Hawkeyes Show Separation
Plus Ashley Owusu and Minnesota's continued success
Hello, I hope everyone who was able to enjoy the long weekend did so. We are here on a rare Tuesday to discuss what ended up being a sizable week for Big Ten women’s basketball.
Last Week’s Hoopla:
We must start where we ended last week, Indiana at Iowa.
The Hoosiers and Hawkeyes both entered the matchup on respective 13-game winning streaks and had looked like the two best teams in the conference thus far. After some concern Indiana was going to be able to play at all due to weather, the team was able to get to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in time, and the game was on.
Saturday’s matchup between these two was enlightening. The first half was a war, specifically in the second quarter where the teams exchanged baskets throughout to keep it a tight 43-37 game Iowa led at halftime.
More specifically, Iowa’s lead was just two, 37-35, with under a minute left in the half when Caitlin Clark did… well this. Clark started the game cold while being guarded by elite defender Chloe Moore-McNeil, but started to catch fire in the second quarter and fully ignited by the time this shot went through.
From that point on, even with the game close, it no longer felt like it was. The Hawkeyes completely and thoroughly dominated every phase of the game the rest of the way, cruising to an 84-57 victory over the Hoosiers. Including that three above, Iowa outscored Indiana 47-22 in the final 20:50 of the contest.
Of course, in an Iowa beatdown, we have to highlight Clark. She was spectacular in the final 30 minutes of this game, consistently breaking down the Indiana defense and making the right passes, while also hitting on a variety of *those* shots we all know and love. She hit on two logo threes, including one that was a step back. All you can do is laugh watching something like this.
Clark finished the game with 30 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists. She shot 10 of 21 from the field and 6 of 16 from deep, again with most of the misses happening in the first quarter. Once she settled in, she was unstoppable.
But the larger takeaway I got from this Iowa win was how much the whole team felt like it was firing on all cylinders. Last week, I discussed the significant weight on Clark’s shoulders with this year’s team, and while that is still true, performances from the rest of the team like we saw Saturday night are what can get Iowa back to the national championship game.
Kate Martin had 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting, but added 12 key rebounds. Molly Davis lifted Iowa up with 13 first-half points and finished with 18 points in what was possibly her best performances since joining the Hawkeyes last season. The big one for me, though, is Gabbie Marshall, who had 12 points and 2 steals while shooting 4 of 7 from three.
Marshall has always been an X-factor for Iowa, and will always get significant minutes because she is a tremendous perimeter defender who makes an impact past the box score. But prior to Jan. 5, she was struggling on offense, shooting 25.4 percent from three and reaching 10 points only twice all season. Since then, Marshall has scored 12 points on 4 three-point makes in three straight games. She’s shot 54.5 percent from behind the arc in that stretch, and her return to form opens up so much for this Iowa attack.
This win showed Iowa as the Big Ten’s clear No. 1, at least until Ohio State gets a crack at the Hawkeyes later this week.
On the other end, Indiana has some clear areas that will need to be addressed by the time these teams meet again toward the end of the regular season. The Hoosiers had a few careless turnovers and struggled mightily from deep, hitting on 5 of 20 attempts. After dominating in efficiency over recent contests, Indiana had just 0.77 points play on a 47.2 effective field goal percentage, numbers well off the team’s 0.99 PPP and 57.5 eFG% averages for the season.
Indiana was also out rebounded 37-28 in a game where Iowa willingly accepted that the vast majority of its shots would be from behind the arc. The Hawkeyes shot 36 of their 61 field goal attempts from deep, but also nearly matched Indiana’s points in the paint (30-28 Indiana advantage). I mean, the Hoosiers even shot poorly from the charity stripe, hitting 6 of 11.
The second half felt like one team hitting its stride and another completely losing its identity. This is the second time that it has felt this way for the Hoosiers, and for the second time this year, the result was a blowout loss. Indiana needs to show more resiliency in games like these, and the team’s victories show the roster is more capable of fighting against a top opponent than it has so far.
Iowa will face Indiana in Bloomington on Feb. 22, and I expect, at the least, a closer result. For now, the Hawkeyes are alone at the top.
Owusu’s Return
Yes! Yes!!!
For months, I have been excited for the return of Ashley Owusu to the Big Ten. The former Maryland standout first headed out to Virginia Tech, but after what I will label a complicated tenure there, returned to the conference with Penn State. She has been listed as either questionable or out on every availability report the Nittany Lions have released this season, and I was beginning to lose hope we’d see her at all.
