Feb. 26, 2007

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Buckeyes Capture Second-Straight Title: With a 49-48 victory over No. 1/2 Wisconsin on Sunday, Ohio State claimed its second consecutive Big Ten Championship for the first time since winning two straight championships during the 1991 and 1992 campaigns. The Buckeyes also captured back-to-back outright crowns for the first time since running off three in a row between 1960-62, while becoming the first Big Ten squad since Illinois won two straight outright titles in 2004 and 2005. OSU has now tied Illinois for the third-highest total in conference annals with 17 Big Ten Championships, behind Purdue (21) and Indiana (20).

Ohio State's Outright Triple Crown Season: For the first time in Big Ten history, one school has earned outright conference titles in the sports of football and men's and women's basketball. Last year, the Buckeyes became the first conference school to earn Big Ten titles in all three sports, but shared the football crown.

The Battle for Byes: Ohio State and Wisconsin have clinched first-round byes in the 2007 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, while Illinois (9-6), Michigan State (8-6), Indiana (8-6), Iowa (8-6), Michigan (7-7) and Purdue (7-7) are vying for the final three spots. Five conference teams will get the first day off at the United Center, as the top five seeds open play on Friday while the bottom six seeds start on Thursday. While a first-round pass is important, teams have proven that it is not essential as Illinois (1999) and Iowa (2001 and 2002) have all advanced to the finals despite beginning play on Thursday, with the Hawkeyes winning the tourney as a No. 6 seed in 2001.

Television Wildcard Game Selections: The Big Ten announced that CBS Sports has selected the regular season-ending Ohio State-Michigan game to be nationally televised on Saturday, March 3 at 4 p.m. EST. The Michigan State at Wisconsin contest will air on ESPN at 11 a.m. CST, while the Illinois at Iowa contest will be broadcast on ESPN Plus Regional at 11:07 a.m. CST on Saturday. ESPN Plus Regional will also air the Northwestern at Purdue game at 2:07 p.m. EST, while Saturday's Penn State-Indiana matchup at 8 p.m. EST will be broadcast on ESPN Plus Local.

Phelan Award Finalists Announced: Ohio State's Thad Matta and Wisconsin's Bo Ryan have been named finalists for the 2007 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award. The Jim Phelan Award is given annually to the nation's top coach, as voted on by the 20-member panel. The winner will be presented with the award at the Final Four in Atlanta.

Tucker Targets UW's Career Scoring Record: With 2,099 points, Wisconsin's Alando Tucker is looking to break UW's all-time scoring record held by Michael Finley, who tallied 2,147 points from 1992-95. Against Iowa on Feb. 10, Tucker became the second Badger and 23rd player in Big Ten history to score at least 2,000 points in his career. The senior forward climbed past two former Big Ten greats last week - Purdue's Dave Schellhase (2,074 from 1964-66) and Ohio State's Dennis Hopson (2,096 from 1984-87) - to move to No. 17 on the Big Ten's scoring chart. Next on the list at 16th overall is Indiana's A.J. Guyton, who tallied 2,100 points from 1997-00. Tucker became the first 2,000-point producer for the Big Ten since Guyton.

One More Week: With one week left of Big Ten play, Iowa's Adam Haluska remains in first place among the conference's scoring leaders with 20.7 points per game in Big Ten only contests. He is followed by Wisconsin's Alando Tucker (19.3 ppg), who captured the Big Ten scoring title last season. If Haluska closes out the season leading the conference in scoring, he would be the first Hawkeye to accomplish that feat since Andre Woolridge in 1997.

Big Ten's Grand Company: With 989 points, Minnesota's Lawrence McKenzie is vying to become the next member of the conference's 1,000-point club. The conference's group of 1,000-point scorers has more than doubled from the start of the season as 10 standouts are now above that scoring plateau, including three teams with two or more players. Four Big Ten seniors began the season on the 1,000-point list in Iowa's Adam Haluska (1,797), Michigan's Dion Harris (1,508), Ohio State's Ron Lewis (1,560) and Wisconsin's Alando Tucker (2,099). Six more players joined the list this season in Michigan's Lester Abram (1,222) and Courtney Sims (1,279), Penn State's Geary Claxton (1,209), Purdue's Carl Landry (1,052) and David Teague (1,297) and Wisconsin's  Kammron Taylor (1,125).

Three Standouts Named to Naismith Midseason Watch List: Three Big Ten standouts - Indiana's D.J. White, Iowa's Adam Haluska and Wisconsin's Alando Tucker - were named midseason candidates for the Naismith Trophy presented by Cingular Wireless. These players will now be eligible for the final ballot in March when four finalists for the award are announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors. The Naismith Trophy winner will be named at the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta.

2007 Senior CLASS Award Finalists: Iowa's Adam Haluska and Wisconsin's Alando Tucker have been selected as finalists for the 2007 Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to a senior basketball player who excels both on and off the court. 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. The winner will be announced during the men's Final Four weekend.

Double-Double For Oden?: Ohio State's Greg Oden, who is currently registering 15.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this year, is vying to become the first Big Ten standout to average a double-double since Minnesota's Kris Humphries. The former Golden Gopher tallied an average of 21.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest as a freshman during the 2003-04 season.