The women’s 2026 Big Ten conference tournament is today, so let’s take a look at where every team stands heading into the bracket.

The clear frontrunner

The Big 10 has three clear frontrunners, headlined by none other than the No. 2 ranked UCLA Bruins who sit with a 28-1 overall record with a conference record of 18-0. This team is utterly monstrous and it shows in the statistics.

The Bruins are ranked at No. 2 in the nation for both their assist/turnover ratio of 1.72, with three of their players sitting inside the top 10 nationally of individual assist/turnover ratios, and their assists per game with a mark of 22.1. But arguably more impressive is their field goal percentage on the year which sits at 51%, which is also good for the second best mark in the nation.

This has allowed the team to build the No. 6 offense in the country scoring wise, putting up an average of 85.4 points per game, partly off the back of their No. 6 best in the nation three point percentage which sits at 37.63%.

UCLA is also effective when they make it to the free throw line, making 78.35% of their shots from the charity stripe, good for the 12th highest mark in the nation. This, along with their effective offense rebounding, nabbing 14.5 such boards per game, the 35th most in the nation, makes for a deadly combo of second chance points.

The Bruins are incredible rebounding in general, nabbing 43 rebounds per game, the eighth highest mark in the country, sitting at No. 25 nationally in defensive boards with 28.5 per game. This has garnered them the second best rebound margin in the country with a mark of 15.8.

It’s not just the offense and rebounding however, as UCLA’s defensive prowess has shined through as well, racking up 4.3 blocks per game and allowing a nation’s 17th lowest opponent field goal percentage of 36.1%.

This has helped the Bruins allow just 57.1 points per game, good for the 26th lowest mark in the nation. This has allowed UCLA to conjure a scoring margin of 28.3 on the year which is good for the fifth highest margin in the country.

One of UCLA’s many strengths is their reliance on a number of different players, rather than just one or two, as four Bruins average over 13 points per game and six players average four or more rebounds per game.

Still, this team does have a leader and that’s their senior center Lauren Betts who leads the team in points per game at 16.3, in rebounds with 8.8 per game (with 3.8 offensive boards per game, tied for 23rd most in the nation), and blocks with two per game, tied for 21st most in the nation. She also is tied for the 34th most double doubles in the nation with 11 and has shot 55.77% clip on the season, good for the 26th highest in the nation.

But it’s not just her, as earlier I mentioned that three UCLA players sit inside the top 10 nationally for individual assist/turnover ratios. That list includes senior guard Kiki Rice at No. 6 with a ratio of 2.80, senior guard Gianna Kneepkens at No. 7 with a ratio of 2.75, and fellow guard Charlisse Leger-Walker at No. 10 with a ratio of 2.47.

Leger-Walker is also tied for No. 20 in the nation for assists per game with an average of 5.6 assists per contest.

But it’s not just the sharing of the ball that makes the Bruins effective as they make good on their chances to score as evidenced by Kneepken’s 45.70% shooting from deep, good for sixth best in the nation. Further evidence of this is seen in Rice’s 89.17% number at the charity stripe, the 15th highest in the nation, senior guard Gabriela Jaquez’s mark of 88.37% on free throws, the 21st highest percentage in the country.

Contenders

Iowa and Michigan, both sit at 24-5 on the season and 15-3 in the conference. It’s not just the records that are similar, or rather identical, either. Both teams rely heavily on their turnover/assist margins, with Iowa ranking at No. 8 in the nation with a ratio of 1.44 and Michigan at No. 35 with a ratio of 1.17.

Both teams also sit in the top 20 in assists per game with the Wolverines averaging 17.6 assists per game, the 17th most in the nation, while the Hawkeyes sit all the way up at the No. 3 spot with 21.2 assists per game.

Both teams also shoot and rebound well, with the Hawkeyes possessing the sixth best field goal percentage in the nation at 49.77% while Michigan sits not too far behind at No. 14 in the nation with a mark of 47.67%. The Wolverines do, however, have the edge in rebounding, sitting at No. 13 in the nation in rebounding margin with a mark of 9.4 while Iowa sits at No. 34 with a margin of 7.2.

