season.
• Sayvia Sellers earned her 1,000th career point versus Northwestern, becoming the 32nd Husky to accomplish the feat.
• With an 83-73 win over Purdue, Illinois improved to 12-1 on the season. The Fighting Illini are off to their best 13-game start in program history.
• Kaylah Ivey registered five assists in Rutgers’s outing at Michigan State, helping her clinch her 500th career helper.
• Kiki Rice became the 21st Bruin to reach 1,500 career points with 16 against Ohio State.
• Twice this season and for the third time in the history of the Big Ten Conference, nine women’s basketball teams were ranked in the Associated Press (AP) poll. The Big Ten is the only conference to have nine programs ranked in the AP poll since 1996 and first achieved the feat on Dec. 2, 2024.
• The 2025-26 season will be the final ride for storied Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown, who announced on March 24 that he intends to retire at the conclusion of season. McKeown is the longest-tenured and winningest head women’s basketball coach in Northwestern history. This is his 18th season in Evanston and his 40th season overall as a head coach.
• Each Big Ten institution will play an 18-game conference schedule for the seventh time in eight seasons. During the conference season, each program will play one school both home and away, while facing 16 teams once. Of the single-play opponents, institutions will face eight at home and eight on the road.
• The 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament is set for March 4-8 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, marking the 27th time the tournament will be played in Circle City. Fifteen teams will qualify for the tournament, with three first-round games slated for Wednesday, March 4 on Peacock. The second-round, quarterfinal and semifinal contests on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be carried on the Big Ten Network. CBS will broadcast the championship game for the third year in a row on Sunday.