It was an extremely eventful weekend for Big Ten women’s basketball. Once the games started on Friday, it felt like someone in the conference was always playing all the way until Monday night.
That Monday night was a win: UCLA’s expected advancement into the Sweet 16 by taking down Oklahoma State. Before the Round of 64 even began, the Big Ten picked up a win with Nebraska dominating Richmond, something I did not expect to happen.
Between those two victories was, yes, a whole lot of winning. But it also came with a lot of losing in the final two days.
When it was all said and done, the Big Ten was left with three of the remaining 16 schools, trailing behind both the SEC (six teams) and ACC (five). The conference had plenty of chances to get more — 11 in total, in fact — but eight went down in that Round of 32 to bring the conference’s overall NCAA Tournament record down to 15-9.
Let’s start with who’s left before going through who has left.
NCAA Tournament Previews (that were pretty wrong)
All three of the remaining Big Ten teams were opening weekend hosts, meaning that none of them technically pulled any upsets. But of these routes to the Sweet 16, one stands out for the absolute fight it took to get here.
As it has been many times all season, friends, it’s time to talk about Minnesota once again.
Photo Credit: Kelly Lynn, Minnesota Athletics
The Gophers trailed in the fourth quarter of both of their first weekend games, first by four to Green Bay, then by eight to Ole Miss. Against the Phoenix, Minnesota took awhile to get the offense going, and once it did Green Bay’s did as well, outscoring Minnesota each of the first three quarters (11-10, 18-16, 20-19).
It was a tight battle where the Phoenix was able to completely take key scorer Grace Grocholski out of the game (0 points, 0-5 FG). Regardless, Minnesota came out in the fourth a different unit and took the game over, outscoring Green Bay 30-9 the rest of the way to a comfortable victory.
This was not going to be the case against the Rebels, a physically demanding group that can match Minnesota’s defensive intensity. In this one, the Gophers let an early lead slip away in the third quarter. Minnesota did shut the door on the Ole Miss attack after that, allowing only nine points in the fourth, but the deficit felt tough to climb with how little each of these teams was giving up.
A three from Brylee Glenn — only her 11th of the season — cut the deficit to four. The margin stayed around there until there was 1:17 to go, when Mara Braun hit on a huge three to tie the game. Sophie Hart and Latasha Lattimore exchanged baskets in the final 20 seconds to keep the game tied and likely send it to overtime.
Until Amaya Battle decided to intervene.
One of the best crowd pops I can remember. Battle’s shot was not an actual buzzer-beater and 0.8 seconds were put back on the clock, but the final Ole Miss look missed anyway, and the Gophers are headed to their first Sweet 16 since 2005.
This game did not come without its share of controversy — Cotie McMahon fouled out in 21 minutes on an iffy call at best — but Minnesota won the damn game and absolutely earned it. It was so rewarding to have the biggest shots of the game be made by Braun, Battle and Sophie Hart, who put Minnesota up 2 with 18 seconds to go.
Braun and Battle have been here with Minnesota for four seasons and two coaches, while Hart arrived a year later with Dawn Pliztuweit in 23-24. The core group (Grocholski, Niamya Holloway and Brynn Senden have also been here for three seasons) stayed together through multiple years of missing out on the Big Dance, and they were able to put it all together and get this program back to the Sweet 16 with an incredible game-winner in front of a raucous crowd. It’s beautiful stuff.
Who are they going to be playing next round? Well!
UCLA was the final of the three Big Ten teams to advance into the Sweet Sixteen, doing so with a slow-start, strong-finish rout of Cal Bapitst, then a relatively comfortable victory over Oklahoma State.
The margin of victory over OK State won’t impress the way the other three No. 1 seeds obliterated their foes, but the Bruins leapt out to a big lead and were never seriously contested the rest of the way: Oklahoma State was never within better than 13 after going down by that much at the end of the first. To me, UCLA did as much as it needed to do and that was that.
The big takeaway from these games: Lauren Betts is ready. I’d say 28.5 PPG on 70.6% shooting, including a career-high 35 in the Round of 32, is a strong start. The Bruins as a whole have also been exceptional at moving the ball, leading the tournament in assists per game (24.0) and AST/TO ratio (2.67).
The Bruins will be facing, well, the Gophers in the Sweet 16. The good news is that means the Big Ten is guaranteed a team in the Elite Eight, nice!
Last time these two teams faced was on Jan. 14, and UCLA won in very UCLA fashion. The Bruins jumped to an early lead and held on the whole way. Kiki Rice had 25 points, UCLA shot 60% from the field and 68.8% from inside the arc, and it was a straightforward 76-58 win, all on the road.
On Minnesota’s side, the Gophers were rebounded 34-22 and collected only 11 defensive boards on the day. Grocholski shot 4 of 17, which is also what Minnesota shot as a team from three. I think getting the most out of Grochoski is a huge difference-maker in this rematch: She shot nine total times last weekend but started to find momentum late against Ole Miss that I hope translates into higher volume against the Bruins.
