Jan. 8, 2007

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One Week Down: After one week of conference play, Michigan (2-0), Ohio State (2-0), Iowa (1-0) and Wisconsin (1-0) are all undefeated in the Big Ten. The Wolverines are 2-0 for the first time since the 2005 season when U-M also began the conference slate with a 2-0 mark. The last time the Wolverines opened with a 3-0 start was during the 2003 conference season. The Buckeyes' 2-0 Big Ten start is the best under head coach Thad Matta. The Hawkeyes will be looking for their second conference victory of the season when they face Illinois on Wednesday. The last time an Iowa squad began the conference season with a 2-0 mark was during the 2002-03 season. The Badgers' conference record of 1-0 has boosted their overall winning streak to 11 games. Wisconsin will be vying for its second straight 2-0 start under head coach Bo Ryan, when the Badgers face Ohio State on Tuesday.

Good Start Means Good Sign?: Michigan and Ohio State both jumped out to 2-0 records, which is generally a sign of good things to come. Over the last 10 seasons, Big Ten teams that started 2-0 have ended the year above .500 in conference play on 21 of 27 occasions (77.8 percent), including Indiana and Wisconsin last season. Last year, Ohio State claimed the conference title outright despite opening the conference slate with a 1-1 start. The Buckeyes went on to reel off 12 victories in their last 15 outings to clinch the Big Ten crown. In three of the last seven seasons, a 2-0 start has led to a share of the Big Ten crown for Michigan State (2000), Illinois (2001), Indiana (2002) and Ohio State (2002). Since the 1996-97 campaign, teams that began the season 0-2 have finished at .500 or below on 23 of 27 occasions (85 percent). The only exceptions include the 2001-02 Spartans (10-6), the 2002-03 (12-4) and 1998-99 Badgers (9-7) and the 1997-98 Hoosiers (9-7), who went 0-2 to open the season.

Non-Conference Success: On Saturday, Ohio State will step out of conference play and take on Tennessee. With 115 wins this season, the Big Ten has posted the most non-conference victories prior to postseason play in conference history, eclipsing last year's mark of 112 wins. Last season, the conference tallied a 112-28 mark before heading into NCAA Tournament action. The Big Ten then closed out the season with the best out-of-conference winning percentage in over six years at .767 (115-35).

Wisconsin's Winning Ways: The Badgers are 15-1 for the first time since 1915-16, when UW captured the Helms Foundation National Championship with a 20-1 mark. Wisconsin has also won 11 games in a row this year, which is the Badgers' longest winning streak since the 1993-94 season.

Protecting Your Home: It is never easy to win on the road in the Big Ten, and this year is no different as eight of the 10 contests played last week were won by the home team. Only Michigan and Ohio State captured road victories in the first week of conference play. The Wolverines defeated Northwestern, 58-46, in Evanston, while the Buckeyes posted a 62-44 victory over Illinois in Champaign. Overall, five Big Ten squads are undefeated at home this season, including Wisconsin (12-0), Michigan State (11-0), Ohio State (10-0), Purdue (10-0) and Indiana (8-0).

Dishing It Out: Four Big Ten standouts are currently averaging over 5.0 assists per game this season. Ohio State freshman Mike Conley Jr. leads the Big Ten with 6.67 assists per contest. Illinois sophomore Chester Frazier follows in second (5.71 apg), while Northwestern's Tim Doyle (5.67 apg) and Michigan State's Travis Walton (5.35 apg) round out the top four. Conley is vying to become the first freshman to lead the Big Ten in assists for all games since former Illinois standout Dee Brown captured the title with 5.0 assists per game during the 2002-03 season. However, Frazier will have history on his side as for the last four seasons an Illini has led the Big Ten in assists for all games. Brown finished the 2002-03 season in first place with 5.0 assists per game, followed by Illinois' Deron Williams, who claimed the 2004 (6.2 apg) and 2005 (6.8 apg) titles. Brown closed out his senior campaign with 5.8 assists per contest last season.

Big Ten's Grand Company: The conference currently boasts eight active members of the 1,000-point club, including three from the same school. Michigan's Lester Abram (1,113), Dion Harris (1,343) and Courtney Sims (1,151) have all reached the 1,000-point milestone and are also joined by Wisconsin's Alando Tucker (1,824), Iowa's Adam Haluska (1,523), Ohio State's Ron Lewis (1,433), Purdue's David Teague (1,084) and Penn State's Geary Claxton (1,024). After scoring 588 points during the 2005-06 season, Tucker is now aiming to become the first 2,000-point producer for the Big Ten since Indiana's A.J. Guyton tallied 2,100 points from 1997-00. With 946 career points, Wisconsin senior Kammron Taylor is vying to become the next Big Ten 1,000 point scorer.

Big Ten Hosts 2007 NCAA First/Second Round: In 2007, the Big Ten will host the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship First and Second Rounds on Friday and Sunday, March 16 and 18, at the United Center in Chicago. It marks the third time in league history that the conference has played host to the NCAA Tournament as the Big Ten welcomed eight teams to the United Center in both 1998 and 2002. Ohio State will also host first and second rounds (March 16 and 18) next year at the Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus.

Big Ten Coaching Milestones: With a 71-61 victory over Illinois on Wednesday, Michigan's Tommy Amaker became the sixth head coach in program history to reach the 100-win plateau. He currently has a record of 101-73 in his sixth season at the Michigan helm. On Thursday, Iowa head coach Steve Alford captured his 300th career victory after the Hawkeyes defeated Michigan State, 62-60. In his 16th-year career, Alford currently owns a 300-175 record.