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Updated: December 18, 2025 @ 4:41 am
Berry Wallace and her Illini women’s basketball teammates wrap up nonconference play on Friday night against Jackson State.
Sports Copy Editor
Berry Wallace and her Illini women’s basketball teammates wrap up nonconference play on Friday night against Jackson State.
The Big Ten season has started with all 18 teams playing one conference game so far. Now, it’s time for one last foray into nonconference play ahead of the Christmas holiday. So, there’s no better time than now for women’s college basketball writer and AP Top 25 voter Joe Vozzelli to offer his initial installment of power rankings for the 2025-26 season:
1. UCLA (10-1, 1-0)
Nothing from the Bruins’ 89-59 victory in their Big Ten opener against Oregon changed the fact Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice and Co. are the favorites to win the conference’s regular-season title. There’s a good chance UCLA could return to the Final Four for a second straight year, as well.
2. Michigan (9-1, 1-0)
About the only nit to pick about the Wolverines’ season through the first month and a half of it is their free-throw shooting. Michigan ranks 12th in the Big Ten in that category in shooting only 68.9 percent. It’s an area to work on. But not one that has been a major problem with the Wolverines largely stacking blowout wins.
3. Maryland (12-0, 1-0)
Oluchi Okananwa has improved every year of her college career, and the junior guard and offseason transfer from Duke has thrived during her early run with the Terrapins in averaging 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 52.2 percent. Death. Taxes. And Brenda Frese mining the transfer portal successfully.
4. Iowa (10-1, 1-0)
No bigger test awaits for Jan Jensen’s Hawkeyes than Saturday when Iowa faces top-ranked Connecticut at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. A chance for Hannah Stuelke and Ava Heiden to respond after that starting duo combined for just 18 points in a 74-69 loss at rival Iowa State last week.
5. Southern Cal (7-3, 1-0)
Don’t let the three losses fool you, the Trojans have played a schedule with a high degree of difficulty with five games against ranked teams. That USC is 2-3 in those games is fairly impressive considering it’s without JuJu Watkins, as the reigning National Player of the Year is out this season after last March’s knee injury.
6. Ohio State (9-1, 1-0)
There’s only been one game this season when Jaloni Cambridge wasn’t the leading scorer for the Buckeyes. So much of the 5-foot-7 guard’s scoring happens inside the three-point arc with the Nashville, Tenn., native shooting 60.6 percent on two-point field goals in Ohio State’s first 10 games.
7. Nebraska (11-0, 1-0)
Not sure I’m as high on the Cornhuskers as the NET rankings show with Nebraska at No. 12. Some of that is the result of the 0 in the loss column. That’s inflated Nebraska’s resume, which does still include a Quad I win. Back-to-back Big Ten games against USC and Iowa should offer more clarity about how good the Huskers are.
8. Illinois (10-1, 1-0)
The idea the Illini will more than likely be 12-1 ahead of their New Year’s Day matchup with Maryland sets the stage for a tough January with the Terrapins, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and UCLA on that monthly slate. A huge test for the Big Ten’s youngest roster led by Berry Wallace and Gretchen Dolan. That’s why Illinois’ Big Ten-opening win against Indiana was so important.
9. Washington (9-1, 0-1)
Sayvia Sellers saved the Huskies from what would have been an embarrassing loss when the standout junior guard poured in 30 points, which matched a career-high, to help Washington rally from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to escape with a 79-74 home victory against Green Bay. Sellers, Avery Howell and Elle Ladine give the Huskies a high ceiling.
10. Oregon (11-1, 0-1)
No two games were more of a stark contrast for the Ducks than a 96-73 home win against Oregon State on Dec. 3 and a 80-59 loss at No. 3 UCLA four days later. A good start is at least a baseline to work from for coach Kelly Graves as Katie Fiso keys a guard-heavy Oregon roster.
11. Wisconsin (8-3, 1-0)
Will the Badgers be the Big Ten’s surprise team this winter? We’ll see. But Wisconsin’s 78-64 victory against Michigan State on Dec. 7 was a real shock. How much that says about whether it will be a quicker-than-expected rebuild for Robin Pingeton in Madison, Wis., is debatable. But the former Missouri coach has started well.
12. Michigan State (9-1, 0-1)
The Spartans will be fine. Even if a 14-point loss to Wisconsin raised some red flags. Namely that Michigan State held a lead for only 23 seconds. But the Spartans still appear to have one of the nation’s best offenses with Michigan State sixth overall in Division I in scoring at 92.5 points per game.
13. Minnesota (8-3, 0-1)
The Gophers nearly stole what would have been a signature early-season Big Ten win. Minnesota took Maryland to double overtime before the Terps came away with the 100-99 victory. Tori McKinney and Grace Grocholski have been good for the Gophers thus far. Minnesota’s chances to truly compete in the Big Ten, however, could come down to Mara Braun returning to her pre-injury form.
14. Indiana (10-2, 0-1)
The Hoosiers have a big problem. A few of them really. Losing starting forward Zania Socka-Nguemen to a “lower-leg” injury is one thing. But Valentyna Kadlecova leaving the Indiana program to play professionally in her native Czech Republic was another key loss for Teri Moren. That Indiana was basically noncompetitive in a loss at Illinois is perhaps the largest concern.
15. Purdue (7-4, 0-1)
There’s nowhere to go but up for the Boilermakers … maybe? Maybe not? That might be the conventional wisdom after Purdue finished 3-15 in Big Ten play last winter. Yet, that the Boilermakers lost by 48 points in their conference opener against Michigan could be a harbinger of things to come for coach Katie Gearlds again this season.
16. Northwestern (6-4, 0-1)
Joe McKeown is retiring after the 2025-26 season. It’s been an unfortunate closing chapter to a largely successful coaching career for the 69-year-old Philadelphia native in Evanston, as the Wildcats have won nine games in each of the previous three seasons. Ten wins might really be the high-water mark this season for Northwestern in McKeown’s final year.
17. Rutgers (7-4, 0-1)
Finding a worse loss than the Scarlet Knights’ 71-54 home defeat to Stony Brook on Nov. 9 might be a major chore. So much of whether Coquese Washington has a future as the coach on the banks will fall on transfers Lauryn Swann (Arizona) and Nene Ndiaye (Boston College). Lynn’s current injury situation is one to watch.
18. Penn State (6-4, 0-1)
It’s not difficult to find what has been the Nittany Lions’ most glaring issue through the first third of the season. That would be the fact Penn State is allowing a Big Ten worst 77.2 points per game. And by a wide margin, too, as no other Big Ten team is within seven points of that league nadir.
Sports Copy Editor
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