(BIG TEN) – The 46th season of Big Ten women’s basketball tips off Monday with 12 teams taking the court. Four more teams begin play on Tuesday, followed by a pair on Wednesday. Sixteen teams will open the 2026-27 campaign on their home courts while Maryland and USC take their talents to neutral sites. The Terps will start the year in Paris where they will face No. 1 South Carolina. The Trojans will take part in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas against UNLV.
- Three new faces are set to make their Big Ten debut next week. Northwestern named Carla Berube as its head coach after she spent seven years at Princeton, where she led the Tigers to 147 wins, five Ivy League championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances.
- Penn State welcomed back four-year letterwinner Tanisha Wright as the seventh head coach of the Lady Lion basketball program. Wright returns to Happy Valley following a five-year stint coaching in the WNBA, including three seasons as the head coach for the Atlanta Dream. This will be the first NCAA head coaching role for the 19-year WNBA veteran.
- Rutgers hired Gary Redus II to lead the Scarlet Knights’ women’s basketball program. Redus is stepping into his first head coaching position after serving as an assistant coach at LSU for four seasons, which included the program’s first national championship in 2023.
- Nine Big Ten teams earned rankings in the Associated Press (AP) preseason poll. USC led the contingent at No. 3, followed by No. 5 Michigan, No. 10 Iowa, No. 11 UCLA, No. 16 Washington, No. 17 Minnesota, No. 18 Ohio State, No. 20 Maryland and No. 23 Illinois. Nebraska, Michigan State and Oregon received votes.
- The same group was featured in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today preseason poll with No. 3 USC, No. 5 Michigan, No. 10 Iowa, No. 12 UCLA, No. 15 Washington, No. 17 Maryland, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 20 Ohio State and No. 22 Illinois. Nebraska, Michigan State and Oregon again earned votes.
- Each Big Ten institution will play an 18-game conference schedule for the eighth time in nine seasons. The conference season tips on Saturday, Dec. 5 with five games. Six teams open play on Sunday, Dec. 6 before Michigan visits Maryland on Friday, Dec. 11 to close out the first week of league action. During the conference season, each program will play one school both home and away, while facing 16 teams once. Of the single-play opponents, institutions will face eight at home and eight on the road.
- The Big Ten is looking to build on the success of the 2025-26 season, which culminated in UCLA winning its first-ever NCAA Championship after defeating South Carolina, 79-51. The Bruins, who brought home the Big Ten’s first national championship since 1999, also hoisted the conference’s regular season and tournament trophies last season.
- The 2027 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament is set for March 3-7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Fifteen teams will qualify for the tournament, with three first-round games slated for Wednesday, March 3 on Peacock. The second-round, quarterfinal and semifinal contests on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be carried on Big Ten Network. CBS will broadcast the championship game for the fourth year in a row on Sunday.
Comments