Has anybody heard how the Big is gonna schedule conference games? They were already beginning conference play in December - ahead of other conferences. With 4 new members, that's two additional weeks of play for the existing teams just to play everybody once. Will they adjust by each team playing only once per season - thereby only 17 games per season or will they begin conference play on December 1st-ish. That would reduce the non-conference games to only. Will there be divisions? Quads?
I realize we are still in Portal Season, but who will be the favorites? Dark horses?
Will attendance/TV views come close to last year? Will the West Coast fanbases pick up some?
West coast viewership/attendance should go up with a massive increase in attendance by both USC/UCLA this year. The switch from Pac-12 Network to BTN will also be huge for viewership.
Looking at the conference next year, I see the projected standings as:
Title contenders:
1. UCLA-they have a lot of talent back, led by their loaded junior class which includes Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and Londyn Jones. They're rumored as a potential landing spot for Kiki Iriafen too.
2. USC-they bring back Juju and a deep and talented freshman class. They're rumored as a potential landing spot for Kiki Iriafen too.
Next tier:
3. Ohio State-they bring back McMahon, bring in a top PG recruit and also have nice portal pickups in Chance Gray and Ajae Petty. Petty in particular addresses their need for post play.
4. Nebraska-Markowski and Potts are back as a great duo to build around
5. Maryland-all top players are back besides Brown-Turner, most notably Shyanne Sellers. Frese is an Elite coach and should improve on this past season.
Middle of the pack, good shot at NCAA tournament:
6. Indiana-they lose a lot, but still have Garzon/Parrish/Moore-McNeil. Elite coaching too.
7. Iowa-they lose a ton but still have Stuehlke, Affolter and a good freshman class coming. Plus they're in the mix for Lucy Olsen.
8. Michigan State-have a couple of leading scorers back, picked up a great player in Grace Van Slooten in the portal
9. Illinois-4 of top 5 players are back. 3 will be fifth year seniors.
10. Washington-return most of their top players, went 6-12 in PAC last year.
Unknown/destroyed by portal:
11. Penn State-top 6 or 7 players are all gone, will be a completely different team. Probably in the grouping below.
12. Michigan-lose 8 of top 10 players. Probably in grouping below.
Potential to be middle of the pack, likely bottom half though:
13. Minnesota-most of their top players are back, including Mara Braun who missed most of the year with an ACL. Went 5-13 in conference play.
14. Wisconsin-top 2 players back, went 6-12 in conference this year
15. Northwestern-most top contributors are back, went 4-14 in conference
Bottom feeders:
16. Purdue-went 5-13 in Big Ten last year, loses most top players
17. Oregon-went 2-16 in PAC last year, lost 2 best players to the portal
18. Rutgers-went 2-16 in Big Ten a year ago