BIG TEN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WEEKLY RELEASE • JANUARY 26, 2021 Primary Contact: Chris Masters, Associate Director, Communications • Office: 847-696-1010, ext. 146 • Cell: 574-532-4166 • E-mail: [email protected] • Twitter: @B1GWBBall Secondary Contact: Leigh McGuirk, Bob Hammel Communications Intern • Office: 847-696-1010, ext. 142 • E-mail: [email protected] 2020-21 BIG TEN STANDINGS UPCOMING SCHEDULE Conference Games All Games Top Last Tuesday, Jan. 26 W-LT PC H A Streak W-L PCT H A N 25* 10 Stk • #12/13 MICHIGAN at #NR/RV MICHIGAN STATE.. POSTPONED Maryland 7-1 .875 2-0 5-1 L1 11-2 .846 4-0 5-1 2-1 3-2 9-1 L1 Wednesday, Jan. 27 Indiana 7-1 .875 3-0 4-1 W4 9-3 .750 5-1 4-2 0-0 1-3 7-3 W4 No games scheduled Michigan 5-1 .833 3-0 2-1 L1 10-1 .909 6-0 4-1 0-0 2-1 9-1 L1 Ohio State 5-1 .833 3-0 2-1 W2 9-1 .900 7-0 2-1 0-0 2-0 9-1 W2 Thursday, Jan. 28 Northwestern 6-3 .667 3-2 3-1 L1 8-3 .727 5-2 3-1 0-0 0-2 7-3 L1 • #NR/RV MICHIGAN STATE at #7/10 MARYLAND (BTN) ...4 p.m. Michigan State 4-2 .667 1-2 3-0 W1 9-2 .818 6-2 3-0 0-0 0-1 8-2 W1 • PURDUE at MINNESOTA (BTN+) ....................5 p.m. Iowa 5-3 .625 4-1 1-2 W1 9-3 .750 7-1 2-2 0-0 1-2 7-3 W1 • #23/23 NORTHWESTERN at #NR/RV IOWA (BTN) ....6 p.m. Nebraska 6-4 .600 4-1 2-3 W1 8-5 .615 6-0 2-4 0-0 3-2 5-5 W1 • PENN STATE at ILLINOIS (BTN+) ....................7 p.m. Purdue 3-5 .375 2-3 1-2 W1 6-6 .500 5-4 1-2 0-0 0-4 5-5 W1 • #14/11 OHIO STATE at #16/15 INDIANA (BTN) .. 8 p.m. Minnesota 3-6 .333 0-4 3-2 W2 4-7 .364 1-5 3-2 0-0 0-3 3-7 W2 • WISCONSIN at #NR/RV NEBRASKA (BTN+) ...8 p.m. Rutgers 1-3 .250 0-1 1-2 L3 5-3 .625 4-1 1-2 0-0 0-1 5-3 L2 • RUTGERS at #7/10 MARYLAND ...........POSTPONED • #NR/RV MICHIGAN STATE at #12/13 MICHIGAN....POSTPONED Penn State 1-6 .143 0-5 1-1 L2 4-7 .364 3-5 1-2 0-0 0-5 3-7 L2 Illinois 0-7 .000 0-3 0-4 L7 2-8 .200 2-4 0-4 0-0 0-4 2-8 L7 Friday-Saturday, Jan. 29-30 Wisconsin 0-10 .000 0-6 0-4 L10 3-10 .231 3-6 0-4 0-0 0-5 2-8 L8 No games scheduled * - Associated Press or USA Today/WBCA polls Sunday, Jan. 31 • PENN STATE at PURDUE (BTN+) ....................1 p.m. BIG TEN. BIG NEWS. • ILLINOIS at WISCONSIN (BTN+) .....................3 p.m. • Three of the six Big Ten women’s basketball games on Thursday’s schedule will be televised live on BTN • #NR/RV MICHIGAN STATE at #16/15 INDIANA (BTN) .. 4:30 p.m. and the FOX Sports app, and all three featuring teams ranked or receiving votes in the national polls. • #NR/RV IOWA at MINNESOTA (BTN+) ...........5 p.m. Michigan State visits No. 7/10 Maryland at 4 p.m. (ET) and No. 23/23 Northwestern travels to Iowa at 6 p.m. (ET) before No. 14/11 Ohio State heads to No. 16/15 Indiana for the nightcap at 8 p.m. (ET). Monday, Feb. 1 • #14/11 OHIO STATE at #23/23 NORTHWESTERN (BTN) ..8 p.m. • For the second time in less than two weeks, Ohio State snapped an opponent’s significant winning streak, ending Maryland’s 24-game Big Ten success string (including postseason games) with an 88-86 • #12/13 MICHIGAN at RUTGERS ..........POSTPONED victory Monday night in Columbus. The loss, which was the first for the Terrapins to a Big Ten opponent All times Eastern (dates, times and TV subject to change) since Jan. 9, 2020 (66-61 at Iowa), ended the fourth-longest conference winning streak in Big Ten • - Big Ten Conference game history. Back on Jan. 13, OSU stopped Iowa’s 42-game home winning streak with a similar two-point win (84-82 in overtime), ending what had been the second-longest such streak in conference history. NOTES: BTN games also on the FOX Sports app, with Big Ten Net- work+ games at btnplus.com … Games on ESPN networks also • Ohio State’s win over No. 7/7 Maryland on Monday night was also the Buckeyes’ second consecutive on the ESPN app. victory over a top-15 opponent after they edged No. 11/11 Michigan, 81-77 on Jan. 21, also in Columbus. It was the first time Ohio State won back-to-back games against top-15 teams since Feb. 20 Rankings from Associated Press/USA Today polls at tipoff (RV - and 23, 2006, when it defeated No. 