Minnesota did do some things well in that loss: The Gophers won the turnover battle 17-10 and took Gianna Kneepkens completely out of the game (4 points, 0 made FGs in 33 minutes). They need to control UCLA’s interior presence and force the ball out of Betts’ hands while being much more efficient on their opportunities, all things easier to write here than to actually execute.
UCLA is the heavy favorite and should be, but I do think Minnesota forces the Bruins to kick into the extra gear they have not needed yet. The Gophers cannot have the slow starts that nearly ended their tournament early, and I think it’ll be a respectable fight that ends up in a 10-to-12-point UCLA win.
The winner of this game will play the winner of LSU-Duke, two teams that have looked extremely dangerous to this point. I picked the Tigers to start and they have shown me nothing that would change my mind thus far.
LSU’s rapid-fire pace and top-scoring offense in the country would make for an incredible battle with UCLA, and it may come down to who can win the battle on the boards and if the Tigers can get the three-point shooting going, which has been more prevalent recently (18+ attempts in four straight games). I still think UCLA can get past them, but LSU is a scary team and will be a massive test as, I believe, another genuine title contender.
The Big Ten’s third contestant in the Top 16 Sweetstakes is Michigan, and I believe I’m saving the best opening weekend performance for last here. The Wolverines blew past Holy Cross and then sent NC State to the shadow realm with a 62-point second half that showed me Michigan can absolutely battle with the big dogs this tournament.
There was so much to love about this performance. Syla Swords set the tone early, Michigan withstood a slow Olivia Olson start long enough for her to get 27 points, all in the second half and the press was absolutely menacing, allowing for a 5×4 stat line from Brooke Quarles Daniels (6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals). Michigan even shot 92.3% from the free throw line, and the Wolverines are bad at those!
An intriguing matchup with Louisville awaits. As said last week, the Cardinals really spread the ball around and are a strong offensive unit. Jeff Walz is an experienced coach, but so was Wes Moore for the Wolfpack. I simply like Michigan’s top-end talent and how it played last weekend enough to believe the Wolverines get through to the Elite Eight.
That Texas matchup continues to look daunting. The Longhorns, and particularly, Madison Booker, absolutely detonated on Oregon, scoring 100 points thanks largely to Booker’s 40. Kentucky should be a good battle for them, but if the Wildcats are dispatched in a similar fashion I fear that Texas may have it figured out. Michigan certainly can compete with the Longhorns though, especially if it can take the momentum from that dominant second half forward.
The Eliminated
The Big Ten had nine fallen soldiers this weekend, with losses that range from Excellent Fight to My Goodness Me That’s Not Good. The good news: All nine of these teams also won a game!
I don’t want to go into an extended amount of length harping on the bad, but I'll go through each of these teams in their wins and losses to discuss a bit of what went wrong (and right). They are in order of seed, aka most surprising exits.
Iowa
Win: 58-48 vs. FDU — It felt like something was up with Iowa almost immediately. Fairleigh Dickinson was much closer to winning this game than the final score shows, and the Hawkeyes benefitted from a 29-to-2 free throw disparity and a dominance on the boards. Ava Heiden had 29, but Iowa’s offense looked sluggish, out of rhythm and in serious danger.
Loss: 83-75 (2OT) vs. Virginia — Turns out the danger was warranted. Iowa had 57 points after regulation. In three of the quarters, the Hawkeyes were held to 13 points or less. Taylor McCabe has been out for two months so I don’t want that as an excuse: The offense should have looked better, and it was a disastrous performance on that side of the floor. Credit absolutely goes to the Cavaliers who deserved this win, they looked like the better team. But man, after a season full of positive surprises, Iowa ends it with a stunning dud.
Ohio State
Win: 75-54 vs. Howard — A very rudimentary first round victory that didn’t spell any trouble from me. Ohio State outscored Howard 23-4 in the second quarter and it was about over from there. The Bison had 3 assists and 17 turnovers, and were held without a three-pointer.
Loss: 83-73 vs. Notre Dame — Sigh, one day I won’t be fooled by Second Round Ohio State. While I may have been a touch too harsh on Notre Dame’s supporting cast, with four of them finishing in double figures, the Buckeyes were absolutely beat by Hannah Hidalgo. She had 26 points, 13 rebounds and 8 steals, and was a +18 in over 38 minutes meaning yes, the Irish were -8 in about 100 seconds without Hidalgo out there. Jaloni Cambridge did all she could and finished with 41 points. She was the only Buckeye in double figures. Notre Dame is a solid team, but absolutely a beatable one, and this is yet another disappointing early exit — the third straight home loss in the Round of 32 — for a program making a habit of doing so under Kevin McGuff.
Maryland
Win: 99-67 vs. Murray State — This was a great win! The Terps took a solid lead early and turned it into a blowout late, and did so with Oluchi Okananwa scoring only seven points. A 51-21 rebounding different, including 24 offensive rebounds, is nasty nasty work.
