Tell me about the NEW Big Ten

[visitingcock]

Has anybody heard how the Big is gonna schedule conference games? They were already beginning conference play in December - ahead of other conferences. With 4 new members, that's two additional weeks of play for the existing teams just to play everybody once. Will they adjust by each team playing only once per season - thereby only 17 games per season or will they begin conference play on December 1st-ish. That would reduce the non-conference games to only. Will there be divisions? Quads?

I realize we are still in Portal Season, but who will be the favorites? Dark horses?

Will attendance/TV views come close to last year? Will the West Coast fanbases pick up some?

 

[undersized]

Big Ten Conference Announces Future Basketball Scheduling Formats

ROSEMONT, Illinois – As part of ongoing preparations for the addition of four new member institutions during the 2024-25 academic year, the Big Ten Conference on Tuesday announced details regarding future regular- and postseason competition structures for men’s and women’s basketball.

bigten.org

"Both the men’s and women’s conference schedules will remain at 20 and 18 contests, respectively, for each school. This allows for non-conference scheduling flexibility, is consistent with peer schedule formats and maximizes opportunities for NCAA postseason berths. Single-play home/away locations will rotate annually, and two-play opponents will be determined with consideration for competitive balance, geography and rivalries."

Personally I hope there's some sort of travel partner system implemented -- like if you're flying out to UCLA you'll also play USC on that same trip (or Washington/Oregon, or Maryland/Rutgers) -- but I haven't seen any info about that.

 

[Vowelguy]

Personally I hope there's some sort of travel partner system implemented -- like if you're flying out to UCLA you'll also play USC on that same trip (or Washington/Oregon, or Maryland/Rutgers) -- but I haven't seen any info about that.

If they don’t do this, I’d question if there are any intelligent people at these universities.

 

[bballnut90]

Has anybody heard how the Big is gonna schedule conference games? They were already beginning conference play in December - ahead of other conferences. With 4 new members, that's two additional weeks of play for the existing teams just to play everybody once. Will they adjust by each team playing only once per season - thereby only 17 games per season or will they begin conference play on December 1st-ish. That would reduce the non-conference games to only. Will there be divisions? Quads?

I realize we are still in Portal Season, but who will be the favorites? Dark horses?

Will attendance/TV views come close to last year? Will the West Coast fanbases pick up some?

West coast viewership/attendance should go up with a massive increase in attendance by both USC/UCLA this year. The switch from Pac-12 Network to BTN will also be huge for viewership.

Looking at the conference next year, I see the projected standings as:

Title contenders:
1. UCLA-they have a lot of talent back, led by their loaded junior class which includes Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and Londyn Jones. They're rumored as a potential landing spot for Kiki Iriafen too.

2. USC-they bring back Juju and a deep and talented freshman class. They're rumored as a potential landing spot for Kiki Iriafen too.

Next tier:
3. Ohio State-they bring back McMahon, bring in a top PG recruit and also have nice portal pickups in Chance Gray and Ajae Petty. Petty in particular addresses their need for post play.

4. Nebraska-Markowski and Potts are back as a great duo to build around

5. Maryland-all top players are back besides Brown-Turner, most notably Shyanne Sellers. Frese is an Elite coach and should improve on this past season.


Middle of the pack, good shot at NCAA tournament:

6. Indiana-they lose a lot, but still have Garzon/Parrish/Moore-McNeil. Elite coaching too.

7. Iowa-they lose a ton but still have Stuehlke, Affolter and a good freshman class coming. Plus they're in the mix for Lucy Olsen.

8. Michigan State-have a couple of leading scorers back, picked up a great player in Grace Van Slooten in the portal

9. Illinois-4 of top 5 players are back. 3 will be fifth year seniors.

10. Washington-return most of their top players, went 6-12 in PAC last year.


Unknown/destroyed by portal:
11. Penn State-top 6 or 7 players are all gone, will be a completely different team. Probably in the grouping below.

12. Michigan-lose 8 of top 10 players. Probably in grouping below.


Potential to be middle of the pack, likely bottom half though:
13. Minnesota-most of their top players are back, including Mara Braun who missed most of the year with an ACL. Went 5-13 in conference play.

