18 Pennies for 18 Thoughts

There’s no time to waste. Let’s get into the games.

Last Hoopla: Preseason Hoopla 40

Basket Under Review Post: Avoiding Stagnation

All 18 teams were in action. All but one — Ohio State — played multiple times, including four teams that played thrice. The Big Ten’s combined record after 39 games is 37-2.

Here’s a key takeaway I gathered from the first week of action for each team, broken up into a few categories and in general alphabetical order from there:

The Big Winners

• UCLA

The Big Ten’s top seed heading into the season was immediately put to the test late last night against the No. 6 team in the country. It delivered, taking down Oklahoma 73-59 in a game the Bruins never trailed in the second half.

UCLA’s lowest win probability in this game came before tip-off, according to Bart Torvik. The Sooners certainly stayed close for awhile, getting the game within 1 early in the third quarter, but UCLA outscored Oklahoma 30-17 from that point on. What impressed me even more was that the Bruins did this without a strong offensive game from Lauren Betts (9 points, 4/11 FG, 7 TOs).

Many other key players also struggled, and UCLA shot below 40 percent on the game. Gianna Kneepkens (20 points, 8/14 FG) and Angela Dugalič (16 points, 15 rebounds) were the stars that carried them over the top, as well as the Bruins’ rebounding and defensive dominance: UCLA out rebounded Oklahoma 59-43 and held the Sooners to 30.7% shooting.

The challenges continue this week for the Bruins, with neutral-site games against South Florida and No. 11 North Carolina.

• USC

It was UCLA who took down the highest-ranked competition, but the Trojans earned the most impressive result of the week for me. In a “neutral site” in Charlotte, USC took down then-No. 9 NC State with an improbable 69-68 comeback. It’s a statement win that showed the remaining talent, and current resilience, that the Trojans still have without star JuJu Watkins available.

USC trailed by 11 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, then trailed 68-63 late before a Londynn Jones 3, split free throws from Gerda Raulusaityte and a game-winner from Jazzy Davidson got the job done. A pair of missed free throws by NC State with 10 seconds to go also helped.

Jones kept USC fighting early with some huge first-half points, and Davidson shook off a brutal start offensively to lead the Trojans with 21 points. She also had 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 5 blocks. Good lord.

The way USC fought to stay in this game, the way Davidson battled back against steep competition, these are all tremendous signs of what this team is capable of this season. Of course, we’re really going to find it out on Saturday, when the Trojans take on No. 2 South Carolina.

The Losses

• Rutgers

The only genuinely tough loss the Big Ten took this week came from the Scarlet Knights, who are still working through a largely fresh roster. Still, a 71-54 home loss to Stony Brook, who finished 12-18 last season and currently ranks 205th in Bart Torvik.

Rutgers were outscored in every quarter of this game, but most dramatically in the fourth, with the Seawolves winning that one 21-9. Perhaps most concerningly, the Scarlet Knights were outrebounded 45-30 by a team that was nearly doubled on the glass — 52-27 — by Syracuse earlier in the week.

Some positives: Former Boston College teammates Nene Ndiaye (16.3 PPG, 57.5 FG%) and Kaylah Ivey (13.7 PPG, 3.7 APG, 2.0 SPG) have taken charge early, and Rutgers is leading the country in trips to the free throw line (45), but now need to capitalize on said trips (60.6 FT%, 282nd in NCAA).

• Wisconsin

Not all losses hit the same, and that is absolutely the case for Wisconsin’s 65-62 OT road loss to Marquette. For starters, “OT” and “road” are both significant in diminishing the blow, but the Golden Eagles are also a team I expect to see in the NCAA Tournament this March. They returned quite literally their entire roster, and this new-look Badgers team very nearly pulled off the upset as double-digit underdogs.

Wisconsin bounced back with a dominant in-state win over Milwaukee, and I’ve really liked the takeover of Destiny Howell (13.3 PPG, 41.2 3PT%) and the continued increased play of Gift Uchenna Okeke, who is averaging 9.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in 16 minutes per contest.

The Close Calls

• Illinois

The Illini held on for a 75-65 win over Illinois State in a game that was within 2 with less than five minutes to play. The Redbirds have been a pesky bunch and won 24 games last season, so it’s a nice win to escape with, and a great learning lesson for this extremely exciting young backcourt.

Berry Wallace (24.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG) and Gretchen Dolan (17.0 PPG, 6.0 APG) are already off to the races, but it’s exciting to see true freshman Destiny Jackson (7.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, 2.5 SPG) so heavily involved already, with over 34 minutes per game.

• Indiana

It ended up being a comfortable 16-point win, but Indiana trailed UIC — Torvik No. 155 — by 7 at halftime. The Hoosiers pulled through thanks to Shay Ciezki, who ignited in the second half and finished with 35 points on 12-of-21 shooting. Ciezki has 57 points through two games, and is the key engine along with transfer Zania Socka-Nguemen (19.0 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 73.9 FG%).

One more thing worth noting: Pace. The Hoosiers slowed down to 70.0 possessions per 40 minutes last season (212th in NCAA), and are even slower thus far at 68.5 poss/40, which ranks toward the bottom at 329th. Two games in, this could be an outlier, but it’s worth keeping an eye on when the Hoosiers play a true challenge in Florida State this week.

