2024 TIAA BIG TEN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT TIPS OFF WEDNESDAY

Mar 6, 2024 | BASKETBALL, BIG 10 SPORTS, COLLEGE, COLLEGE BASKETBALL, INDIANA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, PREVIEWS, PURDUE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, SPORTS NEWS AND SCORES

  • HISTORY. MADE. All-session tickets are sold out for the 2024 TIAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, marking the first sellout in the history of the 31-year event. More than 109,000 fans are expected to attend over the five days of competition, scheduled for March 6-10 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. The Target Center is home to the four-time WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx and the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. The tournament returns to the Twin Cities for the second time after a record-setting event last year.
  • Ohio State captured the Big Ten’s regular season title outright and finished with a 16-2 record in conference play to secure the No. 1 seed for the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State extended its conference record with its 16th Big Ten women’s basketball crown, the first outright regular season title since the 2009-10 season.
  • The 2023-24 all-conference teams and individual awards were announced Tuesday on the Big Ten Network’s “B1G Today” show. For the third year in a row, Iowa senior guard Caitlin Clark was named Big Ten Player of the Year by the conference coaches and a select panel of Big Ten media members. She is the first back-to-back-to-back recipient of the honor since Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender was chosen in 2008 (coaches only), 2009 and 2010. Nebraska forward Natalie Potts was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the conference’s coaches, while Purdue forward Mary Ashley Stevenson garnered Big Ten Freshman of the Year from the media panel. Ohio State’s graduate student guard Celeste Taylor earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year laurels from the coaches, while Wisconsin’s sophomore forward Serah Williams received Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year recognition in the media vote. Ohio State’s Kevin McGuff was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and Michigan State sophomore guard Theryn Hallock was voted the Big Ten’s Sixth Player of the Year.
  • Iowa’s Cailtin Clark and Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon were tabbed as two of five finalists for the 2024 Nancy Lieberman Award. Now in its 25th year, the award recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. To be considered for this prestigious award, candidates must exhibit the floor leadership, playmaking, and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman.
  • The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee revealed its latest top-16 seeds on Feb. 29, which included three Big Ten teams. Ohio State was tabbed as the No. 2 national seed, followed by No. 7 Iowa and No. 14 Indiana. The same trio was featured in the Committee’s first reveal on Feb. 15. The top-16 seeds announced in both of the Committee’s regular-season reveals have no bearing on the final 68-team field for the 2024 NCAA Tournament that will be announced on March 17 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
  • Caitlin Clark scored 35 points against Ohio State on Sunday to pass Pete Maravich and become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in college basketball history with 3,685 career points. Clark passed Maravich’s record (3,667 points) on a free throw with 0.3 seconds left in the second quarter. Clark holds the NCAA’s record for made three-pointers in a single season (162) and is the first Big Ten women’s basketball player to record over 500 three-pointers in a career (509). 
  • Indiana completed a perfect 15-0 record at home this season for back-to-back undefeated regular seasons at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers have won 30-straight regular season games on their home court.
  • Wisconsin’s Serah Williams tallied her 15th consecutive double-double on 17 points and 15 rebounds versus Michigan State to tie Megan Gustafson’s Big Ten record for consecutive double-doubles set during the 2018-19 season.
  • Iowa set the Big Ten Conference record for made three-pointers in a single game with 22 threes against Minnesota on Feb. 28. It was also a new top mark for Minnesota’s Williams Arena and a Hawkeye program record.
  • Gabbie Marshall posted 16 points against Minnesota to become the 44th player in Iowa history to reach 1,000 career points.  
  • The Big Ten is tied for second among Division I conferences with a remarkable eight schools in the top 50 of the latest NET rankings (including four in the top 25) – No. 5 Iowa, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 12 Indiana, No. 21 Michigan State, No. 26 Penn State, No. 30 Nebraska, No. 35 Maryland and No. 48 Illinois. The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) is the primary sorting tool used by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee for determining NCAA Tournament teams.
  • The Big Ten has three teams ranked, including two in the top five, in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today poll. The voting for this week was identical in both polls with Iowa up to No. 3, Ohio State at No. 4 and Indiana checking at No. 12. Michigan State is also receiving votes.
  • In the latest Massey Ratings, the Big Ten owns the country’s top offensive power rating, while coming in third in the nation in both strength of schedule for games played and strength of schedule for future games.
  • Offensive production continues to be the story for the Big Ten Conference as 10 different schools (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State) have scored 100 points in at least one game this season. Five Big Ten teams are averaging more than 80 points per game to ensure multiple national top 16 scoring offenses reside in the Big Ten, led by Iowa (1st – 92.7), Michigan State (6th – 84.5), Penn State (7th – 84.4), Ohio State (15th – 80.4) and Indiana (16th – 80.4).
  • The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in scoring (75.0 ppg), three-point percentage (.349), free throw percentage (.743), field goal percentage (.450) and assists (16.3 apg).
  • With a 1.63 assist/turnover ratio, Michigan State sits at No. 2 in the NCAA’s national statistical rankings. Iowa (6th – 1.56) and Indiana (12th – 1.39) are also included in the top 15. Individually, DeeDee Hagemann (MSU) comes in seventh at 2.90.