14. Wisconsin-top 2 players back, went 6-12 in conference this year

15. Northwestern-most top contributors are back, went 4-14 in conference




Bottom feeders:
16. Purdue-went 5-13 in Big Ten last year, loses most top players

17. Oregon-went 2-16 in PAC last year, lost 2 best players to the portal

18. Rutgers-went 2-16 in Big Ten a year ago

 

[WBBTakeover]

I don't have much to say about the B1G except that I believe the Cali schools (UCLA and USC) will absolutely run the conference (much like Maryland did when they entered a decade ago) until Iowa accumulates enough elite talent to take back the top spot (they always do). Don't believe me? Look at the B1G POY winners from 2017 on.

I don't care enough about the rest of the conference (sorry ) to comment any further at this time. I may change my mind later, however.

 

[cancontent]

West coast viewership/attendance should go up with a massive increase in attendance by both USC/UCLA this year. The switch from Pac-12 Network to BTN will also be huge for viewership.

Looking at the conference next year, I see the projected standings as:

Title contenders:
1. UCLA-they have a lot of talent back, led by their loaded junior class which includes Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and Londyn Jones. They're rumored as a potential landing spot for Kiki Iriafen too.

2. USC-they bring back Juju and a deep and talented freshman class. They're rumored as a potential landing spot for Kiki Iriafen too.

Next tier:
3. Ohio State-they bring back McMahon, bring in a top PG recruit and also have nice portal pickups in Chance Gray and Ajae Petty. Petty in particular addresses their need for post play.

4. Nebraska-Markowski and Potts are back as a great duo to build around

5. Maryland-all top players are back besides Brown-Turner, most notably Shyanne Sellers. Frese is an Elite coach and should improve on this past season.


Middle of the pack, good shot at NCAA tournament:

6. Indiana-they lose a lot, but still have Garzon/Parrish/Moore-McNeil. Elite coaching too.

7. Iowa-they lose a ton but still have Stuehlke, Affolter and a good freshman class coming. Plus they're in the mix for Lucy Olsen.

8. Michigan State-have a couple of leading scorers back, picked up a great player in Grace Van Slooten in the portal

9. Illinois-4 of top 5 players are back. 3 will be fifth year seniors.

10. Washington-return most of their top players, went 6-12 in PAC last year.


Unknown/destroyed by portal:
11. Penn State-top 6 or 7 players are all gone, will be a completely different team. Probably in the grouping below.

12. Michigan-lose 8 of top 10 players. Probably in grouping below.


Potential to be middle of the pack, likely bottom half though:
13. Minnesota-most of their top players are back, including Mara Braun who missed most of the year with an ACL. Went 5-13 in conference play.

14. Wisconsin-top 2 players back, went 6-12 in conference this year

15. Northwestern-most top contributors are back, went 4-14 in conference




Bottom feeders:
16. Purdue-went 5-13 in Big Ten last year, loses most top players

17. Oregon-went 2-16 in PAC last year, lost 2 best players to the portal

18. Rutgers-went 2-16 in Big Ten a year ago

Interesting. Some thoughts in response yours in these teams.

Maryland: Losing Masonius to the portal hurts with respect to veteran leadership. Briggs suffered her ACL injury late in the season. Don't recall whether she has or can use a COVID year. If she does have eligibility, it still will be awhile until she's fully healthy. They'll have to rely on a freshman class to pick up the gap with several freshmen going to the portal.

Indiana: Yes, they have Garza/Parrish/Moore-McNeil, but their depth is sketchy from what I've observed this season. Holmes is gone and who will replace the production she provided? Meister (sic?) struggled when she had to fill in for Holmes. Also, who will replace Scalia's production? Indiana played a very short bench. Great coaching? Yes. Great depth? Don't think so.

Michigan State: They have more than just a couple good scorers. They get three of their starters back and can slot Hallock, the 6th man of the conference into the line up. They get back 2 post players, which frees up Aryault and VanSlooten to operate outside which is better suited to their games. Fralick gets more players who buy into her system. Should be fun to watch.

Minnesota: Had they been healthy, they could have disrupted the conference more so than Michigan State did. See this group as a bit of a dark horse. With the class that they have coming in, I wouldn't be surprised if they end up ranking higher where you have them listed.

 

[Zach Jump]

until Iowa accumulates enough elite talent to take back the top spot (they always do). Don't believe me? Look at the B1G POY winners from 2017 on.

Olson makes a difference. Hannah has the potential and has shown it in spurts to elevate to All American level. USC and UCLA are the most complete rosters on paper at the moment.

 

[Bone Dog]

I wonder about UCLA without Osborne at pg. Rice has loads of talent but she can fumble away the big games and I’m not sure Jones is enough support for her. Teams can be too big, and the Bruins look like this too me.

