The 2019–20 Big Ten women's basketball season began with practices in October 2019, followed by the start of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November 2019. The regular season ended in March, 2020.
| 2019–20 Big Ten Conference women's basketball season | |
|---|---|
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| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| TV partner(s) | Big Ten Network, ESPN, Fox, FS1 |
| 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season | |
| Tournament | |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Maryland† | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 28 | – | 4 | .875 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Northwestern | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 26 | – | 4 | .867 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Iowa | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 23 | – | 7 | .767 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Indiana | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 24 | – | 8 | .750 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 22 | – | 9 | .710 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 21 | – | 12 | .636 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 21 | – | 11 | .656 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 16 | – | 14 | .533 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 18 | – | 14 | .563 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 17 | – | 13 | .567 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 16 | – | 15 | .516 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 12 | – | 19 | .387 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 11 | – | 19 | .367 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 1 | – | 17 | .056 | 7 | – | 23 | .233 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2020 Big Ten tournament winner As of November 23, 2024 Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Big Ten tournament was played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana in March 2020.
Head coaches
editCoaching changes prior to the season
editPenn State
editOn March 9, 2019, Penn State fired head coach Coquese Washington.[1] On April 3, 2019, the school hired Carolyn Kieger away from Marquette to serve as head coach.[2]
Coaches
edit| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Big Ten record | Big Ten titles | Big Ten tournament titles | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | Nancy Fahey | Washington (MO) | 3 | 19–42 | 2–32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Indiana | Teri Moren | Indiana State | 6 | 103–66 | 43–43 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Iowa | Lisa Bluder | Drake | 20 | 393–215 | 193–124 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Maryland | Brenda Frese | Minnesota | 18 | 458–124 | 78–10* | 4 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 1 |
| Michigan | Kim Barnes Arico | St. John's (Asst.) | 8 | 156–85 | 66–52 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan State | Suzy Merchant | Eastern Michigan | 13 | 265–134 | 127–77 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Minnesota | Lindsay Whalen | Minnesota Lynx (Player) | 2 | 21–11 | 9–9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nebraska | Amy Williams | South Dakota | 4 | 42–49 | 23–27 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Northwestern | Joe McKeown | George Washington | 11 | 180–172 | 67–119 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ohio State | Kevin McGuff | Washington | 7 | 134–65 | 71–31 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Penn State | Carolyn Kieger | Marquette | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Purdue | Sharon Versyp | Indiana | 14 | 276–162 | 128–92 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Rutgers | C. Vivian Stringer | Iowa | 25 | 499–277 | 42–42* | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | Jonathan Tsipis | George Washington | 4 | 33–61 | 9–41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
- All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
- Year at school includes 2019–20 season.
- Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school and are through the beginning of the season.
- Frese's ACC conference record excluded since Maryland began Big Ten Conference play in 2014–15.
- Stringer's Big East and American conference record excluded since Rutgers began Big Ten Conference play in 2014–15.
