Purdue, Penn State named favorites

CHICAGO -- Women's basketball Big Ten coaches and media weighed in on their league favorites and player of the year candidates at the conference's annual media day Sunday.\nThe media tabbed Purdue as their pre-season front-runner, while the coaches earmarked defending conference champion Penn State.\n"We're always picked to win the league, and those are the expectations you welcome," Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. "Whether it's in print or not, we always expect that."\nThe Boilermakers are coming off an impressive 29-6 campaign that included a 12-4 conference mark and a Big Ten tournament title. They advanced all the way to the Elite Eight before being knocked off by Connecticut, who went on to win the national championship just a week later. \n"No one has higher expectations of us than we do of ourselves," Curry said.\nAlso expected to be at the top of the heap with Purdue is defending conference champion Penn State.\nThe Nittany Lions return all of their starters, including three women who averaged double digits in scoring, to a team that went 13-3 in league play last season.\n"We really can't think about the Big Ten yet, although it will be a major focus down the road," said Penn State coach Rene Portland. "We have to play three top-10 teams in our first four games."\nHelping the Nittany Lions through that opening stretch will be the Preseason Co-player of the Year, Kelly Mazzante. \nThe senior guard has a chance to become the conference's first ever four-time All-Big Ten First Team selection, and if she duplicated her scoring output of 23.9 points per game from last year, Mazzante would shatter the Big Ten's all-time scoring record by nearly 500 points.\nBut Mazzante said she doesn't feel pressured to perform. \n"Pressure? That word's not allowed to be used anymore," Mazzante said. "It's my senior season. I'm more excited, and I think our team's excited to be rated No. 1 again." \nAlthough Penn State and Purdue stole the headlines, coaches and players echoed the fact that the league is as competitive as it has been in years.\n"For women's basketball, this is the best the Big Ten has been in a decade," Minnesota coach Pam Borton said. "From top to bottom, I think it is going to be a war no matter who you're playing."\nBorton's Golden Gophers are certainly in the picture after a 25-6 year, highlighted by a Sweet 16 appearance. Leading the way for Minnesota will be the conference's other Preseason Player of the Year, senior guard Lindsay Whalen. Whalen averaged 20.6 ppg last year while posting a field-goal percentage of .546.\n"I expect us to win the Big Ten championship and make a great run in the postseason tournament," Borton said. "The conference is wide-open."\nWhile the Hoosiers were not slotted as a conference favorite, IU coach Kathi Bennett said her team is young but hungry and eager to move on from last year's sub-.500 season.\n"Our goal is to try and be in the middle of the pack," Bennett said. "I think they're going to take a lot of teams into the tournament from the Big Ten because of how good our conference will be."\n-- Contact staff writer Ryan Cost at rjcost@indiana.edu.