But then, boom. With 6:43 to go in the first quarter against Rutgers, Owusu checked in. At first, she looked like a player who hadn’t seen game action since Feb. 26, missing her first four shots from the field. But then a three fell, and we saw a glimpse of the All-American talent that Owusu was for the Terrapins.
By the end of a 94-80 Penn State win, Owusu had played 25 minutes and finished with a team-high 18 points, along with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals on 7-of-12 shooting. Again, she missed her first four shots, then followed that up by hitting 7 of her last 8.
Owusu both scored at an excellent rate and controlled the flow of the offense, finding her teammates for strong looks and showing a stunning amount of chemistry for her first in-game action in nearly a year. It was everything I had hoped to see out of Penn State all year.
It took until Game 16, but Owusu played and she looked like the excellent basketball player we have seen in the past. Thankfully, Penn State has managed to win without her, and the team is now at its strongest at the right time. Makenna Marisa also returned earlier in the week and was back to scoring with 17 against the Scarlet Knights.
The Nittany Lions have been dangerous all year, but with Owusu, they might have the extra gear needed to really compete with the Big Ten’s elite. Home games against Purdue and Nebraska are solid tests to see what this lineup can do against some stronger competition.
The Gophers Keep Winning
This Minnesota team, it just keeps churning out victories.
Dawn Plitzuweit’s first year as head coach continued surging forward this week, as the Gophers went on the road to beat Michigan 82-66, then returned home and gutted out a 62-58 win against Nebraska. The Golden Gophers are now 13-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten, and have firmly cemented themselves as an NCAA Tournament hopeful.
Against Michigan, Minnesota got significant contributions from many of the usual suspects. Mara Braun added 17 points, Mallory Heyer and Grace Grocholski combined for 40, and Amaya Battle had 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. It was a well-rounded victory over the Wolverines, and a big résumé booster on the road.
The four-point Nebraska win will do less for Minnesota’s metrics, but it impressed me more. After impressing in nearly every game this season, Braun had her worst performance of the year against the Cornhuskers, scoring 9 points and shooting 2 for 17 from the field. She added four steals, but one of the best scorers in the Big Ten did not have the touch here.
Surely that means it was a big game for Grocholski, Minnesota’s second-best scorer coming in? She had zero points on 0-of-3 shooting in 34 minutes of action. For those keeping track at home, that means Minnesota’s top two scorers combined for 9 points on 2-of-20 shooting. Against a team ranked in the top 35 for the NET.
Minnesota still won. The Gophers forced inefficient nights from Jaz Shelley and Alexis Markowski, Heyer continued her excellent play with 16 points, Battle added 11, three of which were on a pivotal make late, and Janay Sanders’ 11 points off the bench were critical in a low scoring war of a win.
The big games don’t stop here, but Minnesota continues to impress each week, and is now projected in the Field of 64 by ESPN. What a job by Plitzuweit so far in her first year with the Gophers.
What to Watch
Ohio State at Maryland, 1/17 (Wednesday), 7 p.m., Peacock
Very, very interesting one in College Park. Two teams that have started picking up wins as previously expected, but are both looking for a big victory to prove something. I think this one has banger written all over it.
Michigan at Nebraska, 1/17 (Wednesday), 8 p.m., B1G+
Two teams that lost to Minnesota last week who are around the NCAA Tournament bubble. Nebraska has played teams tough consistently, while Michigan has almost strictly played in blowouts all year. I have no idea what will happen here.
Michigan State at Minnesota, 1/20 (Saturday), 3 p.m., B1G+
The first-year head coaches face off in an extremely significant game for future tourney aspirations. The Spartans have been flying offensively, but Minnesota has not been far behind. Really, really excited for this one.
Iowa at Ohio State, 1/21 (Sunday), noon, NBC
This nationally televised game is a rematch of last year’s Big Ten Championship. Ohio State is hoping this one looks a little different. The Buckeyes have the defensive weapons to stifle Iowa and Clark, but will it be enough?
Nebraska at Penn State, 1/21 (Sunday), 1 p.m., B1G+
It’s a big week for the Cornhuskers. They travel to face Penn State on Sunday, and this promises to be a good one with the Nittany Lions reaching full power. Markowski feels like a tough matchup for Penn State, but there may be enough weapons now to equalize that.
Photo Credit: Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB), Twitter/X
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