The 2020–21 Big Ten women's basketball season began with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November 2020. The regular season will end in March, 2021.
The Big Ten tournament will be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana in March 2021.
Head coaches Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Big Ten record Big Ten titles Big Ten tournament titles NCAA Tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsIllinois Washington (MO) 4 30–58 4–46 0 0 0 0 0Indiana Teri Moren Indiana State 7 127–74 56–48 0 0 2 0 0Iowa Lisa Bluder Drake 21 416–222 207–128 1 2 14 0 0Maryland Brenda Frese Minnesota 19 486–128 92–12* 5 4 16 3 1Michigan Kim Barnes Arico St. John's (Asst.) 9 177–96 76–60 0 0 3 0 0Michigan State Suzy Merchant Eastern Michigan 14 281–148 136–86 2 0 9 0 0Minnesota Lindsay Whalen Minnesota Lynx (Player) 3 37–26 14–22 0 0 0 0 0Nebraska Amy Williams South Dakota 5 59–62 30–38 0 0 1 0 0Northwestern Joe McKeown George Washington 12 206–175 83–121 0 0 1 0 0Ohio State Kevin McGuff Washington 8 155–77 82–38 2 1 4 0 0Penn State Carolyn Kieger Marquette 2 7–23 1–17 0 0 0 0 0Purdue Sharon Versyp Indiana 15 294–176 136–102 0 4 9 0 0Rutgers C. Vivian Stringer Iowa 26 521–286 53–49* 0 0 16 2 0Wisconsin Jonathan Tsipis George Washington 5 44–79 12–56 0 0 0 0 0 Notes: All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes 2020–21 season. Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school and are through the beginning of the season. Frese's ACC conference record excluded since Maryland began Big Ten Conference play in 2014–15. Stringer's Big East and American conference record excluded since Rutgers began Big Ten Conference play in 2014–15.
Preseason Preseason conference poll The Big Ten released the preseason ranking on November 11, 2020, which featured a ranking by both media and coaches. MediaRankingTeam1Indiana2Northwestern3Maryland4Michigan5Ohio State CoachesRankingTeam1Indiana2Maryland3Michigan4Northwestern5Ohio State
Preseason national polls
AP CBS Sports Coaches ESPNWIllinois Indiana 16 18 15 17Iowa Maryland 12 10 11 12Michigan 25 24 24 25Michigan State Minnesota Nebraska Northwestern 17 15 16 16Ohio State 20 25 22 21Penn State Purdue Rutgers Wisconsin
Regular season Rankings
Honors and awards All-Big Ten awards and teams On March 8, 2021, the Big Ten announced its conference awards.
Honor Winner Player of the Year Naz Hillmon, Michigan Coach of the Year Brenda Frese, Maryland Freshman of the Year Caitlin Clark, Iowa Defensive Player of the Year Veronica Burton, Northwestern Sixth Player of the Year Maddie Burke, Penn State All-Big Ten First Team Grace Berger, Indiana Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana Caitlin Clark, Iowa Monika Czinano, Iowa Diamond Miller, Maryland Ashley Owusu, Maryland Naz Hillmon, Michigan Nia Clouden, Michigan State Veronica Burton, Northwestern Dorka Juhász, Ohio State Arella Guirantes, Rutgers All-Big Ten Second Team Ali Patberg, Indiana Katie Benzan, Maryland Leigha Brown, Michigan Jasmine Powell, Minnesota Sam Haiby, Nebraska Lindsey Pulliam, Northwestern Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State Kayana Traylor, Purdue Diamond Johnson, Rutgers All-Big Ten Honorable Mention Chloe Bibby, Maryland Sara Scalia, Minnesota Isabelle Bourne, Nebraska Kate Cain, Nebraska Madison Greene, Ohio State Johnasia Cash, Penn State Makenna Marisa, Penn State Tekia Mack, Rutgers Sydney Hilliard, Wisconsin Imani Lewis, Wisconsin All-Freshman Team Caitlin Clark, Iowa Kateri Poole, Ohio State Maddie Burke, Penn State Madison Layden, Purdue Diamond Johnson, Rutgers All-Defensive Team Akienreh Johnson, Michigan Kate Cain, Nebraska Veronica Burton, Northwestern Sydney Wood, Northwestern Tekia Mack, Rutgers
References