The Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament begins in Indianapolis on Wednesday afternoon. The Hoosiers did just enough to grab the No. 13 seed and qualify for the tournament. Let’s dive into a week of women’s hoops in the Circle City.
Dates: March 4th-8
Location: Gainbridge Field House, Indianapolis
Tickets: SeatGeek (Promo Code HoosierHuddle for $20 off first order)
Bracket
Indiana’s Road to the Big Ten Tournament
2025-26 Record: 17-13 (6-12)
BTT Seed: 13
The Indiana Hoosiers entered the 25-26 season with high hopes, but Teri Moren was also trying to rebuild the foundation that helped her build the program into a perennial NCAA Tournament team. A mixture of youth and an injury to Zania Sockman-Nguemen took a lot of the wind out of IU’s sails. An 0-10 start to Big Ten play after an 11-1 start in non-conference play put IU in a position of needing a late season push to even make the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers finished the season 6-2 and could have been 7-1 if not for Shay Ciezki missing the USC game with an ankle injury that occurred in pregame shoot around.
Indiana Players to Watch
The obvious player to pay attention to is Ciezki as she has had an All-American caliber season. The senior led IU in scoring averaging 23.2 points per game. She has elevated her game and can score from anywhere on the court. March is a time where one hot player can carry a team. Ciezki is that player.
Lenée Beaumont has had an up and down season after missing all of last season with an injury, but she has played well late in the season. She is averaging 13.6 points per game and 3.1 assists per game.
What really spurred IU’s 6-2 run at the end of the season was the play of freshmen Maya Makalusky and Navaeh Caffey. Makalusky averaged 9.3 points per game and Caffey is right behind her at 8.3. If they play well IU has a much better chance of winning.
Round One Matchup: No. 12 Nebraska
Time: 3:30pm
TV: Peacock
The Hoosiers faced Nebraska on January 8th losing 78-73 in Lincoln. This was the third game of a four-game stretch where IU faced ranked opponents. At the time of that win Nebraska was 14-2 (3-2). Nebraska would win just four games from that moment on as the Huskers finished the season 18-11 (7-11). Nebraska is led by Britt Prince’s 17.3 points per game. She scored 20 in the first matchup. The Huskers average 7.8 made three-pointers a game.