Feb. 25, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

The Big Ten's Merry-Go-Round: With two weeks left in conference play, the Big Ten continues to see three teams vie for the conference title and first-round Big Ten Tournament byes. Wisconsin currently holds the top spot in the conference, sporting a 13-2 record. Sitting one half game back are Indiana and Purdue with matching 12-2 records. Each of the three teams has held the top spot in the conference at some point during the past three weeks. The Badgers have three contests remaining before closing out the 2007-08 regular season. The Hoosiers and Boilermakers each have four games left to play. A title for Wisconsin would be its 16th in school history. Indiana has been crowned Big Ten champions 20 times in program history. Purdue leads the conference with 21 Big Ten titles. The Boilermakers have not won the crown since the 1995-96 campaign. Of the three teams, Wisconsin was the last to take home the spoils, winning outright in 2003. The Hoosiers and Badgers shared the laurel in 2002.

Two More Weeks: With just two weeks left in the Big Ten regular season, six teams are at or above .500 in conference play as Wisconsin leads the Big Ten with a 13-2 mark. Indiana and Purdue are tied for second place at 12-2, while Michigan State is in third place with a 10-4 record. Ohio State (8-6) sits in fifth place, while Minnesota (7-7) checks in at sixth. Of the top three teams, Wisconsin wraps up the conference slate with two of its three contests at home. The Hoosiers face the toughest competition as the combined record of the IU's opponents is 29-27 (.518), including a road test at Michigan State. The Buckeyes face the toughest slate of the top six teams as they face two of the top three teams to close out the regular season. OSU's next four opponents boasts a combined .732 winning percentage.

Two More Members Join Elite Grand Club: Penn State's Jamelle Cornley and Wisconsin's Brian Butch became the latest Big Ten standouts to reach 1,000 career points. After scoring 20 points on Sunday, Cornley has now amassed 1,019 career points. Butch's nine points on Sunday increased his career point total to 1,001. Cornley and Butch are now the sixth and seventh active members of the 1,000 point club, joining Michigan State's Drew Neitzel (1,405), Indiana's D.J. White (1,335), Minnesota's Lawrence McKenzie (1,300) and Dan Coleman (1,227) and Ohio State's Jamar Butler (1,143). Prior to a season-ending injury, PSU's Geary Claxton was the conference's leading 1,000-point scorer, amassing 1,542 points in his four years. Just 33 shy, Illinois' Shaun Pruitt will be vying for his 1,000th career point with two weeks left to play in the regular season.

30-Plus Point Performances: Northwestern's Kevin Coble registered a conference season-best 37 points on Saturday. Coble shot 12-of-16 from the field and was five-of-six from long range in NU's 85-83 loss to Indiana. Coble scored 30 or more points for the second time in his career. Coble joins four other Big Ten standouts who have scored 30 or more points this season - Illinois' Demetri McCamey (31 vs. Indiana, Feb. 7), Indiana's Eric Gordon (33 vs. Chattanooga, Nov. 12; 31 vs. Illinois State, Nov. 23; 30 vs. UNC-Wilmington, Nov. 20), Michigan State's Raymar Morgan (31 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 5) and Ohio State's Jamar Butler (32 at Illinois, Jan. 3).

Race for the Scoring Title: A mere 2.5 points separate Indiana's Eric Gordon and D. J. White as only two weeks remain in the conference's scoring race. Gordon has led the Big Ten all season, currently averaging 20.6 points per conference game. White is averaging 18.1 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.

Double-Double for White: Indiana's D.J. White is on track to finish the season averaging a double- double. White currently averages 18.1 points and 11.1 rebounds in conference only statistics. White is the Big Ten's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. White would be the first Big Ten player to average a double-double in scoring and rebounding since Minnesota's Kris Humphries did so during the 2003-04 campaign.

Protecting the Homecourt: Michigan State is 16-0 this season at home and now has won 20- straight in the Breslin Center. Over the last two seasons, the Spartans are 24-1 on their home court. 

Big Ten Equals Big Attendance: The Big Ten has once again surpassed the two-million mark in total attendance and the one-million mark in conference games. Entering the week, the conference has welcomed 2,126,806 fans in 165 home contests. This is the 16th season in which the Big Ten has seen more than two million spectators pass through the turnstiles. For the 31st season, attendance at Big Ten contests has eclipsed the one-million mark (1,082,481). The conference is on pace to once again to lead the nation in attendance.