Preseason
editPreseason conference poll
editThe Big Ten released the preseason ranking on October 23, 2019, which featured a ranking by both media and coaches.[3][4]
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Preseason All-Big Ten
editOn October 21, 2019, a panel of conference media selected a 10-member preseason All-Big Ten Team and Player of the Year.[5]
| Honor | Recipient | |
|---|---|---|
| Preseason Player of the Year | Kaila Charles, Maryland | |
| Preseason All-Big Ten Team | Ali Patberg, Indiana | |
| Kathleen Doyle, Iowa | ||
| Kaila Charles*, Maryland | ||
| Taylor Mikesell, Maryland | ||
| Naz Hillmon*, Michigan | ||
| Shay Colley, Michigan State | ||
| Destiny Pitts, Minnesota | ||
| Lindsey Pulliam, Northwestern | ||
| Ae'Rianna Harris, Purdue | ||
| Karissa McLaughlin, Purdue | ||
| *Unanimous selections | ||
Preseason watchlists
editBelow is a table of notable preseason watch lists.[6]
| Wooden | Naismith | Drysdale | Lieberman | Miller | McClain | Leslie | |
| Ali Patberg, Indiana | 
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| Kathleen Doyle, Iowa |
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| Shakira Austin, Maryland |
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| Kaila Charles, Maryland |
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| Stephanie Jones, Maryland |
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| Taylor Mikesell, Maryland |
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| Naz Hillmon, Michigan |
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| Shay Colley, Michigan State |
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| Taiye Bello, Minnesota |
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| Destiny Pitts, Minnesota |
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| Kate Cain, Nebraska |
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| Lindsey Pulliam, Northwestern |
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| Ae'Rianna Harris, Purdue |
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Preseason national polls
edit| AP | CBS Sports[7] | Coaches | ESPN[8] | ESPNW[9] | |
| Illinois | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 24 | 16 | 21 | 24 | |
| Iowa | |||||
| Maryland | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Michigan | 25 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 |
| Michigan State | 17 | 21 | 25 | ||
| Minnesota | 23 | 18 | 16 | 17 | |
| Nebraska | |||||
| Northwestern | |||||
| Ohio State | |||||
| Penn State | |||||
| Purdue | |||||
| Rutgers | |||||
| Wisconsin |
Regular season
editRankings
edit| Improvement in ranking | ||
| Drop in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll | |
| (Italics) | Number of first place votes |
| Pre/ Wk 1 |
Wk 2 |
Wk 3 |
Wk 4 |
Wk 5 |
Wk 6 |
Wk 7 |
Wk 8 |
Wk 9 |
Wk 10 |
Wk 11 |
Wk 12 |
Wk 13 |
Wk 14 |
Wk 15 |
Wk 16 |
Wk 17 |
Wk 18 |
Wk 19 |
Wk 20 |
Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | AP | 24 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 24 | 22 | ||||
| C | RV | 25 | 23 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 23 | RV | 24 | ||||||
| Iowa | AP | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 18 | |||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | 24 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 20 | |||||||||||||
| Maryland | AP | 4 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 7 | ||||
| C | 5 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | ||||||
| Michigan | AP | 25 | 24 | 21 | RV | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | RV | 24 | |||||||||||
| C | 24 | 19 | RV | 25 | 22 | 22 | 23 | RV | RV | |||||||||||||
| Michigan State | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C |
Early season tournaments
editNine of the 14 Big Ten teams participated in early season tournaments.[10] All Big Ten teams participated in the ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge against Atlantic Coast Conference teams, the 13th year for the event.
| Team | Tournament | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana | Paradise Jam tournament | 3rd |
| Iowa | Puerto Rico Clasico | 2nd |
| Maryland | Dayton Beach Invitational | |
| Michigan State | Junkanoo Jam | 3rd |
| Purdue | Gulf Coast Showcase | 2nd |
| Rutgers | Junkanoo Jam | 1st |
References
edit- ^ "Penn State parts with Coquese Washington after 12 seasons". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "Kieger Named Penn State Women's Basketball Head Coach". GOPSUSports.com. Penn State Nittany Lions. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "Maryland Tops Big Ten Women's Basketball Preseason Rankings". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "Michigan State women's basketball pegged as one of preseason favorites in Big Ten". LansingStateJournal.com. www.lansingstatejournal.com. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "Maryland Tops Big Ten Women's Basketball Preseason Rankings". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "2019-20 Women's Basketball National Preseason Honors". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "Women's college basketball power rankings: Oregon, Stanford Baylor are top teams as 2019-20 season begins". CBSSports.com. CBS INTERACTIVE. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "UConn, Louisville, NC State up in Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "Sabrina Ionescu and Oregon open at No. 1 in espnW's preseason Top 25". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ Dobbertean, Chris (October 24, 2018). "2019-20 College Basketball Early Season Tournaments, Events, And Neutral-Site Games". Blogging the Bracket. Retrieved July 18, 2019.