Where We Stand

Big Ten play is now here, and it is now here for the long haul. The conference has earned some signature wins, it currently occupies half of the top 12 spots in the NET rankings and ESPN’s latest Bracketology has 13 teams from the conference in the Field of 68.

All of that is to say, it’s about to get real good in 2026, so let’s take a wide lens on how we enter that picture.

My Top 50 Songs of 2025

We’re going to go through each team in the easiest way possible: Sorted by current record. This post is meant as a quick hitter, so let’s quickly hit.

The Undefeateds

• Maryland: 13-0 | AP Poll: 7th | NET Ranking: 10th | Best Win: 74-66 vs. No. 11 Kentucky

The Terps kept that zero in the loss column by the skin of their teeth, very nearly dropping their first Big Ten game in the 100-99 double overtime thriller against Minnesota. Since then, Maryland has played two blowouts, but that’s it: Two games in a 22-day span entering back into conference competition.

Oluchi Okananwa has been a tremendous add, leading Maryland with 15.5 PPG and adding 5.4 RPG and 1.8 SPG. Yarden Garzon has also started rounding into the form we know, scoring 15+ and hitting at least three shots from deep in each of her last three contests. Without Kaylene Smikle for the rest of the season, Maryland’s depth is going to be tested, but to be 13-0 at this point is a marvelous feat.

• Nebraska: 12-0 | AP: 20th | NET: 11th | Best Win: 91-82 vs. Virginia

It’s great to be undefeated at this point in the season obviously — only a dozen teams in the nation still are — but I also still need to see the Cornhuskers face more elite competition before I’m ready to make a judgment on their ceiling.

What I am ready to make a judgment on is Britt Price: She’s unreal. Prince has 18.6 PPG and 4.3 APG on 61.2/48.6/83.9 shooting, just silly numbers 12 games in. Nebraska’s shooting above nation-best 61.3% from inside the arc as a team, and that’s still without Natalie Potts’ arrival, who should make a massive impact on the team’s frontcourt.

One-Loss Teams

• UCLA: 11-1 | AP: 4th | NET: 4th | Best Win: 73-59 vs. No. 8 Oklahoma | Loss: 76-65 vs. No. 2 Texas

The Bruins may have a defeat on the record, but they have proven plenty in this non-conference run. UCLA has wins over the Sooners, North Carolina, Tennessee and Duke, as well as a solid Big Ten win over Oregon. All five of those teams are in the Top 30 of the NET, and each of those wins were by double digits.

Four Bruins are averaging north of 14 PPG: Kiki Rice, Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkens, and the collaborative effort has been put on display with a top five national ranking in assists per game (3rd), rebound rate (2nd) and assist-to-turnover ratio (5th). Freshman five-star Sienna Betts is also starting to enter the fray, which will be massive for the Bruins’ only potential weakness: depth.

• Michigan: 10-1 | AP: 6th | NET: 6th | Best Win: 93-54 vs. No. 18 Notre Dame | Loss: 72-69 vs. No. 1 UConn

Depending what you consider most important, the Wolverines have a very reasonable argument as being the Big Ten’s best team right now. The 39-point win over a ranked Notre Dame team is one thing, but even the one defeat — by three points to Unstoppable Force of Nature UConn — is beyond impressive considering what the Huskies have done to basically everyone else.

What’s Michigan’s biggest strength? I’d argue everything right now. They are a Top 10 offense and defense and have exhibited solid depth outside of the known big three of Olivia Olson, Syla Swords and Mila Holloway. The three-point shooting can still improve, and if it does, the Wolverines have the defensive ferocity to give any team in the nation difficulties.

• Michigan State: 11-1 | AP: 24th | NET: 8th | Best Win: 66-49 vs. No. 15 Ole Miss | Loss: 78-64 vs. Wisconsin

Perhaps the hardest team to read in the entire Big Ten. Michigan State continued to throttle its extremely inferior competition, then lost in pretty embarrassing fashion to the Badgers only to make up for it with a massive victory over a very good Ole Miss team. Big Ten play will tell us a lot about these Spartans.

The NET still loves Michigan State all the same. They are the best three-point shooting team in the country (40.9%) and have an assist-to-turnover ratio near two. Grace VanSlooten leads in scoring, but Kennedy Blair has been the revelation with 12.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG and 5.8 APG.

