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Illinois

Grade: © – People expected the offense to struggle without DiBernardo, but this badly? Have been painful to watch going forward for much of the year, and their best result is a draw with Illinois State. Yikes.
Current RPI – 66
Top Scorer – Nicole Breece (1 G, 1 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – A lot shakier than they would’ve liked. Have whiffed on all of their opportunities to rack up big wins, with the aforementioned draw against ISU being their best result. No bad losses helps, but they need to do serious work in Big Ten play.

Indiana

Grade – (C-) – Utterly uninspiring, with no wins over a team in the uRPI Top 165. Draw with UC Santa Barbara hurt, but most telling result may have been a 3-0 shellacking at home to Big East mid-table hopefuls South Florida.
Current RPI – 85
Top Scorer – Lisa Nouanesengsy (5 G, 1 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – Unlikely, but given that they’re in the Top 85 of the RPI at the moment, they’ve got a prayer of a chance. The lack of any quality wins whatsoever is a big blow against them, but anything above .500 in Big Ten play might give them a decent case. It’s getting there that will be the challenge though.

Iowa

Grade: (B) – Packing a rather soft non-conference schedule, and that’s putting it mildly. At least they’ve been convincing in victory, with all but one win by multiple goals.
Current RPI – 37
Top Scorer – Cloe Lacasse (10 G, 4 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – Well, they’ve got a lot of wins and no losses. But only the win against Iowa State came against a uRPI Top 100 team, and being that low in the RPI despite nine wins and no losses shows that the Hawkeyes still have work to do. Avoiding bad losses and netting a few good wins in the Big Ten could be enough though.

Michigan

Grade: © – Haven’t beaten a single uRPI Top 100 team, making their record off plenty of home dates against middling opposition. Had two golden opportunities to notch big RPI boosting wins on the road but coughed those opportunities up both times.
Current RPI – 60
Top Scorer – Meghan Toohey (2 G, 3 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – In danger. Could really be regretting those two losses in California come season’s end. Lack of quality wins really heaps the pressure on in league season, though lack of bad losses should help them out a bit.

Michigan State

Grade: (C-) – See above, but at least Michigan had the decency to schedule some potentially challenging games on the road. Spartans haven’t even played a uRPI Top 100 team and also managed a home loss to Cal State Fullerton and road draw to Oakland to sully their record.
Current RPI – 76
Top Scorer – Olivia Stander (2 G, 5 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – Not exactly the best. Complete absence of quality wins already puts them in a bind going into league play, while defeat to Fullerton and draw with Oakland also doesn’t bode well. Needs many a win in Big Ten play to even get a look.

Minnesota

Grade: (B+) – So much for a transition year. Loss to San Diego hurts, and beating South Carolina and USC might not mean much this season, but hanging with Florida State was huge, while loss to San Diego State isn’t bad.
Current RPI – 44
Top Scorer – Taylor Uhl (11 G, 4 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – Volatile. They don’t have any bad losses, but with South Carolina and USC laboring in non-conference play, their RPI probably isn’t as high as they would’ve hoped. Doesn’t need to have a great season in the league, but does probably need to finish comfortably in the top half to feel confdent.

Nebraska

Grade: © – Started horrendously, with an inexplicable loss to Drake before turning it around a bit in recent weeks. Win over New Mexico may be better than expected but still look a long way from being a postseason contender.
Current RPI – 114
Top Scorer – Mayme Conroy (3 G, 0 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – About what you’d expect a 3-4-0 team’s prospects to be. Some bad losses torpedoed their RPI, while the paucity of big wins harmed their efforts further. Need a big league season to even stand a chance, with the auto bid still likely their best shot.

Northwestern

Grade: (A-) – Call it a minor miracle from Moynihan, as the Wildcats opened the season with a huge win at Kansas and also managed a draw with Colorado and win against Yale later in the season. Still not ready to challenge top teams, but progress from last year’s disaster has been palpable.
Current RPI – 26
Top Scorer – Kate Allen (4 G, 3 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – Crazily enough, they’re not that bad. Win over Kansas could be a big one if Jayhawks live up to promise in the Big XII, while losses to Dayton and Marquette will likely look more palatable later on. Would need a good league season though, but non-conference resume certainly looks acceptable.

Ohio State

Grade: (B+) – After a rocky opening weekend, have rebounded very well to win five in a row, including victories over Maryland and Missouri. Still need to prove they can do it on the road though.
Current RPI – 41
Top Scorer – Tiffany Cameron (6 G, 1 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – Loss to Hofstra could be an anchor, but still shouldn’t drag the club down too far with wins over Missouri and Maryland to tout. Might have too much ground to make up for a national seed but could still work their way into the mix with a big Big Ten season.

Penn State

Grade: (A-) – Big win over Virginia is the highlight, but how much do their other wins mean? Doubts creeping in as West Virginia flounders. Still competed well with Stanford, but no-show against BYU raises questions.
Current RPI – 9
Top Scorer – Christine Nairn (7 G, 4 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – Basically a lock for an at-large bid, but still has plenty of work to do to grab a high national seed. Loss to BYU might degrade slightly over time, while they could also really use a bump from West Virginia getting their season together. A dominant league campaign would put them in with a chance of a #1 seed though.

Purdue

Grade: (B-) – Most wins look like meaning very little at end of season, while potentially bad loss against Butler looms large. Still competed toe-to-toe with Louisville and beat Central Michigan, so may be better than RPI indicates.
Current RPI – 135
Top Scorer – Jordan Pawlik (6 G, 2 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – Win over CMU not budging the RPI into the Top 100 is a pretty ominous sign. At-large bid may be out of reach unless they go on a serious winning binge in the league. Best hopes is likely the auto bid from the Big Ten Tournament.

Wisconsin

Grade: (A-) – Have certainly surpassed expectations after a turbulent offseason. Solid wins over Notre Dame and Loyola Marymount with loss against UCLA not counting against them that much.
Current RPI – 20
Top Scorer – Paige Adams (4 G, 1 A)
NCAA Tournament Prospects – They’ve got a win over Notre Dame and…well, that’s pretty much it, unless you believe Loyola Marymount is going to maintain their RPI in a very difficult WCC this season. The good news is that Wisconsin’s only loss so far is against UCLA, which has them in a comfortable position in the RPI right now. They can probably stay there with a finish in the top half of the Big Ten, while finishing in the upper echelon could get them a national seed.

Preseason Predicted Order of Finish:

1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
5. Wisconsin
6. Iowa
7. Minnesota
8. Michigan State
9. Purdue
10. Nebraska
11. Indiana
12. Northwestern

Current Predicted Order of Finish

1. Penn State
2. Wisconsin
3. Ohio State
4. Illinois
5. Minnesota
6. Iowa
7. Michigan
8. Purdue
9. Michigan State
10. Northwestern
11. Nebraska
12. Indiana

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