 

[Matthew1589]

West coast viewership/attendance should go up with a massive increase in attendance by both USC/UCLA this year. The switch from Pac-12 Network to BTN will also be huge for viewership.

Looking at the conference next year, I see the projected standings as:

Title contenders:
1. UCLA-they have a lot of talent back, led by their loaded junior class which includes Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and Londyn Jones. They're rumored as a potential landing spot for Kiki Iriafen too.

2. USC-they bring back Juju and a deep and talented freshman class. They're rumored as a potential landing spot for Kiki Iriafen too.

Next tier:
3. Ohio State-they bring back McMahon, bring in a top PG recruit and also have nice portal pickups in Chance Gray and Ajae Petty. Petty in particular addresses their need for post play.

4. Nebraska-Markowski and Potts are back as a great duo to build around

5. Maryland-all top players are back besides Brown-Turner, most notably Shyanne Sellers. Frese is an Elite coach and should improve on this past season.


Middle of the pack, good shot at NCAA tournament:

6. Indiana-they lose a lot, but still have Garzon/Parrish/Moore-McNeil. Elite coaching too.

7. Iowa-they lose a ton but still have Stuehlke, Affolter and a good freshman class coming. Plus they're in the mix for Lucy Olsen.

8. Michigan State-have a couple of leading scorers back, picked up a great player in Grace Van Slooten in the portal

9. Illinois-4 of top 5 players are back. 3 will be fifth year seniors.

10. Washington-return most of their top players, went 6-12 in PAC last year.


Unknown/destroyed by portal:
11. Penn State-top 6 or 7 players are all gone, will be a completely different team. Probably in the grouping below.

12. Michigan-lose 8 of top 10 players. Probably in grouping below.


Potential to be middle of the pack, likely bottom half though:
13. Minnesota-most of their top players are back, including Mara Braun who missed most of the year with an ACL. Went 5-13 in conference play.

14. Wisconsin-top 2 players back, went 6-12 in conference this year

15. Northwestern-most top contributors are back, went 4-14 in conference




Bottom feeders:
16. Purdue-went 5-13 in Big Ten last year, loses most top players

17. Oregon-went 2-16 in PAC last year, lost 2 best players to the portal

18. Rutgers-went 2-16 in Big Ten a year ago

The portal is still raging so who knows what some of these teams will look like in a month? Some need to sign 2-3 portal players just to be able to scrimmage.

I do agree UCLA, USC, Ohio St. are clearly the top 3.

After that looks like Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan State, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan, Purdue, Washington.

I think the 'bottom feeders' will be Oregon, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Northwestern, Penn St.

 

[visitingcock]

West coast viewership/attendance should go up with a massive increase in attendance by both USC/UCLA this year. The switch from Pac-12 Network to BTN will also be huge for viewership.

Looking at the conference next year, I see the projected standings as:

Title contenders:
1. UCLA-they have a lot of talent back, led by their loaded junior class which includes Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and Londyn Jones. They're rumored as a potential landing spot for Kiki Iriafen too.

2. USC-they bring back Juju and a deep and talented freshman class. They're rumored as a potential landing spot for Kiki Iriafen too.

Next tier:
3. Ohio State-they bring back McMahon, bring in a top PG recruit and also have nice portal pickups in Chance Gray and Ajae Petty. Petty in particular addresses their need for post play.

4. Nebraska-Markowski and Potts are back as a great duo to build around

5. Maryland-all top players are back besides Brown-Turner, most notably Shyanne Sellers. Frese is an Elite coach and should improve on this past season.


Middle of the pack, good shot at NCAA tournament:

6. Indiana-they lose a lot, but still have Garzon/Parrish/Moore-McNeil. Elite coaching too.

7. Iowa-they lose a ton but still have Stuehlke, Affolter and a good freshman class coming. Plus they're in the mix for Lucy Olsen.

8. Michigan State-have a couple of leading scorers back, picked up a great player in Grace Van Slooten in the portal

9. Illinois-4 of top 5 players are back. 3 will be fifth year seniors.

10. Washington-return most of their top players, went 6-12 in PAC last year.


Unknown/destroyed by portal:
11. Penn State-top 6 or 7 players are all gone, will be a completely different team. Probably in the grouping below.

12. Michigan-lose 8 of top 10 players. Probably in grouping below.


Potential to be middle of the pack, likely bottom half though:
13. Minnesota-most of their top players are back, including Mara Braun who missed most of the year with an ACL. Went 5-13 in conference play.