• Ohio State: 11-1 | AP: 19th | NET: 35th | Best Win: 83-81 vs. West Virginia | Loss: 100-68 vs. No. 1 UConn

The Buckeyes have similarly coasted through a very forgiving non-conference schedule, getting smushed by the Huskies and narrowly defeating a strong Mountaineers group. Like Michigan State, I believe we still have a lot to learn about this roster.

This team still thrives on forcing turnovers — over 25 per game — and it’s also only going as far as Jaloni Cambridge can take them. She’s averaging 19.3 PPG, 3.6 APG and 2.3 SPG and continues to mold into that superstar we are all expecting to see. Her sister — Kennedy Cambridge — is also averaging 4.4 steals per game, so that’s worth noting.

• Illinois: 11-1 | AP: Receiving Votes (33rd) | NET: 36th | Best Win: 78-57 vs. Indiana | Loss: 64-59 vs. Oregon State

Not to sound like a broken record here, but it’s a similar story thus far for the Illini: Weak non-conference schedule filled with mostly wins. The loss to the Beavers was early, and it felt like Illinois has found a rhythm since, evidenced by the beatdown against the Hoosiers.

The Illini are the best free-throw shooting team in the country (82.6%) and Berry Wallace has been a revelation in Year 2: 17.3 PPG and 7.2 RPG. It’s a lot of underclassmen running this show, but Shauna Green has them in a good place entering more conference competition.

Two-Loss Teams

• Iowa: 10-2 | AP: 14th | NET: 12th | Best Win: 57-52 vs. No. 22 Baylor | Losses: No. 10 Iowa State, No. 1 UConn

The Hawkeyes have been constantly tested during non-conference play, earning some big wins against Baylor, Fairfield and Miami (FL) to counteract some tough defeats to Top 10 teams. The Iowa State loss was close, the UConn one was not, but the whole résumé tells me this Iowa team has plenty of fight.

Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke continue to thrive together with each having at least 13 PPG and 7.5 RPG. The attack is extremely well balanced though, with five players averaging 2.4 APG or better to go along with a Top 10 rebounding rate and some significant defensive improvements over Iowa teams of the past.

• Oregon: 12-2 | AP: Receiving Votes (34th) | NET: 25th | Best Win: 58-53 vs. Auburn | Losses: No. 4 UCLA, Stanford

So far, the Ducks have managed to be pesky enough to win the easy ones and a few more challenging ones like the narrow victory against Auburn. But Oregon also lost by double-digits to the Cardinal and may have a similar formula to last year in the ways it can win games, for better or worse.

Katie Fiso and Mia Jacobs have been excellent with 14+ PPG apiece. Fiso’s 7.5 APG and shooting percentage north of 50 have also been massive, especially with Elisa Mevius down for the season. The Ducks force over 20 TOs per game and are moving the ball around well themselves, but need to find some offensive ignition to deal with the best teams of the Big Ten.

• Washington: 10-2 | AP: Receiving Votes (30th) | NET: 32nd | Best Win: 72-61 vs. Utah | Losses: No. 17 USC, Stanford

The Cardinal comes for us all, at least if you are Oregon or Washington. The Huskies have a very similar résumé to those Ducks right now, which feels like a bit of a letdown compared to preseason expectations (at least my preseason expectations, that is).

Elle Ladine’s return should eventually spark this team, but she’s still finding her footing six games in. Sayvia Sellers has picked up that slack in the meantime with some astounding numbers: 19.2 PPG, 3.4 APG, 43.4 3PT%. I still think this team’s ceiling is very high, but the offense needs more of a rhythm.

• Indiana: 11-2 | NET: 51st | Best Win: 76-72 vs. Gonzaga | Losses: No. 10 Iowa State, Illinois

This felt like a little bit of a rebuilding year for the Hoosiers, and with that in mind, the team has done about as well as you could hope. The Illinois defeat and the way it happened, maybe not so much, but 11 wins in the first 13 games is a strong enough start with all things considered.

Shay Ciezki is absolutely capable of being a No. 1 option, she has proven that plenty already with 24.3 PPG on obscene 55.8/46.3/94.6 splits. The rise of Lenée Beaumont (15.1 PPG, 3.3 APG) is what may give the Hoosiers an added edge against the steep competition that’s on the way.