• Maryland

Similarly to the Hooisiers, Maryland’s 85-66 victory over Georgetown looks like it was par for the course, but the Terps trailed 57-51 entering the fourth quarter before completely taking over down the stretch with a 34-9 final frame. Freshman Addi Mack had a tremendous game with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

Two other players to note: Saylor Poffenbaerger isn't shooting often (5.3 FGA per game), but she’s been sharp all around: 9.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.7 APG and 2.7 SPG while shooting 53.8% from deep. On the other end, it has been a brutal start for Yarden Garzon (8.0 PPG, 27.6 FG%, 21.1 3PT%). No panic button yet, but I’m excited to see this offense when she turns around her form.

This week’s game against Princeton will be a great test for the Terps: The Tigers forced 26 turnovers in a road win over Georgia Tech, and Maryland has yet to commit less than 17 turnovers in any of its three games.

• Northwestern

The Wildcats danced with death against a team ranked in the 300s for Bart Torvik, but they lived to tell the tale. Northwestern trailed with under 20 seconds to go, but a Xamiya Walton three and clutch free throws by Tate Lash earned Northwestern a 67-64 win over IU Indy.

Through two wins, Grace Sullivan (21.5 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 2.0 BPG) has taken over, with some key help from Tayla Thomas (11.0 PPG, 12.0 RPG). Those two have gone to work inside, but if Northwestern wants to keep piling up non-con wins, the Wildcats need to find a way to force turnovers (336th in TO rate) and hit shots from deep (22.6 3PT%, 314th).

• Penn State

Getting out of the first week undefeated is great news for Penn State, as it did not feel like as much of a given as some of the others in this section. An 82-77 win against Cincinnati, who ranks right next to the Nittany Lions in Torvik (Penn St 75th, Cincy 78th) is a terrific result, and it showed what the Kiyomi McMiller-Gracie Merkle duo can do.

Thus far, those two have dominated the offense as much as I expected: McMiller (22.0 PPG) and Merkle (19.0 PPG) account for nearly half of Penn State’s 82.5 PPG. McMiller has also added 7.5 APG and 4.5 SPG, while Merkle’s bringing in 8.0 RPG and 2.0 BPG.

Elsewhere, I’m Noticing the stat line from Téa Cleante’s first game, which was against Cincy: 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals in 30 minutes. Cleante was not on the roster when I did the Penn State preview, but this late add with a ton of overseas experience could be a huge one that went under the radar for me.

The Blowouts

These teams are going to get their day in the sun eventually, but this week they really just took care of business. I still have takeaways, but they’re going to be shorter until we know more.

• Iowa — Ava Heiden and Chit-Chat Wright. These two second-year players have been tremendous early on, with Wright averaging 8.5 APG and shooting 66.7% from deep and Heiden putting up 17.5 PPG and 12.5 RPG. It appears her end-of-season spurt last year was most certainly a sign. The Hawkeyes get Drake this week, a team that has given Iowa issues plenty of times in the past.

• Michigan — 35.5 opponent turnovers per game. It’s the most in the Big Ten, third-most in the country and Michigan’s 0.13 opponent assist-to-turnover ratio (!!!!!!!) is the very best in the nation so far. Both Mila Holloway (19.0 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.5 SPG) and Brooke Quarles Daniels (5.5 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.0 SPG) have been two-way monsters to lead that charge. The Notre Dame matchup this week should be SPECIAL.

• Michigan State — According to Her Hoop Stats, the Spartans are the current team to beat in the Big Ten. They rank sixth, one spot ahead of UCLA, and have completely blown the doors off their opponents. They also come just behind Michigan with a mere 33.0 opponent turnovers per game.

• Minnesota — True freshman Makena Christian. She’s averaging 17.0 PPG off the bench to lead the team through two games, and could be another great asset to this consistently deepening Gophers squad. Very excited to see this team play Marquette. Also, welcome back Mara Braun (11.0 PPG, 1.5 SPG), so excellent to see you playing again.

• Nebraska — While we await the return of Natalie Potts, Jessica Petrie (15.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG) has filled in nicely, but the story for me so far is the potential scoring leap from Britt Prince. She is averaging 21.0 PPG on 68.0% shooting (66.7 3PT%), and has taken a real scoring charge when on the floor so far, which she may need against in-state foe Creighton this week.

• Ohio State — The Cambridges. It’s only been one game, but 23 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists from Jaloni and 11 points, 5 assists, 7 steals and 0 turnovers from Kennedy is filthy stuff. Ohio State also played FAST in this one: 85 possessions, which was 10 above what the Buckeyes averaged last season.

• Oregon — Kelly Graves appears to be under the “if it ain’t broke” mantra base off the early games for the Ducks. Through two games, no player is averaging more than 12.5 PPG and Oregon is averaging 20 steals per game, fifth-most in the country. Perhaps equally impressive: The Ducks are only averaging eight turnovers per game, putting their assist-to-turnover ratio at a remarkable 3.19 (4th in NCAA).

• Purdue — It’s Hila Karsh, Hila Karsh is what I have noticed. The true freshman has 18.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.0 APG and has 68.4/71.4/100 shooting splits. She’s also averaging over 36 minutes per game, so the Boilermakers clearly want to get her involved early and often.

• Washington — Unfortunately, the main takeaway is that have for the Huskies is about a player that hasn’t played yet. Elle Ladine missed the first two games and is, as far as I last saw, considered “day-to-day.” Sayvia Sellers has ignited in the meantime (20.0 PPG, 5.5 APG), but Washington has a big one against Utah this Saturday, so hopefully the team can be more toward full strength. Also, Olivia Anderson has 6 blocks in 17 total minutes. She’s averaging 14.2 blocks per 40 minutes and is going to sustain that all season.

Photo Credit: Katie Chin, USC Athletics

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