Women's Big Ten crown in anybody's court

The Iowa women's basketball team owns the Big Ten regular season title, yet second-place Illinois is ranked 12 places higher than the Hawkeyes in the national poll.

Wisconsin finished sixth but is somehow ahead of the Hawkeyes in the Top 25. A year after tying for the Big Ten regular season crown, Michigan State plummeted to ninth. But the Spartans defeated Iowa last month.

Confused?

All the madness could make for one of the most interesting Big Ten Tournaments in the league's history.

- Illinois senior Ashley Berggren

"You're challenged every day in this conference," Michigan State coach Karen Langeland said. "Even if you play good basketball, you might not win."

Iowa and Illinois appear to have the inside track to the title. The No. 25 Hawkeyes have been on a roll, winning six straight games. Center Tangela Smith has carried Iowa all year averaging 18.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.

Not only are the Hawkeyes talented, they are also experienced. Seven seniors reside on the roster and all but two players were members of last year's tournament-winning team.

Illinois held first in the Big Ten for most of the season and, like Iowa, features a senior-laden team. Senior Ashley Berggren leads the way, pouring in 18 points per game.

After losing back-to-back games and handing Iowa the regular season crown last weekend, the Illini are ready to make a run.

"This weekend is a new season," Berggren said. "We're just going to go in and have fun. We're not putting pressure on ourselves."

Despite being seeded fifth and sixth respectively, Purdue and No. 24 Wisconsin could be tough to beat. Both teams upset Illinois last weekend and stunned No. 5 Stanford earlier in the year. The Boilermakers and Badgers also bring a lot of momentum into the tournament.

"We have a lot of confidence and morale," Wisconsin coach Jane Albright-Dieterle said. "That's one thing going for us that we didn't have last year."

Michigan and Indiana have exceeded preseason expectations. Both were supposed to finish close to the bottom of the conference but instead ended up in a tie for third. Despite defying the odds, though, both teams will find it hard to win the crown.

Wolverine center Pollyanna Johns gives Michigan a strong inside game while guards Stacey Thomas and Ann Lemire can light it up from outside. The Wolverines, though, are staggering into the tournament after barely beating league doormat Minnesota and losing to eighth-place Ohio State last weekend.

The Hoosiers could be the sleeper of the tournament. Center Quacy Barnes and point guard Kristi Green team up to give Indiana an inside-outside combination that can be nearly unstoppable at times. However, Indiana has been plagued by inconsistency at times and has struggled mightily on the road.

Penn State has won more tournament games than any other team but adding to that record could be difficult. The Lady Lions have played poorly against the teams ahead of them in the standings. That could be bad news for Penn State, since it will play Illinois, a team who has beaten the Lions four straight times, if it gets by Northwestern in the first round.

Ohio State and Michigan State are going in different directions. The No. 8-seeded Buckeyes are coming off an upset of Michigan and are a drastically improved team from last year. The Spartans, on the other hand, have dropped four straight and seem to be regressing rather than improving.

Despite winning only three conference games, No. 10-seeded Northwestern is a dangerous team. The Wildcats possess a lethal scoring attack. Forward Kristina Divjak leads the Big Ten with 21.6 points per game and is complemented by guard Megan Chawanksy, who chips in 15.7 points per game.

Minnesota brings up the rear for a second straight season. The Golden Gophers have been the Big Ten's punching bag, winning just one of 16 conference games.

Despite the long odds, Minnesota coach Cheryl Littlejohn likes her team's chances in Indianapolis.

"In spite of a lot of losses, we have made a lot of progress," Littlejohn said. "I honestly think we're the most dangerous team to play."