Last Zero Standing

UCLA is 20-0, Michigan State and Ohio State have big weeks, and important info out of Wisconsin

January 27, 2025

Plug alert!

I spoke with the excellent Mark Schindler on all things Big Ten Women’s Basketball for his They’ve Got Now podcast. It’s nearly two hours on all of the teams in the conference that are currently in the NCAA Tournament picture, and some of the takes have already aged well or poorly I am sure!

The YouTube link is here, and Apple/Spotify links are in the description over there as well.

Last Week’s Hoopla:

By Friday evening, UCLA stood alone.

South Carolina was able to take out undefeated LSU, leaving the Bruins as the nation’s last undefeated team at 20-0. These three teams now are in a very interesting matchup triangle for the time being, with UCLA already having taken down the Gamecocks this season, and the Tigers being the Bruins’ most recent loss in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

But we aren’t here to focus on South Carolina and LSU. UCLA deserves a ton of credit for getting to this point, and just kicked off what was a Top 10 team on the road to keep that zero in the loss column.

Maryland may have been without Shyanne Sellers, but the Terps battled the Bruins hard in the first half to keep it a five-point game at the break. But within two minutes of the third quarter, the lead was pushed to double-digits and Maryland never got closer than within nine from there. In the end, it was a relatively comfortable 82-67 UCLA victory, the team’s 19th win by 10+ and 17th by 15+.

Right now, just about everything is clicking for this team, but nothing is specifically clicking more than Lauren Betts. The Bruins’ superstar center has launched into orbit as of late: The Maryland win marked her fourth straight game with 20+ points, 7+ rebounds and 4+ blocks.

She just reached those seven-rebound and four-block totals against the Terps, but if that wasn’t enough for you, she also added 33 points on 14-of-15 shooting. Betts is now up to 21.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 2.5 APG and 3.0 BPG while shooting 64.2 percent from the field. Those totals, along with her outrageously impressive defensive play, makes her a clear National Player of the Year candidate considering how good UCLA has been so far.

That said, UCLA is also doing so well because of how strong its depth is. Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalič have each made strides in their game to be some of the best co-stars in the nation. Timea Gardiner and Janiah Barker have carved out significant spots on the bench as incoming transfers. Elina Aarnisalo has been an instant impact true freshman. It’s all just coming together to make for a juggernaut that will not be easily taken down.

Nothing about what UCLA has built feels faulty, but the team’s closing schedule is, well it’s not easy! Two games against USC, games at Iowa and at Oregon, and Ohio State, Illinois and Minnesota are all potential slip-up opportunities even at home. If the Bruins do run the table there, specifically in those two USC games, they will have left no doubt on who is the best team in the country heading into the Big Dance in my eyes. Betts will have likely also left no doubt on who is the best player in the country, but only time will tell.

Bucks Bounce Back

Ohio State’s surprised loss to Penn State didn’t feel like a cause of red alert, but the Buckeyes were staring down the barrel of a week that made losing three straight feel at least on the table.

Instead, Ohio State earned two difficult wins in a row against Maryland and Nebraska to avoid any amount of that hypothetical. Both games saw the Buckeyes trailing at halftime, and both saw Ohio State not care. Maryland led 50-40 with 5:52 to go in the third quarter, and Ohio State led 51-50 by the 3:05 mark. The Nebraska game was always close, but once the Buckeyes took the lead with 3:33 to go in the third, they never gave it back.

Ohio State won the Maryland game 74-66 and the Nebraska game 72-66. With scores that similar, it felt worth it to compare how the Buckeyes did in both contests:

Ohio State: vs. Maryland | vs. Nebraska

  • FG%: 40.3% (27/67) | 50.0% (27/54)

  • 3PT%: 15.8% (3/19) | 35.0% (7/20)

  • Opponent FG%: 35.7% (20/56) | 37.9% (25/66)

  • Rebound Margin: -14 (34-48) | +1 (38-37)

  • Turnover Margin: +12 (5-17) | -3 (16-13)

These were very different games! Maryland is one of the best rebounding teams in the country, so Ohio State had to find an advantage in forcing turnovers. Jaloni and Kennedy Cambridge both used their athleticism to beat the Terps to the rim on fast breaks. If Ohio State had to run its offense, Maryland made it heard to work.

Against Nebraska, the Buckeyes’ offense was moving more according to plan in every area except one. That would be Cambridge, who went from 20 against the Terps to getting shut out with five turnovers in 17 minutes of action against the Cornhuskers. The fact that Ohio State overcame that AND a turnover margin loss on the road to Nebraska is extremely impressive.

The Buckeyes overcame it largely in thanks to Taylor Thierry, the do-it-all forward who hit 8-of-10 shots for a game-high 23 points. Cotie McMahon was also a major offensive consistent in both games, going 5-of-16 with 14 points, then 6-of-17 with 15 points, though she added 10 rebounds and three steals in the Nebraska victory.

These are wins that proved to me Ohio State has many ways to get to a victory. The win against Maryland felt like a formula we knew: A slow patch of the game that is overcome by a supernova of press defense and transition baskets with momentum that feels impossible to stop. Nebraska’s win felt more methodical and sustainable, and it happened with zero points from one of the team’s top scorers.

A Second-Half Statement From Sparty

Michigan returned to Ann Arbor with significant momentum. The Wolverines had won their fourth straight by going on the road against a very tough Minnesota team and earning a 70-65 battle of a win. Michigan State was also winners of four straight, making for one of the most intriguing clashes between these in-state schools in recent years.

Michigan held a lead at halftime. It was 33-29.

The Michigan lead lasted for 75 seconds in the second half. Michigan State won the game by 30 points.

A 15-0 Spartans run to open the third quarter set the tone, and Michigan State simply refused to ever let up again. They forced 13 Michigan turnovers in the second half, Michigan State shot 61.1% from the field in that same stretch, and that was that. A 59-point second half to win 88-58.

These are the type of wins last year’s Michigan State team lacked. An absolute statement smackdown of a ranked opponent — and a rival one, at that — where the Spartans did face a deficit and did have to overcome it. Theryn Hallock had 25 points, Julia Ayrault had 18 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks and Grace VanSlooten had 18 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. These three feel like they have both the talent and experience to make some huge waves down the stretch.

This win was Michigan State’s fifth straight, all by double digits. They are now ranked among the Top 16 in the NET and sit in a solid position to fight for home games in the NCAA Tournament. It’s hard to argue against the team that did what it just did to a very good Michigan squad deserving it.

Wisconsin Allegations

Former Wisconsin women’s basketball center Tessa Towers recently posted on TikTok a long list of horrifying allegations against Badgers head coach Marisa Moseley that you can see here. There are also a handful of replies made by various former Wisconsin players.

While I obviously cannot speak on the situation past what Towers laid out, the allegations paint a very sinister, toxic environment created by the Wisconsin coaching staff that put her in constant fear of losing a roster spot and that did not take her mental health into consideration.

More info on the situation can also be found in a well-written article by Badger Notes here. There has not yet been a response from Wisconsin that I have seen as of writing this, but I hope that changes soon. The basketball is out of the equation here: If these accusations are true, then Moseley should not remain as head coach of this program.

What To Watch

(Times are listed in EST)

  • 1/27

    • Indiana at Washington, 9 p.m., B1G+

  • 1/30

    • Oregon at Michigan State, 7 p.m., BTN

    • Minnesota at USC, 10 p.m., Peacock

  • 2/2

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