Pollsters overlooking Big Ten women's basketball teams

No matter what it does, Big Ten women's basketball does not get any respect.

Despite playing in arguably the toughest conference in the country, only two Big Ten teams, No. 9 Illinois and No. 19 Wisconsin, reside in the top 25. No other team is receiving serious consideration from the voters. Iowa is the closest to cracking the national rankings, but it only earned 20 votes in the latest poll, 49 less than No. 25 Southwest Missouri State.

"It's a shame. (The Big Ten) has had some big wins against nationally ranked teams," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "We may not have that superstar, but this is a tough, physical conference."

Iowa's absence from the top 25 is interesting, considering it holds second place in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes also sport an undefeated record against Illinois and Wisconsin.

Against the Badgers on Jan. 20 the Hawkeyes defeated Wisconsin 66-63 even though it was the inaugural game in the Badgers' new arena, the Kohl Center.

The Hawkeyes opened the season in the top 15, but injuries and a 3-6 non-conference record dropped them out of the rankings by mid-December. All six losses were to nationally ranked teams, but that did not make Iowa's record any better in the eyes of the voters.

The voters, however, did not hold No. 6 Stanford's poor start against it. The Cardinal opened its season with resounding losses to Purdue and Wisconsin on its way to a 2-4 start. Stanford, though, never dropped from the top 25 and only fell as far as No. 18.

"I think a lot of times, this league doesn't get the recognition it deserves. You take a team like Iowa, they might not have the overall record because of the non-conference record in the beginning of the year, but they are a very, very good team," Illinois coach Theresa Grentz said. "But people keep them out of the polls. I invite anyone to come in and play them. These kids can really play."

Purdue can relate to Iowa. Despite beating four top 20 teams, the Boilermakers never climbed higher than No. 22. The voters also did not show the same kind of leniency they showed Stanford when Purdue lost. After a four-game winning streak was halted by Indiana last month, the Boilermakers were dropped from the top 25.

Iowa and Purdue are not the only Big Ten teams being overlooked. Third-place Indiana has failed to gain much respect, receiving just 12 votes in the latest poll, despite racking up 17 wins and beating both Illinois and Wisconsin.

"I think the top 25 is a little shaky," Penn State coach Rene Portland said. "I think right now it's people voting for the sake of voting and not looking at strength of opponents. It's certainly reliable in the case that Tennessee is No. 1, but once we get 10 and below it's people using it for their own methods instead of using it to reflect the power of our sport."

Last year the NCAA Tournament selection committee may have overlooked the Big Ten as well. No Big Ten team received one of the top three seeds in any region. Illinois, who finished tied for the regular season title with a record of 24-7, earned the highest seed, taking the fourth spot in the Midwest region.

Despite tying Illinois for the regular season title, Michigan State and Purdue received only No. 8 seeding. Iowa captured the Big Ten Tournament and for its effort was handed the No. 9 seed in the East.

Once in the tournament Illinois, Purdue and Iowa made strong statements, taking out three Atlantic Coast Conference teams. The ACC is regarded as one of the premier conferences in women's basketball, but the Big Ten trio crushed Duke, Maryland and North Carolina State by an average of 17 points.

"I raised Cain about the seeds last year. I thought they were pretty low," Grentz said. "Teams that work hard, play blue-collar basketball and gut it out like the ones in the Big Ten don't necessarily get the rave reviews that teams with star players do."