Behold, the big upward trend arrow that is Big Ten women’s basketball.
Five of the top 13 teams in the AP rankings… Big Ten.
Nine of the top 46 in the NCAA’s NET ratings… Big Ten.
Seven of the 35 highest-scoring teams in the nation… Big Ten.
Six of the 23 best shooting teams in the land… Big Ten.
Eleven of the top 40 programs in attendance this season… Big Ten.
Now if only one of them could show up in the Final Four. But we’ll get to that issue in a moment.
What kind of a nightly grind must it be in this conference when Michigan State has handed Indiana its only loss, taken No. 10 Iowa to overtime with 18 lead changes, trailed by one point in the final minute at No. 2 Ohio State… and is in ninth place? “You’ve got to have a really short-term memory in this league,” Illinois coach Shauna Green said.
“This is my 23rd year in the league, this is the toughest I’ve ever seen it, this is the best attendance I’ve ever seen,” said Iowa coach Lisa Bluder, whose 234th win earlier this season gave her the most regular season victories in Big Ten history.
To get a feel for a conference on a roll, let’s make three stops and spend…