  • The Big Ten features some of the best shooting teams in the country with five programs among the top 15, including four in the top 10, in field goal percentage. Indiana has the best mark nationally at 51.6 percent, followed by Iowa (2nd – .505), Penn State (6th – .495), Michigan State (9th – .485) and Ohio State (15th – .471). Indiana, Penn State, Iowa and Michigan State are also efficient from beyond the arc. The Hoosiers lead the nation with a 40.5 three-point percentage while the Lady Lions check in fifth at 38.6 percent. The Hawkeyes rank eighth with a 38.2 clip and the Spartans are converting at a 37.3 rate for 13th.
  • Big Ten teams have been passing the rock quite well this season as six programs rank in the top 25 in the country in assists, led by Iowa (1st – 21.5), Michigan State (10th – 19.1), Indiana (16th – 18.5), Ohio State (19th – 17.8), Penn State (20th – 17.7) and Northwestern (24th – 17.4). A quarter of Big Ten players rank among the top 25 nationally in assists – Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (1st – 8.7 apg), Purdue’s Jeanae Terry (10th – 6.2 apg), Minnesota’s Amaya Battle (22nd – 5.5 apg) and Northwestern’s Caroline Lau (24th – 5.4 apg).
  • Individually, Caitlin Clark (IOWA) leads the country in points (968), points per game (32.3) and assists (260). Serah Williams (WIS) is averaging 2.85 blocks (5th) and 11.3 rebounds (7th) rebounds per game. Mackenzie Holmes (IND) is shooting 67 percent from the floor to rank first in field goal percentage, followed by Hannah Stuelke (IOWA) at 64.4 percent for fourth and Kendall Bostic (ILL) with a 61.4 clip to stand ninth.
  • The Big Ten has consistently ranked among the top three conferences in women’s basketball attendance for the past three decades and that trend has continued into the 2023-24 season. Currently, 11 Big Ten schools rank among the top 50 in the nation in average attendance, including six in the top 20, with both figures leading all Division I conferences. Iowa is second nationally in attendance (14,998 fans per game), followed by Indiana (5th – 10,038), Ohio State (9th – 7,559), Maryland (10th – 7,545), Nebraska (15th – 6,088) and Purdue (17th – 6,001).
  • The Big Ten closed its non-conference slate with a combined 114-41 (.735) record. Big Ten teams dominated on their home courts with an 82-11 (.882) record. Among the 114 victories, five were over AP Top 25 opponents.
  • The 2023-24 schedule marks the most coverage on nationally distributed platforms in Big Ten women’s basketball history. Six Big Ten regular-season games will be televised on a broadcast platform, the most in conference history. NBC televised its first-ever Big Ten women’s basketball game on Jan. 21 when Ohio State upset Iowa and Peacock carried its first Big Ten women’s basketball broadcast on Jan. 2, a thriller between Michigan State and Iowa. The Ohio State-Iowa matchup on NBC and Peacock was the most-watched regular season women’s college basketball game on any network since 2010. Viewership peaked at 3.9 million viewers and the broadcast averaged 1.93 million viewers.
  • Iowa has participated in the most-watched women’s basketball games of all time on six different networks this season – ABC, Big Ten Network, FOX, FS1, NBC and Peacock.
  • The second Ohio State-Iowa matchup on March 3 scored 3.39 millions viewers, to become the most watched regular season college women’s basketball game on any network since 1999 and the most watched women’s basketball game in FOX sports history.
  • The Illinois-Iowa game on Feb. 25 registered 816,000 viewers, good for the most-watched women’s basketball game in FS1 history.
  • Nebraska’s win over Iowa on Feb. 11 averaged 1,772,000 viewers, making it the second-most watched women’s college basketball game ever on FOX.
  • The Penn State-Iowa matchup on Feb. 8 pulled 657,000 viewers, good for both the most watched women’s college basketball game on the Big Ten Network and the most watched live women’s sporting event ever on BTN.
  • The primetime battle on Feb. 3 between Iowa and Maryland averaged 1,578,000 viewers, the third-most watched women’s college basketball game in FOX’s history. 
  • The Jan. 27 outing between Nebraska and Iowa drew 421,000 viewers, making it the second-most watched women’s basketball broadcast in Big Ten Network history.
  • No. 16/13 Ohio State claimed a landmark non-conference 78-58 win at No. 20/22 Tennessee. It was just the second time in Tennessee’s history that the Lady Vols have lost in Thompson-Boling Arena by at least 20 points. Ohio State is only the second Big Ten Conference program to defeat Tennessee in Knoxville, joining Indiana. It was the first time in conference history that the Big Ten has posted multiple wins over Tennessee in back-to-back years – Ohio State and Indiana both claimed victories over the Lady Vols during the 2022-23 season – and has won five of its last six matchups with Tennessee.
  • No. 21/19 Indiana secured an impressive non-conference 71-57 victory over No. 19/21 Tennessee on Nov. 23. It was the second time in as many years that the Hoosiers have bested the Lady Vols and the largest margin of victory (14) in the four-game all-time series. Last year’s Hoosier win was the first time a Big Ten Conference school defeated Tennessee in Thompson-Boling Arena. The matchup scored 1,118,000 viewers to rank as FOX’s most-watched women’s college basketball game ever and the most watched regular season women’s college basketball game on any network since last season’s 1,466,000 viewers for LSU vs. South Carolina on ESPN.