The Hawkeyes garner this margin through their defensive rebounding, racking up 28.2 defensive rebounds per game, the 32nd most in the nation. The Wolverines on the other hand conjure up their large rebound margin by getting second chance opportunities, as they are tied at No. 18 in the nation for most offensive rebounds per game with 15.3.

Both teams also mainly succeed through their offense as Iowa sits with the 21st best offense in the country with 79 points per game while Michigan sits at the No. 8 spot with 85.2 points per game.

Iowa finds their offense partly through the long ball, as they sit at No. 16 in the country in three point percentage, sitting at an impressive 36.76%. Michigan does it through their bench, as they sit at No. 35 in the nation in bench points per game, averaging 24.8 as a team from their contributors on the sidelines.

Another separator for the Wolverines is their exceptional stealing abilities, racking up the 25th most steals per game in the nation with 11.4. This has resulted in an average of 22.1 turnovers being forced per game and a turnover margin of 7.1, both good for the 14th best mark in the country.

Looking back at both of these teams’ offenses, which both sit inside the top 21, it’s surprising to see how their one and only meeting of the regular season went, as the game ended with the Hawkeyes on top 62-44.

It was a defensive battle with both teams shooting under 32% from three and only shooting a total of nine free throws. Ultimately, it was Iowa’s interior offense and overall defensive prowess that drove them to the victory, with 20 of their 27 field goals coming from inside the paint as they held the Wolverines to just 31% shooting, over 16% less than their average.

Now looking at individual players, the Hawkeyes have a trio of sophomores that includes a guard, forward, and center, showing their completeness as a team. Their leading guard, sophomore Chazadi Wright, is No. 26 in the nation for individual assist/turnover ratio with a ratio of 2.24. Wright also sits at No. 5 in the nation in total three point percentage at 46.21%, greatly contributing to that 36.76% total as a team that I mentioned earlier.

Sophomore center Ava Heiden is also effective in making her shots, as she is No. 4 in the nation in total field goal percentage at 65.10% and also No. 17 total field goals made with 222. Finally, sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke rounds things out with more terrific shooting, making 54.38% of her shots, good for the No. 34 spot in the nation.

Looking in the direction of the Wolverines from Michigan, their one woman wrecking show has been sophomore guard Olivia Olson who sits at No. 29 in the country in total field goals with 209 and No. 24 in the nation in both total points (568) and points per game (19.6).

Dark horse

The Michigan State Spartans are my dark horse of the tournament because of what they have done as a team. Individually, you look at the stats sheet and don’t see too much. Senior guard Emma Shumate has the 20th best shooting percentage from beyond the arc at 42.34% and sophomore guard Kennedy Blair turns in a team leading 5.4 assists per game, good for the 25th most in the nation, while

Blair also leads the team in rebounds per game with 7.1 and steals with 2.24 while senior forward Grace VanSlooten leads the team in points per game with 15.1 and blocks per game with exactly one.

However, the real talent of this team lies in their team statistics, as they rank No. 9 in the country in assist/turnover ratio at 1.42 and No. 10 in assists per game with 18.4. They also have the 11th best field goal percentage in the country at 48.24% and get great contributions from the bench with 26.2 points per game, the 18th most in the country.

This, along with 14.45 free throws made per game, the 45th most in the nation, and a team mark of 37.10% from deep, the 12th highest percentage in the country, has helped the Spartans on to a top 10 offense in the country, scoring 83.5 points per game.

Michigan State is also good with the ball as they are tied for the 12th best turnover margin in the country at 7.14 and have forced the 20th most steals per game in the nation with 11.7. They also take care of the ball well, having just 12.9 turnovers a game, the 28th least in the country.

In short, this team plays as a team very well and could certainly make noise in this year’s Big Ten conference tournament, however, with that being said I’m still taking the No. 2 ranked UCLA Bruins to win the whole thing. They’re simply too dominant and it’s hard to see them losing a single game.

Round one of the tournament will kick off on March 4th at 2:30 P.M. with a game between Indiana and Nebraska. Game two will be 25 minutes after that with Wisconsin and Illinois and then, 25 minutes after that, game three will see Purdue take on Oregon.