14/16 Michigan State and No. 12/11 Purdue as part of a run of receiving votes/NR - not ranked; if only one rank is listed, it’s from three straight wins over ranked teams. This year’s Buckeyes are in the midst of a stretch of four the AP poll) consecutive games against Top 25 opponents, the next coming Thursday when it travels to No. 16/15 Indiana (8 p.m. ET on BTN/FOX Sports app). LATEST RESULTS • Maryland’s next opportunity to earn its 100th regular-season Big Ten win Thursday when the Terrapins play host to Michigan State (4 p.m. ET on BTN/FOX Sports app). Maryland is 99-13 (.884) all-time in Monday, Jan. 25 regular-season conference games since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15. • MINNESOTA 85, at PENN STATE 76 • at #14/16 OHIO STATE 88, #7/7 MARYLAND 86 • Michigan State returned to action Sunday with a 94-62 win at Wisconsin. It was the Spartans’ largest • #NR/RV NEBRASKA 57, at ILLINOIS 53 margin of victory in head coach Suzy Merchant’s 14-year tenure, supplanting a 56-25 win over Northwestern on March 4, 2011, in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Sunday, Jan. 24 Indianapolis. The last time MSU won any game by a larger margin than Sunday was Jan. 1, 2006 (77-44 • #16/15 INDIANA 74, at #21/22 NORTHWESTERN 61 over visiting Michigan). • #NR/RV MICHIGAN STATE 94, at WISCONSIN 62 • Three Big Ten players were named to the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Watch List on Tuesday. Nebraska’s Kate Cain, Northwestern’s Veronica Burton and Rutgers’ Arella Guirantes are Thursday, Jan. 21 among 15 midseason candidates for the honor, with the Big Ten tying for the most players of any • at #17/16 OHIO STATE 81, #11/11 MICHIGAN 77 conference on this year’s Watch List. • at PURDUE 56, WISCONSIN 55 • at #21/22 NORTHWESTERN 73, ILLINOIS 54 • The Big Ten leads all NCAA Division I conferences with five schools in the top 20 and eight in the top 40 of the latest NCAA NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings released Monday. The full NET rankings are Tuesday, Jan. 19 listed on page 3 of this release. • MINNESOTA 76, at #RV/RV NEBRASKA 71 • Five Big Ten programs, the second-most of any Division I conference, are appearing in the latest Monday, Jan. 18 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) Associated Press and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 polls, with • at #NR/RV IOWA 87, PURDUE 81 two others receiving votes in one or both polls. Nine different Big Ten teams have been ranked or receiving votes in one or both polls at some point this season. Sunday, Jan. 17 • The Big Ten continues to be one of the most competitive and deepest conferences in the country this • #22/23 NORTHWESTERN 67, at PENN STATE 50 season. In fact, since the calendar turned to 2021, more than half (19) of the 36 conference games • #9/9 MARYLAND 79, at WISCONSIN 70 played in January have been decided by 10 points or less, including two overtime games. Since Jan. 13, 10 of 17 Big Ten games were decided by single digits, with nine in doubt inside the final two minutes. Saturday, Jan. 16 • at NEBRASKA 63, #15/15 OHIO STATE 55 • According to Tuesday’s NCAA statistics report, the Big Ten leads all Division I conferences in scoring (75.0 ppg.) and assists (15.8 apg.), while ranking second in field-goal percentage (.439) and free-throw • - Big Ten Conference game percentage (.724). BIG LIFE. BIG STAGE. BIG TEN. The Big Ten Academic Alliance is an academic consortium of all 14 Big Ten universities, which is widely considered to be the model for effective and voluntary collaboration among top research universities. 2020-21 BIG TEN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WEEKLY RELEASE 2 BIG TEN. BIG NEWS. • The Big Ten leads the nation with six teams among the top 20 in the country on Jan. 21 when her Boilermakers edged Wisconsin, 56-55 at Mackey Arena. (including three in the top 10 and the country’s No. 1 and 3 teams) in scoring Versyp is 300-184 (.620) in her 15th season at Purdue (417-247, .628 in 21 offense.