Feb. 4, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Among the Best: Four Big Ten squads are ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Wisconsin is the highest-ranked conference team at No. 8. Michigan State is 11th, while Indiana is 14th. The Purdue earns its first national ranking of the season at No. 24. MSU and IU have been ranked among the top-15 all season. The Badgers have spent the past five weeks in the polls. This is the Boilermakers' first national ranking since being tabbed 21st during Week 11 of the 2003-04 season, and first under third-year head coach Matt Painter. The Big Ten is tied with the Big 12 as each conference has four representatives in this week's poll. The Big East leads all conferences with five teams ranking among the top 25. The Pac-10 has three teams ranked, while the ACC and SEC each have two squads represented.

Tied for the Conference Lead: Wisconsin and Purdue are tied for the Big Ten lead with matching 8-1 records. This is the second time under head coach Bo Ryan that the Badgers have been in first place in the conference standings after nine games. This may seem like déjà vu for the Badgers, as they sat atop the Big Ten standings last year at this point in the season with an 8-1 record. The Boilermakers are off to their best start in conference action since beginning the 1989- 90 campaign with an 8-1 mark. UW is seeking its 17th conference crown. Purdue leads the conference with 21 titles as it hopes to add another trophy this season. The Badgers are led by Marcus Landry in conference-only games, averaging 12.4 points per game. The Boilermakers are paced by E'Twaun Moore, averaging 13.0 points per contest, which ranks 10th among all conference players.

More on the Badgers and Boilermakers: Wisconsin is now 18-3 on the season, the third-best start to a season in school history. Since Bo Ryan took over the helm in 2001, the Badgers have won 76 Big Ten games, the most in the conference over that time span. UW's Trevon Hughes has scored in double-digits in 14 of his 19 games this season. Purdue enters the week on a seven-game winning streak and has won 10 of its last 11 contests. With a 17-5 mark this season, the Boilermakers are off to their best start since opening 16-4 during the 1997-98 season. With a game-high 24 points in the win over Illinois, freshman guard E'Twaun Moore has scored in double- digits 13 times and in seven of the last eight games.

Showdown in Madison: As the race for Big Ten supremacy continues,the two current Big Ten leaders Wisconsin and Purdue will meet on Saturday. The squads will meet two dangerously hot teams in Iowa and Penn State earlier in the week. The Boilermakers host PSU, while the Badgers will travel to Iowa City for a matchup with the Hawkeyes Tuesday night. Penn state enters the week fresh off an upset victory over then-No. 8/7 Michigan State at the Bryce Jordan Center, while Iowa is fresh off a win over Ohio State at home.

The Big Ten's Top Five: The Big Ten's top five teams--Purdue, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State--boast six wins over top-25 non-conference opponents to lead all conferences. The Big 12 and Pac-10 each have four wins over top-25 non-conference foes, while the Big East (3), ACC (2) and SEC (2) round out the group. Comparing the top quintets from each of the aforementioned conferences, the Big Ten owns the second-best win percentage (.801) behind only the Big 12 who sports a .829 winning percentage. The Big East is third with a .796 win percentage and the ACC (.785), Pac-10 (.785) and the SEC (.740) follow.

1-2 Punch: Indiana's Eric Gordon and D. J. White enter the weekend leading the Big Ten in combined points per game (20.2) among teammates. Ranked first and second in the Big Ten in scoring, the Hoosier duo bids to become the first Big Ten teammates to finish first and second in scoring since Michigan's Glen Rice and Gary Grant finished first and second in the conference in 1987-88.

Four Big Ten Standouts Named to National Midseason Award Lists: Four Big Ten standouts - Indiana's Eric Gordon and D. J. White and Michigan State's Raymar Morgan and Drew Neitzel- were among the nation's top players selected as midseason candidates for the 2007-08 John Wooden Award Player of the Year and All-America Team or the 2008 Naismith Trophy. Gordon and White are members of both award lists at the midpoint of the season. Morgan is a Wooden Award candidate, while Neitzel appears on the Naismith Trophy list. Last year, Ohio State's Greg Oden and Wisconsin's Alando Tucker were named to the 2007 Wooden All-America team, while Purdue's Glenn Robinson was the last conference standout to win the Wooden Award in 1994. Calbert Cheaney of Indiana and Glenn Robinson of Purdue were the last Big Ten stars to win the Naismith Trophy in back-to-back years in 1993 and 1994, respectfully.

All-Star Performers: Three conference players have produced some of the nation's top performances to date. Indiana's D. J. White's 22 rebounds against Michigan ties for third in the country, while Michigan State's Goran Suton ties for 14th with a 20-rebound performance against Oakland. Iowa's Justin Johnson's eight three-point field goals versus Ohio State and Indiana are tied as the 17th-best performance in the country in the latest NCAA statistics.

Black History Month: The Big Ten announced the launch of its Black History Month website to commemorate the achievements of African-Americans on Big Ten campuses. During the month of February, the websitewill feature a story on a male and female student-athlete from each institution throughout the 29-day celebration. Former men's basketball standouts that will be featured are Iowa's Ronnie Lester, Penn State's Jessie Arnelle and Purdue's Lamar Lundy.