14. Wisconsin-top 2 players back, went 6-12 in conference this year

15. Northwestern-most top contributors are back, went 4-14 in conference




Bottom feeders:
16. Purdue-went 5-13 in Big Ten last year, loses most top players

17. Oregon-went 2-16 in PAC last year, lost 2 best players to the portal

18. Rutgers-went 2-16 in Big Ten a year ago

I have serious doubts about UCLA being a title contender. Perhaps I should say, I have serious doubts about Cori Close,

In 13 years, under Close, UCLA failed to win a conference title or conference tournament in the PAC. They have reached the Elite 8 only once under her tutelage in 2018. They have failed to win 30 wins any season. They seem to start strong each year, but fade down the backstretch.

I wouldn’t mind if Cori proves me wrong because I like the school. She has some talent on that team, but is talent enough. Will they contend for a conference title? Maybe but I doubt they will actually win it. Will they make it to the level of the elite 8? We’ll see.

 

[cancontent]

I have serious doubts about UCLA being a title contender. Perhaps I should say, I have serious doubts about Cori Close,

In 13 years, under Close, UCLA failed to win a conference title or conference tournament in the PAC. They have reached the Elite 8 only once under her tutelage in 2018. They have failed to win 30 wins any season. They seem to start strong each year, but fade down the backstretch.

I wouldn’t mind if Cori proves me wrong because I like the school. She has some talent on that team, but is talent enough. Will they contend for a conference title? Maybe but I doubt they will actually win it. Will they make it to the level of the elite 8? We’ll see.

Fair questions to ask and you're not the only one who has said this. The spotlight will definitely be on them big time next season to see if they can dominate as some are expecting.

 

[JellyBean]

Not much to tell about the new Big Ten other than we got four new teams joining the conference. On paper, UCLA and USC get the nod as the top teams in the conference. They have the talent and appear to be the frontrunners of the Big Ten. Right behind them are a host of teams who could push them in the conference. We will see what develops but right now, UCLA and USC, on paper, are the frontrunners of the Big Ten.

 

[CalWBBfan]

I'll be rooting for any team that's not USC or UCLA.....yeah, I'm bitter.

 

[cancontent]

Big Ten Makes Early Portal Splash

Maryland and Iowa make big adds, while Michigan and Wisconsin subtract

hooplanewsletter.substack.com

Interesting insight on BIG10 transfer news. Wyatt is a great resource I find.

 

[BigTenGuy]

. . . Personally I hope there's some sort of travel partner system implemented -- like if you're flying out to UCLA you'll also play USC on that same trip (or Washington/Oregon, or Maryland/Rutgers) -- but I haven't seen any info about that.

Not sure this makes sense from a competitive balance perspective, given the 18-game conference schedule, meaning 1 game against 16 conference opponents and 1 double-play opponent. If USC/UCLA are paired as opponents, such that Ohio State could play both USC and UCLA in Los Angeles, while Maryland plays both USC and UCLA in College Park, there would be huge scheduling imbalance. Doubt the BIG will go down that road, especially with USC and UCLA likely to be the 2 pre-season conference favorites.

My guess is that USC and UCLA will be split as conference opponents, meaning every team will play one of them at home, and one on the road. Geography will be used, I would guess, to pick the 1 double-play opponent, e.g. USC and UCLA will play twice, as will Oregon and Washington.

 

[BigTenGuy]

With Iriafen joining JuJu at USC, seems like there is a good chance for the BIG to have its first pair of teammates as 5-player 1st-team All Americans.

 

[triaddukefan]

Ucla and U$C are gonna run this league like a bunch of WNBA squads playing in the WAC

 

[YKCornelius]

I think it would make sense to have two 9-team divisions in the Big Ten conference - an East and a West. West would be USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Northwestern. East would be Rutgers, Maryland, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, and Illinois.
In its division, each team would play each opponent twice (home and away), and play two teams from the other division once.

 

[undersized]

I think it would make sense to have two 9-team divisions in the Big Ten conference - an East and a West. West would be USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Northwestern. East would be Rutgers, Maryland, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, and Illinois.
In its division, each team would play each opponent twice (home and away), and play two teams from the other division once.

To be clear-- you want them to play 25 conference games?!

 

[cancontent]

To be clear-- you want them to play 25 conference games?!

How did you get to 25 conference games? I don't think that's what the poster meant.

If each team plays their conference opponents twice that's 16 games. The poster is suggesting playing two teams from the other conference once, which would make that 18 games in total.