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The struggles that Iowa and Indiana have to recruit elite high school talent demonstrate how little home attendance matters to recruits, compared to location, school etc. Both fan bases are somewhat mystified that attendance and home environment don’t lead to more elite recruiting victories. Both teams will need some portal help to try to return to NCAA hosting level next year.
My eyes bugged out at that. Gabriela Jaquez was the misidentified player. There were even a couple of times in the game where Jaquez was confused with Dugalic during game play... when Dugalic was on the bench.CBS' graphic just showed Emily Bessoir in the starting lineup for UCLA. Uh...I don't think so! Didn't she medically retire?![]()
I could see a bunch of next year's sophs taking a big step forward. They showed some flashes this year. There were at least 4 that were part of the rotation this year as Fr. Then of course they still have Stuelke and McCabe. Will be the second year in a row as a rebuild, but there are some pieces to work with.With Sydney Affolter and Lucy Olsen leaving, she'll have a chance to up her offensive game (again). Actually, she'll need to, along with incoming frosh Addie Deal.
Preparing for another O$U second round NCAA tournament crash outWhere for out thou Cotie?
I had no impression that Scalia was a glue player. Holmes and Patberg and later Parrish definitely were. It seemed like Garzon was another one. Moren did well to find her and give her the rock. It’s hard to see someone like that transfer, but perhaps she doesn’t feel much connection to the remaining team.Indiana is pretty shocking. I always got the sense that there was a lot of joy at that program. But maybe Scalia and Holmes and more importantly winning were the elements holding it together.
Shock? Nah.Minnesota is going to shock a lot of people next season. The rise of Tori McKinney is going to be a huge plus for the program. Great run, Minnesota!!
This is going to be a down year for the Big 10. Minnesota could make some noise.Shock? Nah.
The reason why I say that is they were hella competitive this season without key players due to injury. A healthy roster along with the confidence from playing the WBIT gets them primed for the season. Personally, if anyone is shocked this season, they haven't been paying attention.
Well this didn’t age well… Michigan will be fine or better next year… 2 graduated and one average transfer lost. Got great help in the portal with size and scoring. Oh damn this is old, sorry but I will say until the dust settles from recruiting and the portal most people do not know what will happen on these teams.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