Jan. 22, 2007

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Wisconsin's Winning Record: Wisconsin remains in first place in the conference standings with a perfect 5-0 mark this season. The Badgers are also 19-1 for the first time since 1915-16, when the Badgers captured the Helms Foundation National Championship with a 20-1 mark. In addition, Wisconsin has won 15 games in a row dating back to Thanksgiving weekend. It's the team's longest winning streak since tallying 15 consecutive triumphs to end the 1940-41 season. It also marks the longest streak in the Big Ten since Illinois opened the 2005-06 season with 15 consecutive victories. The last Big Ten team to win 16 straight contests was the Fighting Illini, who began the 2004-05 season with a 29-0 record.

NCAA RPI Rankings: The Big Ten ties the ACC, SEC and Pac-10 with four teams in the top 25 of the RPI rankings which were released by the NCAA last Tuesday. Wisconsin leads the Big Ten contingent with a No. 10 ranking, while Ohio State (14th), Indiana (22nd) and Michigan State (25th) round out the top 25.

2007 Senior CLASS Award Nominees: Four Big Ten standouts - Iowa's Adam Haluska, Purdue's Carl Landry and Wisconsin's Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor -  were among the 30 players selected as midseason candidates for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.  An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring. The award was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman. A national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in February. The winner will be announced during the men's Final Four weekend.

ESPN's College Basketball GameDay: Ohio State will host the popular ESPN College Basketball GameDay television show at Value City Arena this Saturday, prior to the OSU-Michigan State men's basketball game. ESPN College Basketball GameDay activities begin at 9 a.m. with the live TV show originating from the Value City Arena floor. Hosts of ESPN College Basketball GameDay include Rece Davis, Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas, Hubert Davis, Dick Vitale and Andy Katz

Big Ten's Grand Company: With 20 points in a 71-64 victory over Illinois, Wisconsin senior Kammron Taylor (1,016) became the latest member of the Big Ten's 1,000-point club. Taylor joins eight other Big Ten standouts including three from the same school. Michigan's Lester Abram (1,147), Dion Harris (1,398) and Courtney Sims (1,167) have all reached the 1,000-point milestone and are also joined by Wisconsin's Alando Tucker (1,889), Iowa's Adam Haluska (1,606), Ohio State's Ron Lewis (1,473), Purdue's David Teague (1,142) and Penn State's Geary Claxton (1,065). 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.

On the Boards: Iowa's Adam Haluska (480) and Michigan's Brent Petway (477) are closing in on tallying 500 caroms in a career. Currently three Big Ten standouts have reached the 500-rebound plateau including Wisconsin's Alando Tucker, who is the conference's active leader with 675 boards, along with Michigan's Courtney Sims (633) and Penn State's Geary Claxton (525). Only three other conference players have more than 400 career rebounds, as Ohio State's Ron Lewis (462), Purdue's David Teague (458) and Michigan's Lester Abram (436) will look to break the 500-board barrier later this year.

Top Freshmen Performances: In an 82-63 victory over Iowa, Ohio State's Greg Oden tallied a season-high 29 points, the most by a Big Ten freshman this season. The first-year center also added 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year. In conference games, Oden currently leads all freshmen with 8.6 rebounds per game, while ranking second in scoring with 14.4 points per game. Iowa's Tyler Smith is rated first among all conference freshmen with 15.0 points per game.

Big Ten Coaching Milestones: Earlier this month, Iowa head coach Steve Alford captured his 300th career victory and is now closing in on another coaching milestone. In his eighth season at Iowa, Alford only needs five victories to claim his 150th career win in Iowa City. Penn State's Ed DeChellis is also in reach of hitting the 150th career victory plateau. Currently, DeChellis boasts a career mark of 146-158 in his 11th season.

Double-Figure Regulars: Currently, two Big Ten standouts have reached double-figures in scoring in all games they have played in this season. Wisconsin's Alando Tucker leads the Big Ten with 27 straight games (including seven contests from last season), while Purdue's Carl Landry has put up 20 consecutive double-figure scoring performances.

Big Ten Hosts 2007 NCAA First/Second Round: 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)  at the Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus.