Big Ten Women's Basketball Preview: No. 14 Wisconsin, No. 13 Illinois

Both are likely to stay at the bottom, but both have reasons for hope

This is the first of what will be a series of previews for all 14 teams in the Big Ten heading into the 2021-22 season. These first two weeks will have a pair of teams, while my projected top 10 will each get their own individual day. I am doing this more so to be done before November rather than as a slander to the bottom four.

Big Ten women’s basketball was immensely competitive last year, but, like any conference, there were a few teams that struggled picking up any wins on their schedules. Those two teams are Wisconsin and Illinois, who each earned just two in regular season conference play, while the duo combined for 34 total losses.

Those who are down don’t always have to stay down, and there’s reason to expect improvements out of both rosters heading into next season. But, the transfer portal can be a very cruel place, and that has led to more roster turnover than either team would have expected, and may have hurt the chances for either program to escape the depths of the Big Ten in just one year.

Wisconsin

Last year’s record: 2-18 Big Ten | 5-19 Overall

The Badgers had a season to forget in 2020-21, but they also never had a chance to breathe by being the only team in the Big Ten to play out all 20 conference games. Good experience, sure, but Wisconsin also lost 18 of those, then was quickly shown the door in the Big Ten tournament by fellow bottom-dweller Illinois in the conference tournament.

Funny enough, one of Wisconsin’s wins was against a good team, with the Badgers taking down Ohio State 75-70 for what was just the Buckeyes’ third loss in 15 games to that point. The other in-conference victory was, unsurprisingly, against the Illini three games prior to the monumental upset.

Wisconsin’s problem wasn’t any specific thing, but instead it was a combination of just not being very good at much. Looking at a large scope, the Badgers ranked 13th in the Big Ten in scoring (63.1 PPG) and 11th in scoring defense (75.8 PPG). Those two numbers combined for the worst scoring margin in the conference (minus-12.7).

Past that, the Badgers also ranked in the bottom five in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (11th), three-point percentage (11th), opponent field goal percentage (10th) and opponent three-point percentage (10th). They were an OK rebounding team, ranking ninth, an awful team at winning the turnover battle with a conference-worst minus-5.3 turnover margin, while blocking shots were their best skill, coming in tied for fifth in the Big Ten with 3.9 per game.

The good news for Wisconsin is that its primary shot blockers are both returning.

Juniors Julie Pospisilova and Sara Stapleton made up 44 of the team’s 94 blocks last season, while Sydney Hilliard pitched in other ways, leading the team in scoring while shooting 47.9 percent from the field. These three are the remaining core of the group that struggled so much last season, and each should be able to improve on their numbers from a year ago.

Part of the reason they should be able to improve is because of who has left the team in the offseason.

The major loss here is Second-Team All-Big Ten media selection Imani Lewis, who nearly averaged a double-double on the season despite of all the team’s struggles. Lewis is off to join the Blue Devils, and her production will be hard to replicate.

The easy answer for who will need to step up without Lewis in the lineup are the three mentioned above, especially considering that Hilliard, Stapleton and Pospisilova ranked No. 2, 3 and 4 in rebounds last season, respectively.

They are also getting some help from three new freshmen and one big transfer, the latter of which comes because of a coaching change.

Jonathan Tsipis was fired after the disappointing campaign, and he was replaced by Marisa Moseley, who comes in from Boston. Moseley took over a Boston team that had won 26 of its past 89 games and turned the program into a winning one, going 45-29 in her three seasons at the helm.

Prior to her time with Boston, she was on UConn’s coaching staff for nine seasons, helping the team earn five national titles in that time. I think this is a home run hire for a program that has not had a winning record since 2010-11.

Because of the Moseley hire, Wisconsin will get some major scoring help from Boston guard Katie Nelson, who comes to Madison as a grad transfer. She is a better three-point shooter than anyone on the Badgers by four percentage points and should immediately become a primary threat alongside Hilliard.

The team also needs to develop, and keep, some talented underclassmen, and this trio of freshmen could be the start of that. Guard Maty Wilke is the most highly regarded coming in, but Sacia Vanderpool will have the chance to make the quickest impact because of Wisconsin’s lack of forward depth.

This is likely not the year Wisconsin turns around a decade of lackluster basketball, but bringing in Moseley as head coach is a gigantic first step in the right direction.

Illinois

Last year’s record: 2-16 Big Ten | 5-18 Overall

Much like Wisconsin, Illinois women’s basketball is not a program known for its winning. The Illini’s cold spell without a winning season is only slightly smaller, last surpassing that threshold in 2012-13.

Unlike the Badgers, though, Illinois had what I would consider a strength: defense. The Illini ranked seventh in the Big Ten with 70.0 points allowed per game, while holding opponents to 40.4 percent from the field, sixth-best in the conference. Illinois was also a pretty good rebounding team and stole the ball at a rate that landed in the top half of the Big Ten.

You may have noticed, but none of that involved the offensive output, which was absolutely miserable. Illinois scored 59.6 points per game and shot 36.6 percent from the field, both of which were easily at rock bottom in the Big Ten and that ranked No. 265 and No. 287 in the country, respectively.

Only one player on the roster took more than 50 field goal attempts and shot better than 40 percent from the field. Good news for Illini fans, though: That one player is back this season.

Jada Peebles led Illinois with 11.6 points per game last season and will be looked at to do the same this season. Peebles and Aaliyah Nye, who was a freshman last season, led the team with 34 and 27 three-pointers made, respectively, and Nye actually shot them with decent efficiency (35.1 percent). If she can increase the shot count and improve that rate by just a few percentages, Nye could be a sleeper pick to make a big jump in her second season.

Eva Rubin is Illinois’ presence inside, and at 6-5, she will be asked to up her rebounding rate significantly, especially considering who the Illini lost this offseason.

Both Jeanae Terry and Kennedi Myles will be difficult losses to overcome, as each were the primary reasons why Illinois rebounded and defended so well last season. The Terry departure will hurt double considering that she stayed in the conference and is now at Purdue.

The bright side for the Illini is that not one of these players was an efficient shooter.

Terry and Myles shot the most efficiently at 39.4 and 36.2 percent, respectively, while J-Naya Ephraim and Aaliyah McQueen never got it going, shooting 30.8 and 21.0 percent from the field, respectively. Tara O’Malley and Nancy Panagiotopoulou combined to hit zero field goals last season.

Six players is a lot to lost in an offseason, but Illinois is bringing in just as many to try and patch up those holes.

Head coach Nancy Fahey has to be happy with the haul that the Illini are bringing in, starting with four-star commit Adalia McKenzie. A near-top 50 prospect is huge for a team looking for new faces to contribute, and she will surely get that opportunity immediately.

The trio of transfers all have some big-time potential as well. De’Myla Brown started at Western Kentucky before going to junior college and lighting it up at Chipola. Sara Anastasieska was off to a strong start before Duke pulled the plug on the season last year and Kendall Bostic is a former four-star that did not get a lot of time to develop on the floor last year at Michigan State, but has the potential to blossom in Champaign.

Jayla Odean and Keanna Rembert help to bolster what is a strong and necessary recruiting class to help Illinois, like Wisconsin, get out of the Big Ten’s basement. I think the Illini have more potential to make that breakthrough this year than the Badgers do, but the increased competition throughout the conference will still make it a tall task.

But, if the defense can maintain its strength and the offense can start to catch up, there’s no reason that Illinois can’t at least get closer to breaking that desired .500 mark over the course of its full season schedule.

Next week, teams ranked No. 12 and 11 for the Big Ten preview. Before that, I will have a new post on a random topic for you this Thursday.

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