Jan. 10, 2005

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One Week Down: After one week of Conference play, lllinois (2-0), Michigan State (2-0), Michigan (1-0) and Minnesota (1-0) are all undefeated in the Big Ten. Illinois improved to 16-0 overall and is one of only four squads in the nation to boast an unblemished record (Duke, Boston College and Kansas). The Illini have tied their second-best start in school history and are off to their best opening record since the 1989-90 season when Illinois won its first 17 games. It also marks the best start by a Big Ten squad since Ohio State began the 1990-91 season with a 17-0 record. The Spartans' perfect Conference record of 2-0, marks their best start of Big Ten play since 2000, while also posting a seven-game winning streak. The Wolverines claimed a 65-63 win at Iowa last Wednesday, marking the first time head coach Tommy Amaker defeated a ranked opponent on the road. The Gophers, who won their first Big Ten opener since an 85-68 victory over Michigan on Jan. 5, 2000, boast a nine-game win streak, the longest under head coach Dan Monson.

RPI Success: In the last RPI ratings, the Big Ten remained second overall in the non-conference RPI ratings to the ACC, while trailing only the ACC (.6022) and Pac-10 (.5979) with an overall adjusted RPI of .5944. The Big Ten is the only league with six teams ranked among the top 30 in the school rankings in No. 5 Illinois, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 19 Iowa, No. 20 Wisconsin, No. 28 Michigan State and No. 29 Minnesota.

The Toughest Schedule: The Conference continues to lead the nation in strength of schedule for both all games and non-conference contests only according to the latest RPI report. The League has won over 70 percent of its non-conference games despite facing some of the nation's toughest teams, including 19 opponents ranked in the top 25.

Good Start Means Good Sign?: With Illinois and Michigan State both jumping out to 2-0 records, this is generally a sign of good things to come. Over the last eight seasons, Big Ten teams that started 2-0 have ended the year above .500 in Conference play on 16 of 20 occasions (80 percent), including Wisconsin last season. In three of the last five seasons, a 2-0 start has led to a share of the Big Ten crown for Michigan State (2000), Illinois (2001), Indiana (2002) and Ohio State (2002). Last year, Illinois claimed the Conference title outright despite opening the League slate with a 1-1 start. The Illini went on to reel off 12 victories in its last 13 outings to clinch the Big Ten crown. The other exceptions include the 2001-02 Spartans (10-6), the 1998-99 Badgers (9-7) and the 1997-98 Hoosiers (9-7). Since the 1996-97 campaign, teams that began the season 0-2 have finished at .500 or below on 18 of 22 occasions (81 percent).

The Million Fan March: The Big Ten should surpass the one million mark in attendance for the 34th consecutive season this week, as 986,104 fans have passed through the turnstiles in 93 home contests. Last year, the Conference led the nation in total attendance for the 28th-straight season with 2,045,574 total patrons. Overall, the Conference has broken the two million mark in total attendance in each of the last 12 seasons.

The 1,000 Point Milestone: Iowa's Pierre Pierce (984), Michigan's Daniel Horton (976) and Wisconsin's Sharif Chambliss (964) are less than 40 points away from reaching the 1,000-point plateau. All three will look to join Illinois' Dee Brown (1,037) and Michigan State's Kelvin Torbert (1,017), who were the latest Big Ten players to score 1,000 career points. Four Conference players entered the 2004-05 campaign with more than 1,000 career points in Indiana's Bracey Wright (1,266), Michigan State's Chris Hill (1,374), Ohio State's Tony Stockman (1,328) and Wisconsin's Mike Wilkinson (1,205).

Badgers Streaking at Home: Wisconsin will look to extend its nation-leading and school record 36-game winning streak when it hosts Ohio State on Tuesday, January 11. UW had previously won 33 straight at home from March 8, 1911 to Jan. 23, 1915. Wisconsin's last defeat at the Kohl Center occurred on Dec. 4, 2002, against Wake Forest. The Badgers still trail the Big Ten record of 53 straight home triumphs set by Michigan State from 1998 to 2002 -- a winning streak that was ended by Wisconsin.

Alford Nabs Mid-Season Coacing Honors: Iowa head coach Steve Alford edged out Illinois' Bruce Weber and George Washington's Karl Hubbs to grab the Jim Phelan Coach of the Year "Mid-Season Honors." Alford received seven first-place votes from the 20-member panel, while Weber followed in second with five votes. Alford has led the Hawkeyes to a 12-3 record, including wins over nationally-ranked Louisville and Texas. He collected his 250th career win in an 88-53 victory over Centenary (December 3), while also capturing his 100th victory at Iowa on December 28. The mid-season coaching honor is awarded in conjunction with the Jim Phelan Coach of the Year award, which is handed out annually each March by CollegeInsider.com.

Streaking in League Play: Illinois boosted its Big Ten-best Conference winning streak to 12 consecutive games last week with two triumphs, as the Illini ended the 2003-04 campaign with 10 straight wins to earn the League title outright. The 12-game streak is the longest for the Illini since winning 13 straight from 1955-56. It also marks the longest streak by a squad in Conference play since 2001-02 when Ohio State won 13 straight Big Ten games.