Loss: 74-66 vs. UNC — I’m mad about this loss too, but in a much different way than the two before. This one isn’t about the quality of opponent, it’s more that Maryland had it and let it slip away. The Terps rallied from a tough first half to tie the game entering the fourth. They were within three late, they just couldn’t find the big shot or the little ones to get over the hump. Maryland went 3 of 23 from deep (not good), seniors Yarden Garzon and Saylor Poffenbarger combined to go 0 of 16 from three (worse) and Maryland shot 17 of 31 from the line (54.8%, even worse). Fourteen missed free throws and 16 missed threes from your most experienced players is going to sting for awhile.
Michigan State
Win: 65-62 vs. Colorado State — The Rams gave the Spartans everything they had, but Michigan State narrowly escaped with the help of 18-point efforts from Kennedy Blair and Grace VanSlooten. Michigan State only forced 12 turnovers in this one and generally did not have the spark as a team that it can have when playing at its best.
Loss: 77-71 vs. Oklahoma — It was a commendable effort here, but Michigan State again has to feel like it had a chance to pull the upset. The Spartans were up at halftime and stayed close throughout the fourth, but Oklahoma kept them at just enough of an arms length to advance. Michigan State got a big boost from Rashunda Jones (20 points) and did force plenty of Oklahoma turnovers (23), but also coughed it up 22 times themselves. And, once again, free throws. Michigan State hit 7 of 16 and loss by six. It hurts to type.
Washington
Win: 72-54 vs. South Dakota State — This was an excellent Washington performance. The Jackrabbits are not a typical mid-major and have been NCAA Tournament regulars, but the Huskies were unfazed and took everyone sans Brooklyn Meyer out of the game. Avery Howell had 30 points to lead the way.
Loss: 62-59 (OT) vs. TCU — Very little to be disappointed with here. Washington fought like hell against an excellent Horned Frogs squad and came up just short. Sayvia Sellers was built for the moment and hit some crucial looks, even in an inefficient showing. Brynn McGaughy scored a massive bucket late to force OT and they completely contained a very strong perimeter-shooting team. Keep those heads high, Huskies.
Illinois
Win: 66-57 vs. Colorado — I loved seeing Illinois’ underclassmen big three pull through to get this win. Cearah Parchment (21 points), Berry Wallace (18) and Destiny Jackson (16, 11 rebounds, 6 assists) are such a fun unit and nearly outscored the Buffaloes themselves in this one, but it was also a 2-point game early in the fourth. The Illini had to work for it, but they earned a tourney win for the second year in a row.
Loss: 75-57 vs. Vanderbilt — Listen, very little shame from me for getting Mikayla Blakes’ed, it’s a thing that happens to many. Blakes (25-10-9) is a lightning bottle of a superstar and she was tremendous here. Vandy got up big early and Illinois won 2 of the last 3 quarters, I’m leaving here with something. It’s a learning lesson for Jackson who was held without a field goal, but the Illini have a young core that will be able to return here stronger (if it stays together).
Oregon
Win 70-60 vs. Virginia Tech — I’d argue the best Big Ten win of the first round! The Ducks dominated the Hokies in this one: Oregon was up 21 with 4:18 to go, and the deficit was cut to 10 with two seconds left. For an 8-9 matchup, that’s excellent game control. It was also a specifically excellent game for Katie Fiso: 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
Loss: 100-58 vs. Texas — Feel like I don’t have to talk much about this one. Oregon could have put up a stronger fight, sure, but Madison Booker decided this was not going to be considered and that was that.
USC
Win: 71-67 (OT) vs. Clemson — All but two made baskets came from the trio of Jazzy Davidson, Kara Dunn and Kennedy Smith, and Davidson especially was tremendous down the stretch to get this win for the Trojans. She scored 31 points along with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in a monstrous showing, helped by an extremely efficient 22 from Dunn. Davidson hit two shots from deep to turn a 3-point deficit into a 3-point lead in the extra frame, and it ultimately sparked the win.
Loss: 101-61 vs. South Carolina — Similar story to Oregon here, though I do have a few more complaints. USC could have stayed closer without 27 turnovers and without missing over half of its 11 free throws, but the Gamecocks showed their depth and experience pretty quickly in this one, and it was a 30-point deficit at halftime. Very excited to see the 26-27 version of the Trojans.
Nebraska
Win: 75-56 vs. Richmond (First Four) — Nebraska, thank you for proving me wrong! The Huskers crushed the Spiders behind an excellent Britt Prince game (22 points, 10/14 FG) and though Maggie Doogan finished with 24 and 10, she was mostly shut down until Richmond was playing catch up late.
Loss: 67-62 vs. Baylor — The loss almost proved me wrong more than the win did. Nebraska fought like hell against the Bears and Prince had another big game with 27 points in a game where both teams struggled to score. Unfortunately, Nebraska did Nebraska: The Cornhuskers led by nine in the fourth before Baylor stormed back to steal the win, but I was still plenty impressed with the fight they showed.
I’ll be back in a week to discuss the fallout of the second weekend. Will we see a Big Ten team in the Final Four for the fourth straight year? Will my bracket recover from its many disgusting mistakes? I have more hope for one of those than the other.
Photo Credit: Kelly Lynn, Minnesota Athletics
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