Parity reigns in Big Ten hoops

Gone are the days in Big Ten women’s basketball when Ohio State was Ohio State. Or so it seems, anyway.

The Ohio State of the past used to be the Big Ten’s version of Connecticut in the Big East. Unbeatable.

The Buckeyes entered the season having won six straight Big Ten championships, and they returned arguably the top two players in the conference in center Jantel Lavender and guard Samantha Prahalis.

League title No. 7 seemed like little more than a formality.

But this season, up has been down and right has been left in the Big Ten. And there seems to be no telling where all the pieces will fall in the end, in conference play or come NCAA Tournament time.

“The Big Ten has been like the NFL this year,” said Northwestern coach Joe McKeown, whose Wildcats are 14-7 on the season and have caused some of the turbulence. “It’s a hard league to get any momentum in because there’s so much parity. It’s that ‘on any given night’ thing. Anyone can beat anyone.”

And several anyones have beaten mighty Ohio State already.

Ohio State sits — gasp! — in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten standings with 4 league losses. Even teams such as Michigan and McKeown’s Wildcats, which have lacked a strong winning history in recent years, have tagged Ohio State with conference losses.

Northwestern’s win came just two weeks ago.

“That was a really great win for us,” McKeown said. “We played really well against Ohio State. To beat a team like that is great recognition for our program and gives us some confidence.”

Iowa has added to the craziness in the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes returned all five starters from a team that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year and started the season with a 12-1 record that included wins against ranked teams.

But since Big Ten play started, Iowa has been inexplicably up and down and is 4-4 in league games.

Perennially strong Purdue — also 4-4 in the Big Ten — is in the same boat, while Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin have all played better than expected to add to the erratic shifts in the league standings.

Even Michigan State, the Big Ten’s top-ranked and first-place team, isn’t without its blemishes.

The Spartans began the season 16-1, losing only to No. 1 Baylor. But Michigan State has lost two of its last four games.

The question is: Will this parity help the Big Ten’s image with the NCAA selection committee come tournament time? Or does a conference come off looking stronger and more formidable when an unbeatable superpower is leading the way into the postseason.

“That’s a really good question,” McKeown said. “I think, in a way, it helps to get some recognition for the league when you’ve got a team that is so elite, like a Connecticut or a Baylor, or how Ohio State has been in past years.

“But, in some ways, it also doesn’t make that league look very good if one team is so much better that none of the others can compete with that team.”

From top to bottom, Big Ten teams are certainly proving they can compete with one another. Now, they have to prove they can compete in March.

One knock on the Big Ten is that it has lacked significant postseason success in recent years. Even Ohio State has suffered some surprising early exits.

“The best thing any league can do is win games in March,” McKeown said. “If you’re getting two or three teams in the Sweet Sixteen, then you can feel pretty good as a league.”

Mocchi magic:

The key to a winning season may be as simple as bread, butter and glue.

At Northwestern, center Amy Jaeschke is the team’s bread and butter, its go-to player. Up for All-America honors, Jaeschke has been a force all season, averaging 23 points and 9 rebounds per game.

But just as valuable has been former Buffalo Grove star Allison Mocchi, one of the first players off the bench for the Wildcats.

“Ali has been the glue player for us,” Northwestern coach Joe McKeown said. “She’s been so solid for us, an unsung hero. She does so much that you don’t see and she does a little bit of everything.

“I remember that when we beat Purdue, she made three or four plays right in a row that were huge for us and really made a difference. She can come in and change a game like that.”

Mocchi is averaging 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 17 minutes per game.

Catch the craziness:

So what surprises are in store for the Big Ten this week?

Well, there are bound to be a few, and the Big Ten Network might catch some. BTN will broadcast three live games over the next couple of days.

On Sunday, Purdue hosts Indiana at 1 p.m., while Penn State visits Ohio State at 3 p.m. On Monday, Illinois hosts Iowa at 4 p.m.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com