WOMEN'S BIG TEN

Earlier this fall at Big Ten media day, IU coach Kathi Bennett proclaimed the Big Ten as the number one or two conference in the nation. Some coaches, namely Penn State's Rene Portland, didn't exactly agree with her statement. \n"I think we have some work to do still," Portland said. "We have performed well in isolated instances. We have to worry more about non-conference scheduling and recruiting."\nBut if preseason top 25 polls are any indication, Bennett was dead-on with her prediction. \nWith the exception of the Big 12, the Big Ten is the only conference in the country to field four or more teams in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. In fact, the Big Ten fielded all four of its ranked teams within the top 15 of the coaches poll -- something no other conference can claim.\nPenn State is ranked seventh in the AP and eighth in ESPN/USA Today poll respectively along with Purdue, 7/9; Minnesota, 13/13; and Ohio State, 17/15. \nThe Nittany Lions, last year's regular season Big Ten champions, were pegged as the favorite by the Big Ten coaches. \nPenn State returns all of its starters, including three women who averaged double digits in scoring, to a team that went 13-3 in league play last season. \n"We really can't think about the Big Ten yet, although it will be a major focus down the road," said Portland. "We have to play three top 10 teams in our first four games."\nHelping the Lady Lions through that opening stretch will be the Big Ten Preseason Co-Player of the Year and preseason All-American, Kelly Mazzante. \nThe senior guard has a chance to become the conference's first four-time All-Big Ten first team selection, and if she duplicated her scoring her scoring output of 23.9 points per game from last year, Mazzante would shatter the Big Ten's all-time scoring record by nearly 500 points.\nAlso expected to be on the top of the heap with Penn State is Purdue, which was tabbed as a preseason frontrunner by members of the Big Ten media. \nThe Boilermakers are coming off an impressive 29-6 campaign that included 12-4 conference mark and a Big Ten tournament title. They advanced all the way to the Elite Eight before being knocked off by Connecticut, which went on to win the national championship a week later. \n"We're always picked to win the league, and those are the expectations you welcome," Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. "Whether it's in print or not, we always expect that." \nNot to be forgotten are Pam Borton's Golden Gophers, after a year in which her squad went 25-6, advancing all the way to the Sweet Sixteen. Leading the way for Minnesota will be the conference's other Preseason Player of the Year, Lindsay Whalen. The senior guard averaged 20.6 ppg last year while posting a solid field-goal percentage of .546. \n"I expect us to win the Big Ten championship and make a great run in the postseason tournament," Borton said. "The conference is wide-open."\n-- Contact staff writer Ryan J. cost at rjcost@indiana.edu.