Dec. 4, 2006

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Preseason All-Big Ten Honorees Return from Injuries: Last Sunday, Ohio State freshman Greg Oden made his debut in a Buckeye uniform against Valparaiso after spending the last several months recovering from surgery to his right wrist. Oden entered at the 16:00 mark of the first half and finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes to claim the first double-double of his career. Penn State's Geary Claxton also returned to PSU's lineup after missing the Nittany Lions' first four games of the year due to a broken hand. On Saturday against Morgan State, he posted 15 points and eight rebounds.

Molinari Takes Over Gopher Helm: With a 66-63 victory over Arizona State, Minnesota captured its first win under interim head coach Jim Molinari on Saturday. Molinari took over the Golden Gopher helm after Dan Monson resigned as head coach on Nov. 30. Monson compiled a 118-106 (.527) record in seven-plus seasons at Minnesota, including a 2-5 mark this season. Molinari came to Minnesota in 2004 after spending two seasons as an NBA scout for the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat. Prior to his stint with the Heat, Molinari enjoyed a 24-year career as a collegiate head and assistant coach at the Division I level. For 11 seasons, he was the head coach at Bradley University where he amassed a 176-150 (.540) record and guided the Braves to the postseason six times. From 1989-1991, he was the head coach at Northern Illinois where he posted a record of 42-17 and won the 1991 Mid-Continent Conference title. His 14-year head coaching record stands at 219-167 (.567).

Big Ten Tournament Tickets on Sale: The Big Ten announced that all-session tickets for the 2007 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, along with single-session tickets, went on sale to the general public on Friday, Dec. 1. All-session and single-session tickets for the men's tournament, which includes 10 games over four days, will be available at the United Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (312) 559-1212. The cost for men's tournament all-session tickets will be either $150 or $275 depending on seat location. Single-session tickets range from $30 to $85 based on seat location and session. Orders will be limited to 12 all-session tickets or 12 single-session tickets for each session.

Big Ten Tourney in Chi-town: After a one-year hiatus, the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament returns to Chicago to crown the 2007 Tournament Champion. The first Big Ten Tournament was held at the United Center in 1998 and Chicago hosted the event in each of its first four years of existence before rotating with Indianapolis since 2002. In its first nine years of existence, the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament has welcomed more than 860,000 fans and issued over 5,300 media credentials. Four different conference representatives have become Big Ten Tournament champions, with Michigan State (1999, 2000),  Illinois (2003, 2005) and Iowa (2001, 2006) claiming the honor twice along with Wisconsin capturing the 2004 crown. In addition, every tournament game in the past nine years has been televised live on CBS, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN Plus.

Big Ten Tournament Preview: On Saturday, Illinois will get an early look at the site of the 2007 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, as the Fighting Illini will take on Illinois-Chicago at the United Center in Chicago. Saturday's contest against the Flames marks the 35th game the Illini have played at the UC, dating back to the 1994-95 season. Illinois owns an all-time record of 28-6 (.824) at the United Center, which includes a current winning streak of 15 straight games spanning the last five seasons.

International Flavor: A total of 13 international players are listed on Big Ten rosters this season. Northwestern leads the Big Ten with four international players in Nikola Baran (Zagreb, Croatia), Jean-Marc Melchior (Contern, Luxembourg), Ivan Peljusic (Zadar, Croatia) and Ivan Tolic (Split, Croatia). The Big Ten's list of international players also include Indiana's Ben Allen (Melbourne, Australia), Iowa's Kurt Looby (St. John's, Antigua), Michigan's Jevohn Shepherd (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Michigan State's Idong Ibok (Lagos, Nigeria) and Maurice Joseph (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Minnesota's Engen Nurumbi (Kinsasha, Congo) and Penn State's Milos Bogetic (Podgorica, Serbia & Montenegro), Nikola Obradovic (Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro) and Joonas Suotamo (Espoo, Finland).

30-Plus Point Performances: With a conference-high 31-point performance against Coppin State on Dec. 1, Iowa's Adam Haluska became the third different player to record 30 or more points this season. This season, Haluska joins Ohio State's Ron Lewis who tallied 30 points against North Carolina on Nov. 29; and Purdue's Carl Landry, who scored 30 in a win over Oklahoma on Nov. 21.

Protecting Your Home: Iowa will be vying for its 22nd consecutive home victory when the Hawkeyes host Northern Iowa on Tuesday. Iowa's 21-game home winning streak is the third-longest in the nation (Gonzaga - 44, Connecticut - 26, Air Force - 20, Akron - 19). The Hawkeyes were the only conference team to go undefeated at home last year and Iowa's last defeat occurred on Feb. 19, 2005 against Illinois. The Hawkeyes' 21-game streak still trails the Big Ten record of 53 straight home triumphs set by Michigan State from 1998 to 2002.

Big Ten Coaching Milestones: Two Big Ten mentors are in reach of claiming several coaching milestones during the 2006-07 season. Illinois' Bruce Weber needs just one triumph to tally his 200th career victory with a 199-72 mark that includes a five-year stint at Southern Illinois before joining the Fighting Illini staff in 2003. In his 16th year of coaching, Iowa's Steve Alford stands five wins away from claiming his 300th career victory with a 295-173 record.