Big Ten favorite UCLA reloads, has sights set on national championship
UCLA captured the Big Ten Tournament title, then made a run to the Final Four last season for the first time in program history before falling to eventual champion UConn.
The Bruins enter the season ranked No. 3 with their sights set on going even further, possibly all the way to a national title.
UCLA is the Big Ten favorite with last year’s regular-season champion, Southern California, without injured star JuJu Watkins for the season. Big Ten preseason Player of the Year Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez return as UCLA tips off its second season in the Big Ten.
Despite losing all four players in last season’s freshmen class to the portal, the Bruins appear to have gotten even stronger with the addition of Betts’ younger sister, freshman Sienna Betts, Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker, a Washington State standout who redshirted last season while recovering from an ACL injury.
“It’s cool to see all the talent we have on the floor. It’s mind-boggling,” said Lauren Betts, who became the Bruins’ first first-team All-America last spring as a junior.
Even with a roster of top talent, Bruins coach Cori Close knows finishing atop the 18-team conference won’t be easy.
“Just look at the depth of the conference and the quality of the coaches,” Close said.
A challenge to the Bruins is expected to come from Maryland. The Terps compiled a 25-8 record last season and tied Ohio State for third in the Big Ten at 13-5. The Terps have advanced to at least the Sweet Sixteen four times in five years.
Maryland returns key starters Kaylene Smikle, named to the preseason All-Big Ten team, and Saylor Poffenbarger along with top transfers Yarden Garzon — Indiana’s career leader in total 3-pointers (220) — and Oluchi Okananwa from Duke.
“We’re excited about what the journey’s going to look like ahead,” coach Brenda Frese said.
Players to watch
Hannah Stuelke (Iowa); Olivia Olson and Syla Swords (Michigan); Grace VanSlooten (Michigan State); Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State); Elle Ladine and Sayvia Sellers (Washington).
Top transfers
Kneepkens (UCLA/from Utah); Garzon (Maryland/Indiana); Okananwa (Maryland/Duke); Kara Dunn (USC/Georgia Tech); Londynn Jones (USC/UCLA); Kiyomi McMiller (Penn State/Rutgers); Avery Howell (Washington/USC); Aaliyah Guyton (Illinois/Iowa)
All that Jazz
USC, ranked No. 18 in the AP’s preseason poll, is faced with trying to replace Watkins. It won’t be easy, but highly regarded freshman Jasmine “Jazzy” Davidson is expected to have an immediate impact. The 6-foot-1 combo guard earned Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year honors three consecutive seasons and was a McDonald’s All-American.
“She can score. She can facilitate. She plays both ends of the floor,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “She’s a really unique talent.”
Fifteen is enough
The Big Ten men’s tournament will expand to include all 18 teams this season, but the women’s tourney will remain at 15. The decision comes after 12 Big Ten women’s teams – a March Madness record – qualified for the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Gottlieb led the charge against expansion, arguing that an early loss in an expanded conference tourney could destroy bubble teams’ chances of getting a tournament bid.
“I really want to commend the Big Ten that equity and equality don’t mean doing the same thing,” Gottlieb said. “Their ability to not have us do what the men are doing is actually very progressive. The men are just in a different spot. It’s not better for our entire conference to go to 18 right now.”
Power conference
The Big Ten has six schools in the Top 25, a total topped only by the Southeastern Conference with eight teams. The Atlantic Coast Conference has five teams, the Big 12 four, and the Big East (No. 1 UConn) and Atlantic 10 each have one.
Major matchups
Fans will want to circle Jan. 18 on their calendars. That’s when Lauren Betts and UCLA welcome Maryland, which lost one conference road game last season, to Pauley Pavilion for a nationally televised contest and the lone regular-season meeting of the teams. Other big games include USC at UCLA on Jan. 3 and the rematch at the Galen Center on March 3 to close out the regular season; Michigan State hosting Michigan on Feb. 1, then traveling to Ann Arbor two weeks later; and Iowa hosting Ohio State on Jan. 25.
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