Feb. 18, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Purdue No. 1 in the Big Ten: Purdue is on an 11-game winning streak as it sits atop the Big Ten leaderboard for the second-straight week. The 11-game win streak is the Boiliermakers' third longest in the last 20 years. They won 14 in a row in 1993-94 and 16 in a row in 1987-88. With its win over Northwestern on Saturday, Purdue has now won five-straight road games for the first time since the 1995-96 season. At a conference best 12-1 on the season, the Boilermakers are off to their best start since jumping out to a 12-1 mark to begin the 1987-88 season. That season, the Boilermakers finished the conference slate with a 16-2 record. Purdue has put together back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 campaigns.

Showdown in Indiana: All eyes will be on the Hoosier state Tuesday night as No. 15 Purdue travels south to meet the No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers in the only meeting between the two teams this season. A win for the Boilermakers will set them further apart from the closely contested pack at the Big Ten leaderboard. A Hoosier win would tie IU with Wisconsin as the second-place team and put them a game out of first place. Both teams are currently ranked in the top 25. The last time that the two teams met when both were ranked was on Feb. 29, 2000. Fourteenth-ranked Indiana defeated No. 20 Purdue 79-65 in Bloomington.

Big Ten to Eclipse Two-Million Fan Attendance Mark: The Big Ten will surpass the two-million mark in total attendance this week, as 1,989,813 fans have flocked to conference arenas for 155 games, including 50 sellouts. Last season, the Big Ten led the country in total attendance for the 31st-straight season and broke the two-million mark for the 15th consecutive year as the conference welcomed 2,470,250 fans through the turnstiles in 196 games.

Race for Big Ten Supremacy: With just three weeks left in the Big Ten regular season, five teams are above .600 in conference play while the top squad holds a game and a half lead in the Big Ten standings. Purdue has tallied a 12-1 record in conference action, while Wisconsin follows in second place with an 11-2 record. Indiana is in third place with a 10-2 mark. The top three teams will play three of their remaining games on the road. The Boilermakers and Badgers have two more home contests before closing out the season, while the Hoosiers will play three of their final six games in the friendly confines of Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers face the toughest competition of the top three, as the combined record of their opponents is 37-37 (.500), including a home tilt with conference leader Purdue and a road test at Michigan State. The Spartans are in fourth place in the conference standings with an 8-4 record and will face three of their final six opponents at home. Ohio State has tallied an 8-5 mar in conference action and will face three of its final five opponents on the road. A breakdown of the top three team's appears to the right.

Head of the Class: This year, freshmen are not just making an impact, but also leading in statistical categories and appearing among the top five in all categories. In conference games only, Indiana freshman Eric Gordon leads the Big Ten in scoring (20.8 ppg). Minnesota's Blake Hoffarber leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 49 percent from long range. Other Big Ten freshmen appearing in the top five in conference games only statistics include Illinois' Demetri McCamey, Michigan's Manny Harris, Minnesota's Al Nolen, Northtwestern's Michael Thompson, Ohio State's Kosta Koufas and Evan Turner and Purdue's Robbie Hummel.

Youth Rewarded: The Big Ten has lauded five different freshmen as conference player of the week this season. This is the first time in the history of the award that five different freshmen have been honored. During the 2002-2003 campaign freshmen Bracey Wright of Indiana and Daniel Horton of Michigan combined for five awards. Wright was a three-time honoree and Horton earned two awards. This year IU's Eric Gordon, Ohio State's Kosta Koufos, Michigan's Manny Harris and the Purdue duo of E'Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel have all been bestowed the honor.

Race for the Scoring Title: A mere 2.6 points separate Indiana's Eric Gordon and D. J. White as only three weeks remain in conference's scoring race. Gordon has led the Big Ten all season, currently averaging 20.8 points per conference game. White is averaging 18.2 points in Big Ten matchups. Ranked first and second in the Big Ten in scoring, the Hoosier duo bids to become the first Big Ten teammates to finish one and two in scoring since Michigan's Glen Rice and Gary Grant achieved the feat in 1987-88.

A Helping Hand: Ohio State's Jamar Butler handed out six assists against Northwestern last Wednesday to increase his OSU record to 523 to take over the No. 1 spot in Buckeye annals. Butler has claim to another stat related to his giving spirit on the court. Since the 1996-97 season, Butler became the only player in Division I with a double-double (rebounds, assists, steals or blocks) without scoring in the game. He had 11 assists, 10 rebounds and zero points versus NU.

Spreading the Wealth: Not since the 2004-05 season has a team had a trio of players ranked among the top 10 in assists. Michigan State's Travis Walton (4.40), Drew Neitzel (4.36) and Kalin Lucas (3.68) all rank among the top eight conference players this season. Walton is third in the conference, while Neitzel is fourth and Lucas is eighth. The trio of Illinois guards--Dee Brown (4.54), Luther Head (3.85) and Deron Williams (6.77)--were the last players to accomplish this feat. Williams led the conference, while Brown was third and Head ranked fifth.