No. 4 Maryland Expected To Be Top Big Ten Women’s Hoops Team

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — No. 4 Maryland is expected to beryllium the Big Ten’s champion women’s hoops squad this season, returning each 5 starters from the nation’s highest-scoring squad that won the league championship.

The Terrapins volition beryllium arsenic prepared arsenic imaginable to play contenders specified arsenic No. 8 Indiana, No. 9 Iowa and No. 11 Michigan acknowledgment to an incredibly pugnacious agelong of non-conference games.

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Over 1 week successful precocious November, Maryland volition look defending champion and third-ranked Stanford, No. 5 North Carolina State and No. 7 Baylor. Two weeks later, the Terrapins person different measuring-stick crippled connected the roadworthy against No. 1 South Carolina.

“The toughest docket we volition person ever played,” said Brenda Frese, who has won 512 games astatine Maryland since 2002 and has been facing Big Ten foes successful league games since 2014. “And past you look astatine conscionable the Big Ten, it volition beryllium the toughest we’ve ever faced successful our clip being successful the league.”

The Terrapins person six Big Ten regular play titles and person won the league tourney 5 times successful 7 Big Ten seasons, but the contention mightiness beryllium catching up.

For the archetypal clip successful the AP Top 25 preseason poll, the Big Ten has 4 teams successful the apical 15 and 5 among the apical 20. The past clip the league had a trio of teams successful the apical 10 successful immoderate canvass was connected Feb. 9, 2004.

The Hoosiers, with their highest ranking successful schoolhouse history, were picked successful the league canvass to decorativeness 2nd successful the league followed by the Hawkeyes, Wolverines and No. 17 Ohio State.

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Michigan State, 1 of 7 Big Ten teams to play successful the past NCAA Tournament, ranks 2nd successful AP Top 25 votes among unranked teams.

“The league is arsenic pugnacious arsenic ever and determination are 3 truly bully teams astatine the top: Maryland, Indiana and Iowa,” Spartans manager Suzy Merchant said Tuesday. “There whitethorn beryllium different conferences that are much apical heavy, but apical to bottom, the Big Ten is the best.”

It’s casual to spot wherefore Maryland appears to beryllium the people of the conference.

The Terrapins’ apical 8 scorers are backmost from past year’s squad that went 17-1 successful the Big Ten, 26-3 wide and precocious to the NCAA Tournament circular of 16.

Juniors Ashley Owusu and Diamond Miller, some of whom averaged 17-plus points per crippled past season, helped the squad pb the state with 90.8 points per crippled and fertile archetypal with 1.69 assists for each turnover.

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“Maryland is different,” Merchant said. “They person size and acquisition with each 5 starters back, and they each people and they’re each going to beryllium pros.”