Rest of Big 10 trying to wrest women’s hoops power from UCLA, USC
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ROSEMONT, Ill. -- With UCLA coming off a national title and Southern Cal going for one of its own with star Juju Watkins returning from injury, there may never have been more attention on women’s basketball in Los Angeles.
“If you intend to come,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said Wednesday at Big Ten media days, “you should probably get your tickets early.”
The success of the two West Coast schools has been a bigger problem for the rest of the Big Ten than Los Angeles basketball fans. In the two years since USC and UCLA left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, each school has topped the standings once and the Bruins have won the conference tournament twice, going on to the Final Four two years ago and winning the championship last April.
UCLA has some holes to fill this season but is still expected to be top-25 caliber. Watkins returns after missing last season with a torn ACL and will join the country’s top recruiting class to try to help USC return to the nation’s elite and extend the rivals’ dominance over their new league.
“Honestly, for me, I’m just excited to be back and whatever comes with that will come,” Watkins said. “I know the team is excited. We’re preparing for a great season ahead. I’m ecstatic.”
The question that poses for the rest of the conference is whether any of the legacy Big Ten teams can mount a challenge to this newfound tilt from Midwest to West. Iowa and Michigan look like the strongest contenders to break the California grip on the league, but there could be as many as eight other Big Ten teams in the preseason Top 25 poll.
“Our league is stronger and tougher than it has ever been,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “Every night, you’re going to face a top-25 opponent in our league. It’s incredibly, incredibly challenging.”
The Big Ten has been through this before. When Maryland jumped from the ACC in the fall of 2014, the Terrapins claimed at least a share of first place in six of the next seven seasons. Either Ohio State or Indiana topped the standings in the three years prior to the latest expansion, but since then it’s been all UCLA and USC at the top.
The Bruins have work to do after accounting for six of the first 18 picks in the WNBA Draft, but have five returnees assuming larger roles, including sophomore Sienna Betts and junior Timea Gardiner.
Southern Cal, meanwhile, added the No. 1 and No. 5 recruits in the country and a pair of impact transfers to a Watkins-Jazzy Davidson backcourt after going 18-14 without the preseason Big Ten player of the year.
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico reacts during the first half against Minnesota at the Big Ten women’s tournament on March 7, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP file photo)