Tell me about the NEW Big Ten

[cancontent]

This thread is great. I've really had trouble wrapping my head around the conference realignment.

I think UCLA needs a shooter. But I'm pretty high on them. Betts really excelled in her first year with major minutes despite having some injuries. I liked the CLW pick up. They could probably use another rotation player and another big. I really like Dugalic and hopefully she can be a bit more efficient this year. I kinda don't get the Nebraska hype but ppl seem really high on them. Maybe I give too much credit to Jaz Shelley.

Re Shelley, wasn't she drafted recently? Nebraska have Markowski and Potter returning so they have core pieces they can rely on. Their depth may not be great, but there were several role players last season. Could see them stepping up into bigger roles this year. Mind you, I don't know if putting them in the top 5 makes sense but they do have a tendency to prove people wrong when you least expect them to.

 

[BigTenGuy]

Re Shelley, wasn't she drafted recently? Nebraska have Markowski and Potter returning so they have core pieces they can rely on. Their depth may not be great, but there were several role players last season. Could see them stepping up into bigger roles this year. Mind you, I don't know if putting them in the top 5 makes sense but they do have a tendency to prove people wrong when you least expect them to.

There is a lot of buzz in Nebraska about incoming freshman Britt Prince. Early on, she was ranked in the top 10 by ESPN, now ranked 25 (Prospects Nation has her at 16, ASGR 21). Locals compare her to Caitlin Clark in terms of what she may do for the Nebraska program.

Allison Weidner also returns from injury in the backcourt. Before injury, she was a double figure scorer who shot north of 50%. The hope is that Prince and Weidner more than make up for the loss of Shelley.

Nebraska has a lot of other good pieces. Was a really good rebounding and defensive team last year, but pretty mediocre offensively. Improve on the offensive end and Nebraska may be in the 4-6 range in the conference. Might help if Amy Williams can find and settle on a rotation. She likes to play a lot of players, and minutes vary widely game to game. Helps make the offense hit or miss, IMO.

Prince,Nebraska Cornhuskers News: Caitlin Clark level commit, more

 

[BigTenGuy]

On the WBB side, the BIG is committed to 18 conference games, versus 20 games for MBB. Seems dumb, as the BIG MBB schedule reveals. In a 20-game schedule, you have 3 double plays, which for MBB, means Oregon, Washington, USC & UCLA will each play each other 2 times. The women should do this as well.

Big Ten Conference

The official athletics website for Big Ten Conference

bigten.org

 

[Floridaduck]

Tough road for Oregon and Washington if USC and UCLA live up to preseason expectations for wbb.

 

[BigTenGuy]

Tough road for Oregon and Washington if USC and UCLA live up to preseason expectations for wbb.

Tough road for the entire BIG. In the McDonald's All American era (since 2002), the BIG has never had the number of high end players that it will have next year. The BIG had 8 McDonald's All Americans this year for the whole 14-team league (if I have my numbers right), the same amount as South Carolina (not including Chloe Kitts, who graduated early and wasn't eligible). Next year, the BIG will have 25+ McDonald's All Americans, 15 of which will play home games in LA County.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Tough road for the entire BIG. In the McDonald's All American era (since 2002), the BIG has never had the number of high end players that it will have next year. The BIG had 8 McDonald's All Americans this year for the whole 14-team league (if I have my numbers right), the same amount as South Carolina (not including Chloe Kitts, who graduated early and wasn't eligible). Next year, the BIG will have 25+ McDonald's All Americans, 15 of which will play home games in LA County.

Yes, the talent infusion into the conference from just those two teams is CRAZY to think about! The rest of the B1G will be playing catch-up for a few seasons.

 

[BigTenGuy]

BigTenGuy, thanks for the insight! I didn’t realize tournament decisions have already been in work!

Format for next year's tourney.