Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Preview
Wednesday afternoon, at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse the 2022 Big Ten Women’s Tournament kicks off with a battle between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
This is a highly anticipated tournament with five of the teams in the tournament currently ranked in the AP’s top 15 nationally.
The top seeds and regular-season conference champions are No. 13 Ohio State and No. 12 Iowa. Ohio State is led by leading scorer and assist leader Jacy Sheldon who’s averaging 19.4 points per game and four assists per game.
She’s joined alongside Rebeka Mikulasikova and Taylor Mikesell, with both averaging double-digit points as well.
This is a depth-filled team that has competed with some of the top units all season, beating Iowa and splitting the season series with No. 11 Maryland. They are seeded as the top team in the tournament, but still may not be the team to beat.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are led by superstar sophomore and Wooden award candidate Caitlin Clark who is averaging 27.5 points per game and 8.3 assists per game, both marks ranking first in the nation. Behind Clark, Monika Czinano is averaging 20.7 points per game which ranks 14th.
This team has all the talent in the world and with Clark having two years left, at least, they have time to win multiple conference titles, but is this the year they get the first?
One thing’s for certain, they may be the hottest team coming in, beating No.10 Michigan once, and No.14 Indiana twice in the past few weeks.
Michigan has yet to win a conference title, but this year could just be its best chance. All-American Naz Hillmon is averaging nearly a double-double with 21.1 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game.
She will try to lead a depth-filled roster to a potential monster win for the program in general with significant NCAA tournament implications added on as well.
You can’t count out the Maryland Terrapins who have won every Big Ten tournament since 2015 but one. They have the deepest roster in the tournament as well with five players averaging over double-digit points.
Angel Reese leads the way as another sophomore stud, averaging a double-double with 17.6 points per game and 10.7 assists per game. When it comes to this tournament, never bet against the Terrapins.
Indiana is also ranked highly nationally and could make some noise as well with five scorers also averaging double-digit points per game. They are led by leading scorers, junior McKenzie Holmes and senior Grace Berger. Indiana’s last conference title was in 1983, and they look set to make a run and attempt to end its drought.
With five legitimate contenders and other teams like Nebraska and Northwestern poised to look for an upset, it’s set to be a fantastic tournament with a guaranteed tournament bid and potential seeding implications on the line.
Dylan Price is a first-year majoring in journalism. To contact him, email dvp5625@psu.edu.
