Big Ten Women’s Basketball Bracket cology: Caitlin Clark, Iowa back on…
What an exciting week we had thanks to the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament.
In their opening match, three of the top four seeds were defeated. While one team will have to battle through it out, two others cemented their spots in the NCAA Tournament field. And Iowa, led by Caitlin Clark, won its third Big Ten Tournament title in as many years.
But the Hawkeyes did not have an easy task. In the championship game, Clark got off to a sluggish start, and Iowa was behind Nebraska by 11 at the half. Even with Clark scoring thirty of her thirty-four points after the half, overtime had to be reached because to Logan Nissley’s missed baseline jumper. The Cornhuskers kept up the pressure on the Hawkeyes, but with 51 seconds remaining, Clark’s game-winning 3-pointer gave Iowa the lead for good.
The rankings you see below will be heavily influenced by the outcomes in Minneapolis. These closing remarks will be very noticeable because we only have a week to consider them before Selection Sunday. Here is a possible breakdown of the situation.
Iowa: the first seed
Even though this team is largely the Caitlin Clark Show, Sunday highlighted Hannah Stuelke’s significance. On Sunday, the Hawkeyes’ lone starting big player scored 25 points and pulled down nine rebounds, and her team needed every bit of it. If Iowa achieves their goals in the NCAA Tournament, they will have to play bigger teams, therefore Stuelke needs to continue playing at a high level, like she did on Sunday.
RELATED: Caitlin Clark Record Tracker: Iowa superstar’s points, assists, rebounds, and award milestones
Ohio State is the #2 seed.
Let’s not mince words: The Buckeyes did not have their best performance in their 82-61 quarterfinal loss to Maryland. Kevin McGuff, the head coach, chastised his squad for performing as though they were certain of a good seed in the NCAA Tournament. They’ll almost certainly fall out of contention as the top seed after two straight losses to end the season. Nevertheless, Ohio State shouldn’t be written out of the title discussion since they are still as talented as any team in the nation.
Indiana: the fourth seed
The Hoosiers are worried about yet another one-and-done in the Big Ten Tournament, but not quite as much as they are about Mackenzie Holmes’ left knee. Holmes suffered the injury in the final regular-season game against Illinois, precisely one year after suffering a similar knee ailment that contributed to Indiana’s poor 2023 postseason performance. Holmes could not halt the Wolverines’ run in the last five minutes of the Michigan game. It is difficult to predict that Holmes and the Hoosiers will contend if they are not at full strength in the NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska: the seventh seed
In Minneapolis, the Cornhuskers came dangerously near to pulling off an unexpected championship run. They will gain from their performance even if they would definitely like to have that hardware. Nebraska moves up one spot to take the lead over Michigan State on the 7-line after convincingly defeating the Spartans and narrowly missing out on winning Iowa. It will be challenging to outshine the hard-working Cornhuskers in the Big Dance.
7-seed Michigan State
The Spartans rarely struggled offensively like they did against Nebraska in the second two quarters, scoring a total of 20 points in those two periods. Julia Ayrault was the only Michigan State player to score in double figures with 25 points. Even though the Spartans have the sixth-best scoring offense in the nation, what will happen if they play an aggressive team in the NCAA Tournament?
Maryland: the ninth seed
The Terrapins’ convincing victory over Ohio State, a team ranked in the top five, strengthened their NCAA Tournament case. It would be absurd to keep a team out of the game after they defeated the Buckeyes by a score of 21 points, even if they don’t finish as the top ten seed. All but four of Maryland’s points in that game were brilliantly scored by Shyanne Sellers, Brinae Alexander, Jakia Brown-Turner, and Faith Masonius. However, the Terrapins need to continue playing at a high level to win; in their defeat to Nebraska, they scored 47 points on 46 shots.
Michigan: the 10-seed
The Terrapins overtake the Wolverines because of their more impressive victory, but Michigan’s comeback from a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat Indiana cannot be understated. Laila Phelia was outstanding; she scored twenty of her thirty points in the second half, and her twenty-one points were Michigan’s best offensive output during the Iowa loss. With all the ingredients for a March hero, Phelia can lead her squad to great success in the Big Dance.
Penn State: First Four: 11-seed
The Nittany Lions’ chances of making the field are now in the balance. They performed roughly as predicted in Minneapolis, defeating Iowa by 33 and defeating Wisconsin by 24. I will give Penn State the benefit of the doubt in this instance because of their earlier-season highs, but losing badly in the final game before the tournament is not the impression you want to leave on the committee as a whole.
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