2019–20 Big Ten Conference women's basketball season explained

2019–20 Big Ten Conference women's basketball season
Color:
  1. 0088ce
Color Text:
  1. FFFFFF
League:NCAA Division I
Sport:Basketball
Pixels:150
No Of Teams:14
Tv:Big Ten Network, ESPN, Fox, FS1
Season:2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season
Finals:Tournament
Finals Link:2020 Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament
Finals Mvp Link:Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament#Results by year
Seasonslistnames:Basketball
Prevseason Year:2018–19
Nextseason Year:2020–21

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

Coaching changes prior to the season

Penn State

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

TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordBig Ten recordBig Ten titlesBig Ten tournament titlesNCAA TournamentsNCAA Final FoursNCAA Championships
style=IllinoisWashington (MO)319–422–3200000
style=IndianaTeri MorenIndiana State6103–6643–4300200
style=IowaLisa BluderDrake20393–215193–124121400
style=MarylandBrenda FreseMinnesota18458–12478–10*431531
style=MichiganKim Barnes AricoSt. John's (Asst.)8156–8566–5200300
style=Michigan StateSuzy MerchantEastern Michigan13265–134127–7720900
style=MinnesotaLindsay WhalenMinnesota Lynx (Player)221–119–900000
style=NebraskaAmy WilliamsSouth Dakota442–4923–2700100
style=NorthwesternJoe McKeownGeorge Washington11180–17267–11900100
style=Ohio StateKevin McGuffWashington7134–6571–3121400
style=Penn StateCarolyn KiegerMarquette10–00–000000
style=PurdueSharon VersypIndiana14276–162128–9204900
style=RutgersC. Vivian StringerIowa25499–27742–42*001620
style=WisconsinJonathan TsipisGeorge Washington433–619–4100000
Notes:

Preseason

Preseason conference poll

The Big Ten released the preseason ranking on October 23, 2019, which featured a ranking by both media and coaches.[3] [4]

Media
RankingTeam
1Maryland
2Michigan
3Michigan State
4Indiana
5Minnesota
Coaches
RankingTeam
1Maryland
2Michigan State
3Indiana
4Michigan
5Purdue

Preseason All-Big Ten

On October 21, 2019, a panel of conference media selected a 10-member preseason All-Big Ten Team and Player of the Year.[5]

HonorRecipient
Preseason Player of the YearKaila Charles, Maryland
Preseason All-Big Ten TeamAli 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

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.[6]

WoodenNaismithDrysdaleLiebermanMillerMcClainLeslie
Ali Patberg, Indiana
Kathleen Doyle, Iowa
Shakira Austin, Maryland
Kaila Charles, Maryland
Stephanie Jones, Maryland
Taylor Mikesell, Maryland
Naz Hillmon, Michigan
Shay Colley, Michigan State
Taiye Bello, Minnesota
Destiny Pitts, Minnesota
Kate Cain, Nebraska
Lindsey Pulliam, Northwestern
Ae'Rianna Harris, Purdue

Preseason national polls

APCBS Sports[7] CoachesESPN[8] ESPNW[9]
style=; width=75Illinois
style= width=75Indiana24 16 21 24
style= width=75Iowa
style= width=75Maryland4 5 5 5 5
style= width=75Michigan25 24 24 23 23
style= width=75Michigan State17 21 25
style= width=75Minnesota23 18 16 17
style= width=75Nebraska
style= width=75Northwestern
style= width=75Ohio State
style= width=75Penn State
style= width=75Purdue
style= width=75Rutgers
style= width=75Wisconsin

Regular season

Rankings

See also: 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings.

Legend
  Improvement in ranking
 Drop in ranking
 Not ranked previous week
align=center style="width:20px; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; background:white;" RVReceived 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
IllinoisAP
C
IndianaAP 2421181714121214141215172018202422
CRV25231615141515131624232223RV24
IowaAP RVRVRV22191820171918
CRVRV24211920202120
MarylandAP 489991313121217202017131077
C5101091211111116201716121087
MichiganAP 252421RV24242423RV24
C2419RV25222223RVRV
Michigan StateAP
C
MinnesotaAP
C
NebraskaAP
C
NorthwesternAP
C
Ohio StateAP
C
Penn StateAP
C
PurdueAP
C
RutgersAP
C
WisconsinAP
C

Early season tournaments

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
IndianaParadise Jam tournament3rd
IowaPuerto Rico Clasico2nd
MarylandDayton Beach Invitational
Michigan StateJunkanoo Jam3rd
PurdueGulf Coast Showcase2nd
RutgersJunkanoo Jam1st

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Penn State parts with Coquese Washington after 12 seasons . ESPN.com . ESPN Internet Ventures . 28 February 2020.
  2. Web site: Kieger Named Penn State Women's Basketball Head Coach . GOPSUSports.com . Penn State Nittany Lions . 28 February 2020.
  3. Web site: Maryland Tops Big Ten Women's Basketball Preseason Rankings . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228170553/https://bigten.org/news/2019/10/21/maryland-tops-big-ten-womens-basketball-preseason-rankings.aspx . dead . February 28, 2020 . BigTen.org . Big Ten Conference . 28 February 2020.
  4. Web site: Michigan State women's basketball pegged as one of preseason favorites in Big Ten . LansingStateJournal.com . www.lansingstatejournal.com . 28 February 2020.
  5. Web site: Maryland Tops Big Ten Women's Basketball Preseason Rankings . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228170553/https://bigten.org/news/2019/10/21/maryland-tops-big-ten-womens-basketball-preseason-rankings.aspx . dead . February 28, 2020 . BigTen.org . Big Ten Conference . 28 February 2020.
  6. Web site: 2019-20 Women's Basketball National Preseason Honors . https://web.archive.org/web/20200228170550/https://bigten.org/news/2019/10/21/2019-20-womens-basketball-national-preseason-honors.aspx . dead . February 28, 2020 . BigTen.org . Big Ten Conference . 28 February 2020.
  7. Web site: Women's college basketball power rankings: Oregon, Stanford Baylor are top teams as 2019-20 season begins . CBSSports.com . CBS INTERACTIVE . 28 February 2020.
  8. Web site: UConn, Louisville, NC State up in Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25 . ESPN.com . ESPN . 28 February 2020.
  9. Web site: Sabrina Ionescu and Oregon open at No. 1 in espnW's preseason Top 25 . ESPN.com . ESPN . 28 February 2020.
  10. Web site: 2019-20 College Basketball Early Season Tournaments, Events, And Neutral-Site Games. Dobbertean. Chris. 2018-10-24. Blogging the Bracket. 2019-07-18.