Three-Loss Teams

• USC: 9-3 | AP: 17th | NET: 23rd | Best Win: 69-68 vs. NC State | Losses: No. 3 South Carolina, No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 1 UConn

Yeah sure, the Trojans would not have wanted to be this far down the list of records at this point in the season, but all three defeats were to ranked teams, two of which are to Top 3 teams, so it’s really not all that it would seem.

Without JuJu Watkins, the Trojans have lacked some offense but remain tremendous on defense: even the Gamecocks and Fighting Irish both won games without hitting 70 points. Jazzy Davidson has taken on that star role in stride and has some gaudy numbers to show for it: 16.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.8 APG, 2.0 SPG, 2.5 BPG. USC’s shooting averages are, to put it bluntly, bad, but as Davidson and sophomore Kennedy Smith continue to grow, there is still an extremely dangerous group here to deal with.

• Minnesota: 9-3 | NET: 18th | Best Win: 90-47 vs. Marquette | Losses: Kansas, Alabama, No. 7 Maryland

The Gophers have lost three extremely close games to very good competition, including the aforementioned Maryland defeat that Minnesota absolutely 100 percent should have won. But, they didn’t, so now it makes this Big Ten slate that much more important to ensure their place in the NCAA Tournament.

Minnesota remains a smothering defense, allowing 50.1 PPG, second-fewest in the country. Mara Braun’s shooting hasn’t fully come back from her long absence, but her defensive abilities sure have with 1.9 steals per contest. I continue to be impressed with Grace Grocholski’s development, and she’s hitting more than half of her five three attempts per game to keep Minnesota afloat.

• Wisconsin: 9-3 | NET: 68th | Best Win: 78-64 vs. No. 24 Michigan State | Losses: Marquette, No. 15 Ole Miss, James Madison

The transitive property of Michigan State, Ole Miss and Wisconsin is ruined and destroyed thanks to the Badgers’ stunner over the Spartans, but that should be a huge momentum jolt to begin the Robin Pingeton era.

Wisconsin’s relying heavy on the three-ball through Destiny Howell and Kyrah Daniels, who lead the team in scoring and have 50 combined makes between them. I’m hoping Gift Uchenna’s usage continues to increase as well: She’s been great in limited minutes, especially on the boards, and was a key factor in that Michigan State victory.

4+ Losses

• Purdue: 8-4 | NET: 58th | Best Win: 92-62 vs. Howard

The Boilermakers have two blowout losses to good teams and two close losses to bad teams, but recently have started lighting up inferior opponents which has drastically helped their NET ranking. Still, I’m not convinced it will translate to in-conference success. St. John’s transfer Tara Daye has been the key to their recent success and may be the lead option for them moving forward

• Rutgers: 8-4 | NET: 148th | Best Win: 68-63 vs. Rhode Island

Rutgers really can’t score, but the Scarlet Knights have found eight wins all the same, even picking up a few against better competition than Purdue has. That said, 60.5 PPG is not going to cut it, even with one of the slowest paces in the country. Nene Ndiaye has done what she can with 16.3 PPG, but the complementary scoring will need to be found to get this team into the Big Ten Tournament at the end of the season.

• Penn State: 7-5 | NET: 72nd | Best Win: 89-77 vs. Saint Joseph’s

The Nittany Lions are having the opposite problem: Points are happening, but points are also reeeeally happening for their opposition. Gracie Merkle (19.8 PPG) and Kiyomi McMiller (18.2 PPG) have been the offensive fireworks I hoped for, but Penn State is allowing 75.7 PPG on the other end, among the worst in the country. Games with this team are going to be fun to watch, but I don’t anticipate it leading to a lot of wins unless there’s some improvements made quickly.

• Northwestern: 6-6 | NET: 167th | Best Win: 62-59 vs. Abilene Christian

The Wildcats started 6-0. Now they are 6-6. I don’t have any joy in reporting these facts. The end of the Joe McKeown era is on the way to another low if things don’t turn around quickly, and this is despite 22.4 PPG from Grace Sullivan and over nine assists per game from Caroline Lau. The defense is floundering, and after four straight defeats to at least respectable opponents, the continued losses to Loyola Chicago and George Washington (Nos. 261 and 136 in the NET) feel like potential death blows to the season.

Photo Credit: Nebraska Women’s Basketball (@HuskerWBB), Twitter

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