Injuries Ravage the Big Ten
Plus, updates on thrilling Los Angeles action.
While the scoreboard indicates an incredible week for the Big Ten, following it sometimes felt like anything but.
The second half of this post will focus on the very exciting things that happened in the Big Ten. But first, the hard part.
Every day last week felt like it included some bad news. Crushing news. I count three major-impact players who now will miss significant time.
Let’s recap the news:
First, Nebraska lost Natalie Potts for the season.
Potts had been remarkable. Personally, I expected that Alexis Markowski would be the team’s top contributor all year long. I was wrong.
Through the first four games, Potts averaged 17.5 points and 8 rebounds. Nebraska was cruising, and I was really looking forward to seeing how they’d match up against better teams.
Then, on Tuesday, facing North Alabama, Potts went down with a non-contact injury. The next day, she confirmed the fears.
The first reaction here, of course, is to just wish the best for Potts, and hope she and other players are able to recover without too much pain.
Without Potts, Nebraska took their first loss of the season. A loss to Creighton is not the end of the world, by any means (they’re real good!) But Nebraska has a lot of work to do now to replace their star forward, who will likely redshirt the year.
Now, it will be up to Markowski to lead this team. I still think they have a good chance.
Last week’s Power Rankings:
Power Rankings and Non-Conference Games to Watch
We’ve got more power rankings this week! After finally seeing some games, I have a (much? somewhat?) better feel for these teams. Some of them.
Then, the injury bug struck Minnesota. The Gophers are still 7-0, but haven’t really played anyone that impressive.
They were led to that point by Mara Braun’s 13.6 points and 4 assists per game. Braun was a huge contributor after missing the second half of last season with a foot injury.
But she missed the team’s win over SMU on Wednesday, seen in a boot on the sideline. Later, Dawn Plitzuweit confirmed that Braun not only was injured, but had broken the same bone in her foot that caused her to miss 14 games last season.
This could have been a special year under Plitzuweit with Braun and Amaya Battle at full strength. Instead, Battle will once again have to be special for this team. We’ll see how they look once conference play starts.
Braun is out for an “indefinite” period. Minnesota hasn’t ruled out a potential return this season. But it will be very difficult no matter what.
Then, more news hit the Big Ten. Kennedy Smith, a star freshman for USC, underwent a “surgical procedure” at some point before the team’s Saturday loss to Notre Dame. Very light on details.
Smith is “expected to return to competition this season.”
The 6-1 guard had been remarkable. A freshman on a stacked team, she carved out an immediate role. She was the team’s third-leading scorer, and had been consistent through four games.
USC should be able to get on fine without her (more on that below). And hopefully she is able to return soon and provide a spark to a title contender.
And then there’s the case of Cotie McMahon. Ohio State’s star leader missed two games this week with a leg injury.
McMahon is “day-to-day” with no timetable beyond that. Could it be a week? A month? The season? Folks, how could we not love women’s college basketball reporting. (No shade to the awesome reporters who are with the team every day.)
The Buckeyes have had great production from freshman Jaloni Cambridge and transfer Chance Gray. We’ll see how long those two are needed to lead the team.
California Roundup
#5 UCLA 77, #1 South Carolina 62
THE BIG TEN HAS ARRIVED!
Could we have a new number one?! I’m publishing this right before the new AP poll. There is a decent chance the Big Ten has its first AP #1 team in 25 years!
I cannot believe I missed this live.
South Carolina was on a 43-game win streak dating back to the 2023 Final Four. This was their first regular-season regulation loss since February of 2021.
An 11-0 run in the first quarter put UCLA up 15-2. And they never looked back. At all. By halftime they led by 21! The game was never within 15 points in the second half.
In the first half, UCLA held the Gamecocks to just 22 points on 26.5% shooting.
Lauren Betts didn’t do that much offensively as SC keyed in on her — just 11 points but with 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. But she wasn’t needed.
Londynn Jones was incredible, going 5-for-5 on threes off the bench. Kiki Rice, after missing a few games at the start of the season, is all the way here now.
Simply put, this could be program-defining for UCLA. If they take the momentum from this into conference play and into the postseason, Cori Close could become one of the nation’s very best coaches. I’m so excited to watch this team for the rest of the year.
"It's Nov. 24," Close said. "Am I proud of our team? Yes. But this is just the beginning and we just can't get tired of doing things right."
Oh, and they’ll still add Charlisse Leger-Walker at some point.
#6 Notre Dame 74, #3 USC 61
You never want a double-digit home loss.
But overall, I rate this one about a 2 on the panic meter. We knew that USC still had work to do. Notre Dame is really good, especially on defense. Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles are both incredible.
Just about everything went wrong for USC. They were just 1-13 from deep. JuJu Watkins missed 15 shots. USC had 12 offensive rebounds but just six second-chance points.
Bright spots: the Trojans forced 20 turnovers (though they had 21 of their own). Even on an off night, Watkins still managed to put up 24 points. Rayah Marshall had a nice 9-rebound, 4-block game.
But, overall, this was a tough one from start to finish. USC had no answers for Miles — who shot 7-for-12, with 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
You know what’s really fun? Next month, USC gets to go to UConn, too. Another national TV game and a chance to get back on top.