Archive - Jan 1, 2012 - Story

This Week in the Big Ten: Few Surprises on Opening Day of Conference Play

Full Court's Mark Bradford was 5-1 in his picks for the opening day of Big Ten Conference play on Friday.

The biggest surprise was Iowas 86-55 blowout of Northwestern in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes ran off a 40-11 run that head coach Lisa Bluder credited to her teams 24 assists and their ability to push the ball.

Nebraska prevailed in its Big Ten Conference debut, beating Penn State, 71-63 in Happy Valley, but had to come back from a 56-47 deficit with 13 minutes left to pull off the win. But the Huskers did what they had to, outscoring the Lady Lions 24-7 down the stretch and sending clear notice to the rest of the conference that the newcomers can never be taken for granted.

We'll take a quick look at the rest of Sunday's results, before turning to the current league standings and Monday's line-up.

Spotlight on the Pac-12: Stanford Still the Team to Beat as Conference Season Tips Off

In the inaugural spin of conference play for the reconstituted Pac-12, the order of things in women's basketball is simple: Theres Stanford anduntil someone disrupts the apple carttheres Stanford again.

How rare and difficult has it become to beat Stanford?

Only one current Pac-12 coach, June Daugherty of Washington State, and one current Pac-12 player, fifth-year senior Regina Rogers, entering conference play have done it.

It appears that even the 11-year run of conference championships isnt enough for the Cardinal. Tara VanDerveers squad doesnt just win every year, they win every night. Stanford has won 57 consecutive games against Pac-12 competition, 53 of those by double digits.

Theres a commitment at Stanford to win every game, Washingtons new coach, Kevin McGuff said.