The 2024-25 season is a new era of Big Ten basketball.
Four new squads enter the fold: UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington. The schools bring so much to the table, just as the other 14 teams. Whether it’s travel, time zones or media coverage, it certainly will take some getting used to for everyone.
Along with those four schools, the 14 still have seasons ahead of them and games to play. The rest of the Big Ten is getting a breath of fresh air as the statistically best women’s college basketball player of all time, former Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, departed for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever.
So, where does Indiana fit into all of this?
Well, Iowa wasn’t the only school to lose a vast majority of its scoring. Indiana is not that far away from the Hawkeyes. How Indiana head coach Teri Moren and the company fill in the absences of Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia is something they will have to figure out quickly.
Here’s who the Hoosiers will have to compete against for the Big Ten regular season title.
USC
Sophomore guard JuJu Watkins, the next big star in the game, headlines USC’s roster. With Clark gone, Watkins is the hot commodity for women’s basketball, signing the top tier name, image and likeness deals, specifically with Nike and Gatorade.
USC not only has Watkins’ 27 points per game but also Stanford University transfer KiKi Iriafen. She averaged a double-double for Stanford last year with 19 points and 11 rebounds per game before transferring to USC in April.
The transfer class does not end there. The Trojans also brought in former Oregon State University guard Talia von Oelhoffen. She recorded 12.3 points per game last season and will provide floor spacing and be a great catalyst for Watkins and Iriafen.
UCLA
The Bruins rank fifth in the country in The Associated Press preseason poll and look to build on a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance last season. UCLA returns four of its top five scorers from last season.
Most importantly Lauren Betts, who was one of two unanimous All-Big Ten preseason selections is back for the Bruins. Gabriela Jaquez is another notable returning name. The junior guard, sister of former UCLA men’s basketball forward Jamie Jaquez, averaged 10 points and five assists per game last season.
Ohio State
Don’t let these two West Coast powerhouses take away from the talent Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff’s squad returned, headlined by junior forward Cotie McMahon. A preseason All-Big Ten selection, McMahon averaged 14.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last season.
Plus, to add to the dominant front court, McGuff added University of Kentucky transfer Ajae Petty, who averaged 14.4 points per game last season. Senior forward Taylor Thierry, who averaged 11 points per game last season, also returned. The one qualm for Ohio State: how does it mitigate the loss of its leader in former All-Big Ten guard and now Dallas Wings guard Jacy Sheldon?
Maryland
Senior guard Shayanne Sellers, a 2024 All-Big Ten first team selection, averaged 15.6 points per game last season. Junior guard Kaylene Smikle also returned after averaging 16.1 points per game last season.
One thing to note for Maryland: the Terrapins were 1-8 in the regular season against ranked opponents last season –– its only victory was at home against Ohio State on March 8.
Much like UCLA, Maryland will be without a couple of its top scorers from a season ago: Jakia Brown-Turner, Brinae Alexander and Lavender Briggs. If there is one team in the upper echelon of the Big Ten to drop out, or even miss the NCAA Tournament, it could be Maryland if it cannot replace its scoring.
Nebraska
Nebraska returns one of the best players in the country in senior forward Alexis Markowski –– a pure three-level scorer. It lost 13 points per game in the form as Jaz Shelley, who moved on to the Australian women’s basketball league, the NBL1. But three of its next five leading scorers returned. Nebraska came in at No. 23 in the pre-season AP Poll.
Illinois
Illinois returns a lot in Shawna Green’s third season as head coach in Champaign. Fifth- year senior guards Makia Cook and Genesis Bryant and fifth-year senior forward will return to the State Farm Center for Illinois 2024-25 campaign.
Senior guard Adalia McKenzie, who averaged 11 points per game last season, returns this season, along with sophomore guard Gretchen Dolan, who brings 4.8 points per game.
Iowa
In Jan Jensen’s first season at the helm, she has a veteran lineup in terms of age but little to no starts. The one proven commodity is junior forward Hannah Stuelke. Stuelke notched 14 points and 6.6 rebounds per game last season.
Seniors Sydney Affolter, Addison O’Grady and Lucy Olsen all returned to the Hawkeyes for this season.
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While the race for the conference title has yet to begin, the four new West Coast schools provide just another challenge for Indiana.
If the Hoosiers want to win their second Big Ten title in the past three years, they will have to go through some of the best teams in the country.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
