2019–20 Big Ten Conference women's basketball season
| 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 April 28, 2024 Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.
The Big Ten tournament was played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana in March 2020.
Head coaches[edit]
Coaching changes prior to the season[edit]
Penn State[edit]
On 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[edit]
Preseason conference poll[edit]
The 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[edit]
On 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[edit]
Below 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[edit]
Rankings[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[edit]
Nine 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. 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. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ "2019-20 Women's Basketball National Preseason Honors". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. 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.