Jan. 31, 2005

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A Perfect Start: Illinois remains undefeated with a 7-0 mark in Big Ten play. The Illini are off to their best start in League action since the 1955-56 season when Illinois opened with a 10-0 mark. It also marks the best start by a Big Ten squad in League play since Indiana posted a 13-0 start during the 1993 Conference slate. With an 89-66 victory over Minnesota on Saturday, the Fighting Illini tied the school record of 17 consecutive victories in Big Ten play. The Illini also posted a 17-game Big Ten winning streak from Feb. 21, 1914 to Feb. 9, 1916. It also marks the longest streak in Conference play since Michigan State won 18 consecutive League games from Jan. 9, 1999 to Jan. 11, 2000.

More on Illinois' Unblemished Record: Illinois' current 21-0 record has set a school record for the best start in the 100-year history of Fighting Illini basketball, breaking the previous record of 17-0 set by the 1988-89 squad. Illinois' run also marks the best start by a Big Ten squad since Indiana finished the 1975-76 season with a 32-0 record and the Illini's streak currently ranks fifth all-time in League history. The Hoosiers hold the Conference record after winning the national title and becoming the last squad in the nation to go undefeated, 32-0.

Badgers' Streak Ends: Top-ranked Illinois ended Wisconsin's school record and nation-leading 38-game home winning streak, defeating the Badgers, 75-65, on Jan. 25. The Badgers had won 38 consecutive home games and their last defeat at the Kohl Center occurred on Dec. 4, 2002 against Wake Forest. Illinois now takes the lead in the Big Ten with a 17-game home winning streak. The Illini's last loss occurred against Purdue on Jan. 10, 2004.

RPI Success: In the latest RPI report, the Big Ten joins only the ACC (5) and Big East (5) with five teams in the Top 40 of the team standings. The League contingent includes two ranked in the top 15 with Illinois at No. 7 and Wisconsin ranked 13th. They are followed by No. 22 Michigan State, No. 33 Iowa and No. 37 Minnesota. In the league standings, the Big Ten continues to lead with a No.1 ranking in non-conference RPI rankings, while facing the nation's second-toughest schedule in non-conference play.

Eight Ranked Among Top 100 List: As the League celebrates its 100th season of Conference play, Street & Smith's named eight Big Ten programs to their "Greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time" Top 100 list. The Big Ten led all conferences with five ranked among the Top 30 in No. 6 Indiana, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 25 Michigan State, No. 26 Michigan, No. 27 Illinois and No. 30 Purdue. No. 40 Iowa and No. 55 Wisconsin rounded out the League contingent. The specialty publication, which hit newsstands last week, ranked 100 Division I schools using the criteria of postseason success (NCAA and NIT), conference championships, all-time win-loss percentage, as well as graduation rates and first round NBA draft picks.

The 1,000 Point Milestone: Illinois' Roger Powell is just 15 points away from reaching the 1,000-point plateau. Powell will look to become the 11th active member of the 1,000-point club, joining teammates Luther Head (1,120) and Dee Brown (1,091), Iowa's Pierre Pierce (1,072), Michigan's Daniel Horton (1,033), Michigan State's Kelvin Torbert (1,056) and Wisconsin's Sharif Chambliss (1,014). Four Conference players entered the 2004-05 campaign with more than 1,000 career points in Indiana's Bracey Wright (1,357), Michigan State's Chris Hill (1,409), Ohio State's Tony Stockman (1,395) and Wisconsin's Mike Wilkinson (1,298).

Illinois-Wisconsin Game Receives High TV Rating: The Illinois-Wisconsin game on Tuesday, Jan. 25, which was televised by ESPN, achieved a 2.78 rating. That translates to roughly 2.5 million households, making it the seventh most watched regular-season college basketball game in ESPN history. This season, League teams have had more national exposure than ever before with all 88 Big Ten Conference games and no fewer than 68 non-conference contests televised.

Big Ten Coaching Milestones: With an 89-66 victory over Minnesota, Illinois' head coach Bruce Weber claimed his 150th career victory and now boasts an all-time record of 150-61 in his seventh season of coaching which includes a five-year stint at Southern Illinois before joining the Illini staff in 2003. Weber also stands only three wins away from claiming his 50th victory on the Illinois campus as he boasts a 47-3 record in just his second season.